Friday, July 23, 2010
Causes of the "Great Recession"
...let's be clear, it was not Obama that caused this recession, This recession-- if we are to place blame, it should be placed on the Reagan Republicans who kept demanding radical deregulation of the financial industry and that was implemented by Bill Clinton who collaborated with them and pushed the reversal that controlled the greed of the banking industry. Obama inherited the problem, it broke under Bush, his response was to throw money at Wall Street. Obama has tried to do a little bit better, but in the main, he's playing out of the same playbook that Bush had in the crisis. Unless the policies are reversed, that means worrying about foreclosures, people losing their homes, if we can't bring back housing, we're not going to have the turnaround we need for the work force. we have to bring back construction of the streets. Have to be more in tune with helping people buy homes, in the same aggressive way that was done to make Wall Street whole. If Obama does not do that, we're in for a long haul. --Robert Scheer, Journalist, Truthdig
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2 comments:
I'm not convinced what we're facing is a recession. For that would suggest that its just part of a normal business cycle.
I think other that what you have accurately written, the NATFA agreement exporting most of America's manufacturing industries has come home to roost.
If that bad news is correct. The stock market may bounce up and down but America's middle class will have been, for the most part gutted. And won't be back.
Allowing US corporations to move their operations to where the cheap labor is (that is labor without the crushing health care costs and a huge military on their backs)-- that will be the end of us.
Mexification is just the next logical step. We'll all be working for less than $20 an hour. Most a LOT less. Other than a temporary 1930s Depression, this will be the first time America's descendants will fare worse than their ancestors.
I agree about the possible definition of recession, in this case, but you have to recognize, I think, the utter fear virtually all politicians and economists, both, have right now of calling it anything worse than that. Some economist, one of these days (years?), will recognize, define and name it as something worse and gain great notoriety--and money and fame (or further fame, as in the possible case of someone like Paul Krugman, if it were him or someone like him in stature), this as something more than that. Perhaps they'll just finally own up to calling in something relatively unimaginative like the "2nd Great Depression" (let's hope not) but I thnk its coming, in our future, sadly.
I've asked this here before and ask it here, now, again but I simply can't understand why some Congressional representative of ours, somewhere in the country--either a Senator or Representative--doesn't make a big name for him/her- self and propose a bill wiping out tax deductions for corporations that have taken or are proposing to take manufacturing jobs offshore. It surprises me it hasn't already happened. It would make terrific press and coverage for this person. Yes, I know the corporations are paying our elected officials to be in Washington, God knows, but this would both, as I said, get this person such tremendous coverage AND be such a wildly popular, if obvious ("holy cow, I can't believe we didn't do that already!) law with virtually all political parties--Libertarians, the Tea Party, Republicans, Democrats, everyone--supporting it, that it would sail through Congress, I feel certain.
This would be another entry but I've written this a couple times so I won't, for now, put it here again. I'll just write it to you (and anyone who may read our notes, however small a group that might be).
Like you, I think the American Middle Class may be "dead in the water" until we wise up and demand far more and better from our government and representatives. I will also say that, unless and until things really fall apart, sadly, that demand for better isn't going to happen.
When's NASCAR on, anyway?
mr
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