Why, you may be wondering, do politicians refuse to take the necessary fiscal steps to dislodge the unemployment rate from its elevated perch of 9.1%? Why, to the contrary, do they seem if anything intent on austerity measure that will push it in the wrong direction?
I can think of three reasons:
1) They want the president to fail;
2) They don't believe fiscal measures will work;
3) They irrationally fear a higher budget deficit, even temporarily.
Re 1, what can anyone say? If you're willilling to throw the economy under the bus to gain political advantage, you -- not the millions hurt by your actions -- should be the one who loses his job.
Re 2, I've got more sympathy for you. Folks have a hard time accepting counterfactuals -- the idea that things would have been worse absent the Recovery Act. But the evidence is at this point pretty plain to see: here, where the economy improved while the Recovery Act was in place and stumbled as fiscal stimulus come off too soon, in the UK, where austerity is clearly stifling growth, and in southern Europe as well.
Re 3, it can't be emphasized enough that temporary spending measures, even large one, are not what drive the long-term debt problem. Note how the Recovery Act -- all $800 billion of it -- adds nothing to the growth of the debt/GDP ratio starting around now. The culprit there would be the Bush tax cuts -- it's the permanent spending, not the temporary stuff that whacks you here.
I'm all for laying the groundwork to get on a sustainable budget path once the private sector is back in the business of creating jobs for people here in America. For now, the question regarding budget deficits should be: are they large enough to help pick up the slack until that moment arrives?
What do I win ? I recently e-mailed Sen Marco Rubio, raking him over the coals for voting NO on the American Jobs Act. I received in response a form letter thanking me for my interest on the issue, followed by the same old, stale, GOP Talking Points about how this mysterious bevy of people called 'Job Creators', are waiting for 'A Signal' that the U.S. Government is serious about controlling spending so that they can all get real busy creating all kinds of jobs for the rest of us.
We all know by now that the wealthiest % 1 aren't waiting for any signals, they are just busy re-investing their Money in clever under-handed Financial Schemes so that they don't have to risk their Billions in creating Jobs.
There is no clearer 'Signal' to the Private Investment Sector than Government Investment in Infra-structure and Public Services ( Fire / EMS, Police, Healthcare, etc...), that should inspire 'Job Creators' into action.
I informed Sen. Rubio that his reply was from a petty, little political Creep, and that his regurgitation of these pathetic GOP Auto-responses was the stuff that is the fuel for the OWS Movement.
I anxiously await his reply.
999 - Shiteshiteshite.
demand demand demand - good good good.
investment investment investment - better better better.
...there is your reason. The G0P NEEDS the economy to remain the same, or get worse.
999 - shiteshiteshite
investment in demand - good good good.
There that should help. Hold your head, lie down and take two aspirins.
Mike
Mike
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Mike
And we have a mind-bogglingly stupid American population. They think American Idol, or NASCAR, or Nicole Kidman is more important than the fact that one in five Americans are having enough trouble getting enough to eat.
They vote against their own interests, for politicians that increase "opportunity" but express contempt for their entire class or group or what-have-you.
They'd rather read the TV Guide than Plato, and they're warmongers. Americans crave constant war, all the time, because they can't get any stimulation from watching the sunset, or kissing their loved ones (if they even DO that anymore now that they appear to have embraced longer and longer work hours and a society addicted to speed), that's for sure.
They value fundamentalist "literalism" that "de facto" ignores everything literally spelled out in the Bible that doesn't worship the god of Mammon; they hate people who suffer...
...basically, unless you live in my area, which is a relatively wealthy and well-educated area, then in most areas of the country your neighbors essentially cannot tell right from wrong because they don't have a historical frame of reference to know what true human values are.
Right now last week, the national debt went above 100% for the first time where the average family owes more than the average family makes every year.
Bottom line, taxing the rich isn't going to save us. As a matter of fact, you would have to re-institute ALL of the Bush tax cuts to even have a hope but even then it doesn't keep up with the runaway spending of Obama and his tax and spend liberal friends.
Taxing the rich gets us $80 B a year. Last month we overspent our revenue intake by like $125 B. Taxing the rich doesn't even cover 1 months worth.
Also, Obama has accomplished in less than 3 years what it took Bush to do in two full terms. Create $4 T in national debt. So can we give Obama the blue ribbon for wasting our money???
Sure seems like it.
Will they again fund the Solyndra type again? Do you see another on of those wonderful guaranteed government loans was awarded for $54-Million last year and they just filed for bankruptcy. There are more to follow I’m sure.
The Religion of Green. I thought all these folks were for separation of church and state? Pope Gore must have convinced them otherwise.
If we didn't DOUBLE our spending since 2001, the Bush tax cuts wouldn't have any effect on the deficit.
You also forgot to mention that the BTC for the wealthy total about $70 billion annually while the BTC for the rest of us total about $320 billion annually.
In other words, your push for the elimination of the BTC is in favor of a pretty big tax hike for everyone.
If the Government actually controlled the unemployment rate, it would never go up.