Right now I am imagining a big, dark, ominous word cloud hanging over Washington, D.C. If I had to guess, the largest words in the word cloud would be "kick the can down the road," followed by, in varying sizes, "threat of default," "political gridlock," "bipartisan bickering," "Tea Party," "ideological," "intransigence," "deficit reduction," "divisive," "cynicism," "dysfunctional," "poisonous" and "toxic."
Well, it is time to clear the air of all the nonsense. Washington needs a good rainstorm to make room for some clearing and compromise. The government debt surged to an all-time high, more than $14 trillion. The jobless rate dropped to 9.1 percent, which equates to 13.9 million Americans still out of work. Approximately 6.3 million people have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. About 8.6 million people who have been forced into part-time work by slack business conditions. There are an additional 2.68 million people who are only marginally attached to a job; they are not counted in the official unemployment rate, but they do need jobs. This brings the real unemployment rate to 16.2 percent. And it is the children who are paying the price. Even short-term increases in poverty or parental unemployment can have negative long-term effects on children. For instance, children whose parents suffer a permanent job loss often have more difficulty progressing in school and can have lower earnings as adults. These effects are likely attributable to the lower resources, higher emotional stress and weaker perceptions of rewards for those who strive for success among children whose parents are poor or suffer joblessness. These statistics are all very depressing and our not what the American collective psyche is used to seeing for ourselves, let alone our children.
That is the depth of pain that we are still dealing with in this country. This is the reality that President Obama will hear about when he takes his bus trip across the country. One in seven Americans now relies on food stamps to stave off hunger, and record demand is made on food banks from people who, up until now, were part of the middle class. President Obama needs to come back to Washington to get things done. He has to lead the country and its citizens out of this quagmire. When Congress and the GOP get back into town, get them working for the good of the country. The American people are simply running out of time and options. There are also a group of 20-somethings with college degrees and mounting college debt, expected to total $1 trillion this year, who can't get jobs. They are the future of America, and we may lose them to jobs oversees if we are not careful. That is just inconceivable that a nation as great as America could let the promise of the American Dream slip through its hands.
It reminds me of the lyrics written by Daniel John O'Donoghue and Mark Anthony Sheehan:
I've got a new job now on the unemployment line,
And we don't know how,
How we got into this mess.
Is this a god's test?
Someone help us 'cause we're doing our best,
Trying to make it work, but these times are hard.
...
Oh, these times are hard,
Yeah, they're making us crazy.
Don't give up on me, Baby.
Or Eminem's lyrics:
I'm not afraid to take a stand.
Everybody, come take my hand.
We'll walk this road together through the storm,
Whatever weather, cold or warm.
Just let' you know that you're not alone.
Holla if you feel that you've been down the same road.
Whatever bipartisan commission is set up to address the economic crisis that we are currently facing in our nation, make sure it is willing to do so with the good of the American people in mind. We can ill afford to stalemate on the sidelines when our proud nation is facing a precipice of deepening financial crisis. So let's make a new word cloud over Washington. The biggest word in the white cloud would be "jobs," "economic recovery" and "debt reduction," followed by "compromise," "balance," "agree," "meet halfway," "civil," "concede," "grant," "unite," "engage," "acknowledge," "give the go-ahead," "shake on," "bury the hatchet," "acquiesce" and "allow."
This is a test to see if our democratic system really works. Can we let go of the political harangue long enough to face together the problems of our times? It is not just we alone who are watching; the whole world is watching. Europe and Asia have been stunned to see America in such a diatribe to get things moving. It is not just the Obama Administration, the Democrats, the Republicans, or the Tea Party that are solely to blame. It is shared by all in Washington right now.
Goodbye to partisan bickering,
Hello to compromise and balance.
Goodbye to rigidity and stagnation,
Hello to moving and resolve to get things done.
Goodbye to being Democrats or Republicans,
Hello to being Americans.