They ruined our economy just to make a few people rich
So I guess we’re back to the old slogan, "It’s the economy, stupid!" used by Bill Clinton in his first run for the presidency. It may not work as well for Hillary though, as Barack Obama seems to be on his way to the nomination. Unless, of course, the rich white guys in the back rooms decide to put all their "super" delegates toward Clinton. They could risk alienating the base of their own party if they do that, however. And of course, she could still pull it out on her own. But Obama pulled off quite a "Super Surprise" on Super Tuesday, and as I write this he has just pulled off a "Sleepy Saturday" sweep of Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska. Either way, it’ll be an historic nomination and, all indications point to that translating into an historic presidency of either a black man or a woman in the oval office.
Meanwhile, everyone thought the Iraq war would be the big issue in the coming election, but the economy has come up front and center, as it teeters on the edge of recession, with many even fearing the "d" word, depression. And that’s pretty bad. How did we get here?
It didn’t happen overnight, but the "decider" certainly accelerated things, with the help of a fat, lazy congress and a sleepy, lap dog press. Still, it’s been decades of irresponsible policies that have caused the long slide of our once-mighty economy into the abyss. Sure, the lack of regulation of the banking industry exasperated things, leading to the subprime crisis. But our decades-long obsession with oil and the terrible policies surrounding it probably has even more to do with the underpinnings of our economy starting to crumble.
The oil industry, with its powerful lobbyists and its near-absolute control of Congress, has been coddled, subsidized and spoiled for so long, it’s just business as usual on Capitol Hill. We could even look as far back as the 1950's and the atomic energy subsidies, if we’re looking for the root causes of our dilemma. Solar power was just being born around that time as well, and if we had put the billions upon billions of dollars of subsidies that went to nuclear into solar instead, we could have a whole different ballgame right now. I’ve always felt such a policy would have resulted in an energy-independent America as early as the 70's or 80's. We could have had solar-powered homes, cars and businesses across the country by then.
Sure, big industry would still have had to use fossil fuels, with the huge amounts of energy they require, but we certainly would have been in much better shape. Even now, the best stimulus for the economy is not to give a few bucks to taxpayers who will spend it in one month, but to create a new "New Deal" program that will begin to build the alternative-energy infrastructure which is so badly needed. We should also include the repair of our existing infrastructures in that program as well. Imagine the economic boost we’d get by putting people to work in such a program, and the confidence it would inspire in our nation, replacing the present "we’re screwed" attitude with the good ol’ "can do" American spirit once again!
Unfortunately, John Edwards seemed to be the only candidate talking seriously about such a back-to-work program, and he has dropped out. (I also loved his tough talk about wresting control of the country back from the lobbyists and big corporations, which I think is essential.) Of course, other candidates are talking about alternative fuels, etc., but just tinkering with it isn’t going to be enough.
Another idea you don't hear much about that might actually do the economy some real good, as well as repair our ailing roads, bridges, railways, dams, sewer systems and electrical grid, is a bipartisan bill introduced last August by Senators Dodd and Hagel. It would create a national bank whose purpose is to gather funds to rebuild the nation's unsafe infrastructure. The bank would promote and finance large public works initiatives with the potential of creating thousands of jobs and investing in our country's future. With increasing unemployment and the country's current economic downturn, the bank could be part of a successful recovery plan. A companion bill was introduced in the House, but both bills have been virtually ignored by the media. Bob Herbert did write this article in the New York Times in January about it, however.
Yes, "it’s the economy, stupid" once again. Will our new president and congress have the cojones to take the drastic steps needed to really turn our country around? Or will we continue our "business as usual" slide into global irrelevance? One thing I know for sure: we need to help prod our representatives in the right direction.
Meanwhile, everyone thought the Iraq war would be the big issue in the coming election, but the economy has come up front and center, as it teeters on the edge of recession, with many even fearing the "d" word, depression. And that’s pretty bad. How did we get here?
It didn’t happen overnight, but the "decider" certainly accelerated things, with the help of a fat, lazy congress and a sleepy, lap dog press. Still, it’s been decades of irresponsible policies that have caused the long slide of our once-mighty economy into the abyss. Sure, the lack of regulation of the banking industry exasperated things, leading to the subprime crisis. But our decades-long obsession with oil and the terrible policies surrounding it probably has even more to do with the underpinnings of our economy starting to crumble.
The oil industry, with its powerful lobbyists and its near-absolute control of Congress, has been coddled, subsidized and spoiled for so long, it’s just business as usual on Capitol Hill. We could even look as far back as the 1950's and the atomic energy subsidies, if we’re looking for the root causes of our dilemma. Solar power was just being born around that time as well, and if we had put the billions upon billions of dollars of subsidies that went to nuclear into solar instead, we could have a whole different ballgame right now. I’ve always felt such a policy would have resulted in an energy-independent America as early as the 70's or 80's. We could have had solar-powered homes, cars and businesses across the country by then.
Sure, big industry would still have had to use fossil fuels, with the huge amounts of energy they require, but we certainly would have been in much better shape. Even now, the best stimulus for the economy is not to give a few bucks to taxpayers who will spend it in one month, but to create a new "New Deal" program that will begin to build the alternative-energy infrastructure which is so badly needed. We should also include the repair of our existing infrastructures in that program as well. Imagine the economic boost we’d get by putting people to work in such a program, and the confidence it would inspire in our nation, replacing the present "we’re screwed" attitude with the good ol’ "can do" American spirit once again!
Unfortunately, John Edwards seemed to be the only candidate talking seriously about such a back-to-work program, and he has dropped out. (I also loved his tough talk about wresting control of the country back from the lobbyists and big corporations, which I think is essential.) Of course, other candidates are talking about alternative fuels, etc., but just tinkering with it isn’t going to be enough.
Another idea you don't hear much about that might actually do the economy some real good, as well as repair our ailing roads, bridges, railways, dams, sewer systems and electrical grid, is a bipartisan bill introduced last August by Senators Dodd and Hagel. It would create a national bank whose purpose is to gather funds to rebuild the nation's unsafe infrastructure. The bank would promote and finance large public works initiatives with the potential of creating thousands of jobs and investing in our country's future. With increasing unemployment and the country's current economic downturn, the bank could be part of a successful recovery plan. A companion bill was introduced in the House, but both bills have been virtually ignored by the media. Bob Herbert did write this article in the New York Times in January about it, however.
Yes, "it’s the economy, stupid" once again. Will our new president and congress have the cojones to take the drastic steps needed to really turn our country around? Or will we continue our "business as usual" slide into global irrelevance? One thing I know for sure: we need to help prod our representatives in the right direction.
Labels: economy, infrastructure, recession, solar, subprime
posted by James Israel @ 5:11 PM
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