07.16.08
The economy is broken. Let’s fix it.
The economy is a mess and it seems not much is being done about it. The price of oil is 3 times what it was when President Bush took office. We have a global financial crisis that keeps getting worse, and the stock market and value of the dollar have collapsed.
During the Clinton Administration, 22 million jobs were added to the U.S. economy. During the Bush Administration, 5 million were added. There was a $160 billion federal budget surplus at the end of the Clinton Administration. There will be a $500 billion deficit at the end of the Bush Administration.
As a consequence of this sea of red ink, the national debt has doubled. Fully 75% of the $9 trillion national debt was created under the watch of 3 presidents- Reagan and the two Bushes. Each person in America now owes over $30,000 of the national debt, much of it to the sovereign wealth funds of foreign countries. Foreigners are buying up U.S. assets at flea market prices.
One job after another is being outsourced, and entire industries are being relocated to countries with cheap labor. Workers here in the U.S. are pressured to accept reduced wages and benefits, and this often includes basic necessities such as sick leave and health care coverage. Average wages and salaries have barely increased over the last 8 years, while the costs of food, energy, housing, and health care have skyrocketed. Our lower standard of living has undermined the fundamental strength of the economy.
In the midst of this crisis, President Bush presented a record increase in defense spending as part of a $3 trillion budget that would reduce the growth of Medicare and Medicaid and eliminate an array of domestic programs. At a time when we need to be creating jobs and investing in infrastructure, the President called for $1 trillion in tax cuts to people making over $450,000 per year. At a time when American families are struggling here at home, the President asked for nearly $1 trillion to continue the occupation of Iraq.
Military expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with huge tax cuts for the wealthy, caused massive budget deficits. Not so well known is the fact that ballooning federal budget deficits also contributed to the collapse of the dollar, and that in turn led to higher import prices, especially for oil and commodities. The Iraq war has also made the supply of oil from the Middle East much less reliable, and oil companies have passed along the associated “risk premium” to consumers in the price of gas.
So if you’re wondering why gas is so expensive, you can blame it on a combination of runaway government spending, record federal budget deficits, fiscal mismanagement, and the war.
What’s the solution? We need to create and support sustainable local industries that provide an alternative to foreign oil: wind and solar energy; biofuels that use local available resources such as wood waste, straw, and manure; energy conservation; and recycling of everything from paper, plastics, and metal to road and construction materials. Anything that helps to boost local employment, wages, and/or benefits will be recirculated back into the local economy and create even more jobs.
Employers should also be required to offer reasonable health care coverage to all employees, with costs shared by employer and employee. Widespread coverage would reduce premiums and medical costs and make our state more competitive in the global economy. Family wages and benefits and good working conditions attract high quality workers and businesses to our state, and provide incentives for higher education and training.
