Great Recession

Economic Policies Under Review As Advisers Leave Obama Administration!

Ronald 1 Comment

It seems likely that major economic policy changes are coming soon, partially as a result of the upcoming midterm elections, and partially over the inability so far for the Obama Administration to deal with the constant unemployment numbers, now 9.6 percent, and possibly going up to over 10 percent! 🙁

Yesterday, economic experts said the Great Recession is over, and that it ended in June 2009, after 18 months, starting in December 2007! This is the longest recession since World War II, with the 1973-75 and 1982-83 recessions officially lasting 16 months!

But it is very hard to believe that the recession is over, with so little job growth and the horrible housing market, so it is time to change people and policy!

Nevada, Michigan and California have between 12-14 percent unemployment, and Florida is close to 12 percent, and this is what is killing the Obama popularity in the public opinion polls!

So Larry Summers is leaving, joining earlier departures of Peter Orszag and Christina Romer. This means only Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner remains from the original economic team, and one would not be surprised if he left sooner, rather than later!

It is clear that unless the economy starts to turn around in 2011, no matter whether the Democrats retain or lose Congressional control, Barack Obama will be in deep trouble for re-election in 2012! The forecast is not promising! 🙁

Time For Obama Voters Of 2008 To Recognize Need To Vote In 2010!

Ronald 1 Comment

Every indication is that opponents of Barack Obama, including Republicans and conservatives and Tea Party Movement activists, and many independents, are enthused and motivated to vote, in order to paralyze the President’s agenda, and also to attempt a repeal of much of what he has been able to accomplish domestically, despite the Great Recession we are experiencing! 🙁

The lack of motivation, and the high level of apathy among Democrats and progressives, is threatening any possibility of further achievements in the next two years, including dealing with the economic suffering of millions of Americans! 🙁

Many are unhappy that the Great Recession is still very serious, and many are disillusioned that much of what they hoped would happen, has not occurred!

Many wanted a stronger health care law, and a more severe control of Wall Street! Many wanted to see quicker action on gay rights and many other social issues! Many wanted Barack Obama to be much more to the left than he has been!

BUT, if these Democrats and progressives “sit on their hands” and refuse to give financial support and vote for the party in the midterm elections, the result will be a greater blow to what these activists want!

This is not an ideal world, and while many on the left might wish Obama had done more of his agenda, they need to understand that everything that has been accomplished could be negated if the right wing wins the election, leading to total stalemate and gridlock between a potential GOP Congress and a Democratic President over the next two years! 🙁

What the author has just asserted was also echoed by Vice President Joe Biden last evening in an interview on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC!

Alarming Rise In Poverty: Back To The 1960s Level! :(

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An Associated Press investigation demonstrates that the Great Recession, that America is suffering through since its beginning in December 2007, has led to a growing level of poverty unseen since the mid 1960s, which at that time led to the Great Society War On Poverty under President Lyndon B. Johnson! 🙁

This is not an issue of the chronically poor lower class that has always been a problem for America! It is the issue of millions of people, once considered middle class, who have, through loss of employment and loss of homes, become the “new poor” in America! 🙁

The statistics on poverty will be released soon, and might add to the growing burden of the Obama Administration in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections!

The poverty rate has been about 13.2 percent, but is expected to rise to near 15 percent, meaning one out of every seven Americans will be perceived as being in poverty, a total of about 45 million people, of all races, nationalities, and geographic sections of the nation! 🙁

It is forecast that the increase in poverty in one year will be the greatest since records were first tallied in 1959!

The working age population 18-64 is expected to see a rise from 11.7 to 12.4 percent, the highest since 1965 when the War on Poverty began under Johnson!

Tragically, the child poverty rate will be over 20 percent, meaning one out of every five children under 18 will be in poverty, not a good thing for the emotional and physical health of younger people, who are poor without any ability to change the situation! 🙁

The question will be how a GOP Congress would deal with the rising poverty rate, since their basic viewpoint is that people tend to be poor because they fail to try to improve themselves through education and job training because of “handouts” given to them by Democratic Congresses and Presidents! 🙁

Once the Republicans gain control, if they do, of Congress, they will have the burden and responsibility to decide how to handle the highest poverty rate, and the worst economic conditions since the 1930s, and will no longer have the option of just opposing!

So ironically, as some project, if the Republicans gain control and President Obama fights them on the need to help the poor and the unemployed, their newly gained majority could lead to a big turnover for the Democrats in 2012 and a re-election victory for the President!

In other words, a “wave” against the Democrats now could lead to a “wave” against the Republicans two years from now, as the American people express their impatience and anger by the chant of “throw the rascals out!”

The Total Hypocrisy Of John Boehner, The Would Be Speaker Of The House! :(

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House of Representatives Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio is confidently planning to be the next GOP Speaker of the House, even though if anyone in his congressional district or in the country looks at his total hypocrisy, they would vote to remove him from Congress altogether! 🙁

This is a man who has promoted total obstruction and lack of concern for what this Great Recession has done to millions of Americans! 🙁

Boehner has also constantly lied and misled us in an evil way, trying to pin the blame for the Great Recession solely on the Democrats, as if the GOP did not control the White House and Congress for the first six years of this century! 🙁

He would have everyone believe that the so called “Bailout” that most Republicans voted for in September 2008 was solely a plot of the Democrats to harm the American people!

The fact is that IF that “Bailout” promoted by President George W. Bush, Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, and other Republicans and many Democrats had NOT been done, we would be today in total GREAT DEPRESSION NUMBER TWO! 🙁

And, of course, Boehner would not want us to remember that he was weeping on the floor of the House of Representatives on September 29, 2008, begging his party members to do what was right for the nation’s economic survival! 🙁

So the Republican Party is lying through its teeth, and John Boehner is a total hypocrite, who deserves to be denied the Speakership of the House if his party somehow wins control, and rightfully, should be defeated for reelection by his district as not concerned about their interests!

An Important Step Long Overdue! Massive Public Works Programs Promoted To Accomplish Economic Revival!

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President Obama, belatedly, is coming out for a massive investment in public works projects, to expand and renovate the infrastructure of the United States!

He will announce on Wednesday the promotion of $50 billion investment on long term construction projects on roads, rail lines, and airport runways!

The projects would be over six years, with the goal being 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of railways, and 150 miles of airport runways. The investment would be over six years, with more funding as the years went by!

The problem is to gain Congressional backing, which means, unfortunately, it is unlikely any action will be taken this year, and should the Republicans win control of Congress, maybe they will refuse to support such legislation at all!

So the future of public works is debatable, just at a time when it is so urgent! 🙁

The New Deal concept of Franklin D. Roosevelt to promote public works improvement programs is essential for a long term revival from the Great Recession!

Are Young People And College Students Abandoning Democrats?

Ronald 1 Comment

A new poll indicates that young people and college students, who tended to move in the direction of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008, may be moving away from loyalty this year!

This is actually somewhat understandable, as the job market and the economic future is very gloomy, and Obama and the Democrats have not been able to turn the tide in 19 months in office!

But at the same time, it is more a lack of knowledge of history and current events that might be leading young people and college students to move away, as if they look at what brought about this Great Recession, and realized that the opposition Republican Party refused to cooperate with Obama to promote economic recovery, preferring to obstruct and promote his “Waterloo’, then they would not be considering voting Republican!

Also, since it seems so many young people and college students are socially liberal in nature, any study of the two political party platforms, and the actions and utterances of Republicans, would make it clear that they are NOT socially liberal, in fact far from it!

It is probably more likely that young people and college students might be moving toward being Independents, not registering with either party, and leaving their options open!

However, of course, one of the shortcomings of being registered Independent in almost all states is that a voter halves his or her voting power, as such voters may not participate in primaries!

It seems likely, that over time, many of these young people and college students may finally realize that, based on social issues, and the efforts and intention of Barack Obama and the Democrats to revive the economy despite GOP obstructionism, that it makes sense NOT to vote Republican and award their negativism, and instead support this President who has their best interests at heart!

America At The End Of World War II And Today–65 Years Later!

Ronald 3 Comments

World War II ended on this day, September 2, 1945–65 years ago!

America was at its peak of power and on its way to its greatest prosperity, after having suffered through the Great Depression!

Now, America is in the midst of the Great Recession, the greatest economic collapse since the 1930s, and it is challenged by other nations, and has participated in wars it has not been able to win!

The country is bitterly divided as to what its role in the world should be, and how it should deal with its numerous domestic problems!

There is no sense of unity or purpose, and the future is cloudy as to the power, role, and significance of the United States!

This is a time to reflect on the events of 65 years ago, and for Americans to consider how to continue to promote a future America with a sense of pride and hope, the prevalent mood back in 1945!

It is time to stop fighting and to unite behind the concept of joint goals, no matter what political persuasion, what ethnicity, what race, what religion, what part of the nation one lives in!

We all have a responsibility to leave this country better that what it is today for our children and grandchildren!

Two Economists Agree: Obama Prevented A Depression!

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In the heated political climate that now exists in Washington, DC, the truth often is lost, and propaganda wins out, but in late July, a report by two economists proved something very significant: that the actions of President Obama in the past year really made a difference, and prevented a depression and deflation!

According to these two esteemed economists, one connected to Princeton University and the Federal Reserve, and the other to Moody’s, the gross domestic product would be 6.5 percent lower; there would be 8.5 million fewer jobs on top of the 8 million loss that has occurred; and the economy would be experiencing deflation, something unheard of since the times of Herbert Hoover!

The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) begun by George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama, and the economic stimulus program promoted by Obama made a REAL difference, and it is time that this be understood and accepted, and also applauded!

But in the midst of the election campaign for Congress and the governorships this fall, truth is likely to be a victim, as impatient people want immediate resolution of the economic crisis! What they fail to understand is that IF the Republican party had been in power and refused to do everything that Obama proposed, we would be in far worse shape!

The Republicans have not come up with any alternative, but if they win control of Congress, the American people will discover that there are no magic potions, and they will soon realize that they have made a mistake in switching party control to the GOP! 🙁

America’s Crisis With Institutions And Centers Of Authority: The Reality Of Class Conflict!

Ronald 2 Comments

It is becoming increasingly evident that America is facing a crisis over institutions and authority!

The average American is disillusioned and angry with all major institutions and centers of authority, the feeling that the interests and viewpoints of the average American are being ignored, and that they are victims of the corruption and malfeasance that exists in all of these institutions and centers of authority!

The institutions are big business corporations, banking and finance, auto companies, insurance companies, but also organized religion, the news media, labor unions, major league sports, the most prestigious universities, and most disconcerting of all–our own local, state and national governments! 🙁

All of these institutions and centers of authority have witnessed corruption and scandals, and many have them have shocked average Americans who feel a need to believe that our major institutions work! But, along with corruption and scandals, we have also witnessed incompetence and a level of arrogance that has totally alienated millions of Americans, who feel as if they have no anchor to latch onto, no institution that can assure them of stability and reliability! 🙁

A lot of this feeling is due to the horrific economic situation that millions of Americans have suffered through in the past two and a half years as the economy has gone through the biggest meltdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s!

But the difference is that the average American has been accustomed to more materialism and prosperity prior to the Great Recession, than was true before the Great Depression!

Having become accustomed to more, the loss of economic status now is far worse psychologically and in real life situations than it was in the 1930s! This is a loss of economic status that affects not just those who are racial minorities (although they are comparatively suffering to a greater extent based on statistics), but also the white majority which also sees minority advancement and immigration as major threats to their own status, which has been rapidly declining as well! 🙁

So while there are racial tensions, and accusations back and forth this week between the Tea Party Movement and the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People, the real crisis is not race itself, but rather CLASS! The middle class is being rapidly destroyed, the poor are worse off than ever, and the upper class is becoming more stratified and narrowly based!

The dangers of violence and radical action, while certainly always possible between racial, ethnic and nationality groups, is much greater on the issue of class! Basically, the “American Dream” concept is being destroyed, although many would say it has always been a myth, that anyone can go from “rags to riches”!

This disillusionment and tension in America explains why millions have no faith in their national government under President Barack Obama, or even in the state and local governments!

This complicates the issue of how to deal with the economic crisis we face, if citizens complain about the power of corrupt economic interests, but also remain angry at government attempting to resolve the issue!

The danger is that the lack of faith in government could lead to anarchy in America, which is NOT acceptable as a solution! So the crisis of confidence in America’s future, and how to deal with it and resolve it, is the major crisis the country faces as we move into the campaign season for the midterm elections of 2010! 🙁

1935 And 2010: Big Business Declares “War” On The American President! :(

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In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was starting the third year of the New Deal programs to tackle the Great Depression. His party, the Democrats, had gained a resounding mandate in the midterm elections, winning 9 seats in the House of Representatives and 9 seats in the Senate, the best performance ever for a sitting President in the first midterm election after being elected!

1935 also saw a major attack by big business corporations, declaring “war” on the New Deal as socialistic, and dangerous to American freedoms and liberty. They formed the American Liberty League and allied with right wing groups to attempt to stop the New Deal in its tracks! The nerve of the President to promote regulation and want to tax wealthy people was their rallying cry!

Now we are in the year 2010, and big business is early in beginning its attack on President Obama on the same grounds and using the same propaganda! The fact that financial regulation has just passed the Senate infuriates big business and conservative interests, which have now been responsible for having created the economic conditions that caused the Great Depression and the Great Recession! 🙁

Now the Supreme Court has made it easier for big business to get involved in political action designed to undermine the Obama Administration, and these interests are, therefore, not waiting until past the midterm elections, as they want to influence those results, and insure that nothing like 1934 occurs!

Big Business has made profits even in these difficult times, but refuses to spend to hire people and promote the economy, and it makes one wonder if the purpose is to insure that economic conditions are so bad four months from now as a method to insure the failure of the Obama agenda in the next two years!

Just as FDR faced an antagonistic Supreme Court in the 1930s, Obama has a Court determined to promote big business now during his time in office. The common themes of FDR’s time and Obama’s time are a reality, but the battle for Obama to maintain enough support to gain passage of the rest of his agenda goes on! 🙁