Election Issues Today

The GOP failed to support the President’s economic stimulus package.

Because the GOP consistently FAILS to support the interests of the MAJORITY of American voters, they will ALWAYS be the minority party.

Because the GOP has AGAIN put party loyalty and party line ahead of basic human needs, the GOP will again lose seats in Congress in 2010.

President Obama may have wanted to enjoy some semblance of bipartisanship, but there never was much chance that his Party would be able to bring many of the GOP stalwarts over to the other side of the aisle…not even to vote for a package that represents our “best” chance, yes, perhaps our ONLY chance to bring about economic recovery during the next two years.

And–two years from now, all those GOP Congressmen who voted against the stimulus package will have to answer to their constituents.  Why do the Republican members of Congress shoot themselves in the foot?  Over and Over again.

Did they not notice the election results?  They LOST!   American voters REJECTED their philosophies and did so overwhelmingly!

Well, thankfully, the party in power doesn’t have to depend upon bipartisanship to GET THINGS DONE.

Not everything in the stimulus package is perfect; not everything will work as touted; not everyone who wants a job will get one; not everyone will get a tax break the next two years;

BUT…AND THIS IS IMPORTANT:  the MAJORITY will.

I swear, there is so much money proposed to pump into this economy, one has to wonder what it buys us.

Time.

Sure there will be a few million jobs that can be attributed to direct government action, but most of these jobs are temporary, totally dependent upon a revived economy to continue the demand for workers.  

The goal must be to “jump start” the production of goods to meet the demand of the new construction projects and other parts of the industrial base.   Jobs and salaries will in turn fuel the demand for commercial goods.  We have to remember that demand drives supply. 

These “cycles” of boom and bust have been with us for a long time.  Granted, this one is worse than most, and affects the entire developed World, but such cycles are normal corrections to economic systems that depend upon the fluctuations of supply and demand, inflation and recession.  

A small rate of inflation is considered necessary in a capitalist economy, and after a while, there must be a correction.  This recession is proving to be extra extreme because of poor management decisions fueled by greed.  Bankers and financiers have been exposed as corrupt egotists who have no qualms about taking investors money and a generous salary for themselves, with extravagent benefits, while carelessly disregardly their fiscal responsibilities toward their investors and depositors. Disgustly display of greed.

Meanwhile the amount of money is staggering.  It is impossible to comprehend. 

Merely creating three million jobs over the next two years will not provide “stimulus” to the nation’s economy if it fails to stimulate DEMAND.

DEMAND is what drives the capitalist economy: Demand and Supply, in that order.  Demand is what must come first, not Supply.

So any economic stimulus plan must ensure that the small “production” businesses in the country, whether a “curb and sidewalk” concrete contractor or  roofer, or a painter, or a “tape and texture” guy, have WORK to do.  Now, I’m not talking about retail business here, nor real estate agents, insurance agents or stock brokers.

Small “production” businesses can quickly gear up and accept new owork, hire new employees, even using “temp” agencies, and generate PAYROLLS.   A Payroll is what generates demand for goods, which in term will stimulate the large manufacturing corporations to produce the commercial products that consumers with paychecks will Demand.

Overall, our economy has many thousands of people employed in the “non-producing” jobs that don’t CREATE anything and are themselves dependent upon Demand before they can receive a paycheck. Besides retail, real estate agents, insurance agents, and stock brokers that I mentioned above, I also included in these “non-producing” jobs social workers, school teachers, and other governmental positions that depend upon tax revenues to pay them.

Now, I see a proposal being floated in Congress to provide a tax rebate this year, 2009, in the amount of $500 for a single taxpayer and $1000 for a couple.   As welcome as this would be for individual checking accounts, it will NOT stimulate the economy.  I, for one, would rather see that money put toward getting people to WORK.

Obama must quickly set priorities for his first 100 days in office.

More so than in perhaps any previous presidential election, this President-elect must immediately set priorities. The economy is in such shambles that some of the Obama campaign promises will have to wait.

Not only can he not TACKLE all of the nation’s woes at once, there simply are not enough resources to go around. And there is no “sugar daddy” available to bail out the U.S. Government.
Just prior to election day, Senator Obama was asked to rank his priorities. He responded with this: (1) an economic recovery package to include middle-class tax relief; (2) energy; (3) health care; (4) tax restructuring; and (5) education.

I believe that post-election realities may force changes to his priorities. First of all, energy problems call for a long-term fix. We already know some of the solutions, but the immediate problems of $4 and $5 dollars for a gallon of gasoline has eased somewhat, at least into the middle of next year.
Health care also calls for a long-term fix; here there is simply no quick fix. Health care reform requires considerable input and cooperation of the Congress. The AARP’s Divided We Fail campaign has hundreds of Congressmen on board. They need to enact substantive measures in the next year. Expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program is just a beginning.

Tax restructuring will probably be put off until mid-term or later, but with at least some tax relief enacted this year; restructuring the tax system itself will take some time.

I fail to see the urgency in assisting education unless it is directed toward vocational and technical training that could actually qualify high school graduates to hold a real job. I think more vocational and technical training should take place in high school, and that corporate America really has to get onboard with funding the technical and vo-tech schools and community colleges.  Helping families meet expenses while attending school would be a good start; so would a guaranteed job upon graduation.

The economy is continuing a downward spiral due to job layoffs. Jobs are evaporating because of sagging sales. Few of us have discretionary income left over; those who do are hoarding against harder times that are predicted to come in the next year. The country needs jobs. Jobs generate other jobs.

One area that the new President could infuse some money is the country’s infrastructure; highways, bridges, public buildings, national parks, and so on. The money that will be proposed as “rebates” for the taxpayers could better be spent on construction projects that put people to work and in turn generate more jobs and improve sales of goods and services that keep the economy growing. The auto manufacturing corporations are also responsible for a couple of million jobs in the extended parts and manufacturing industries. The new President needs to give a boost up to the auto industry too.