LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Economics 101
Key West
To The Editor:
Every public poll, politician and political party asserts improving the economy and creating jobs is Job One. Why then aren’t we doing those things economists agree would produce the desired results and a rising economic tide that would lift all boats? Part of the answer is one political party only wants to lift yachts and the other only wants to lift row boats.
When trying to pull an economy out of a “great recession,” as we are, it’s important to stimulate growth, and the obvious way to do that is by public and private investments in the future, especially when interest rates are low.
For example, everyone agrees in theory that investing in infrastructure is urgently needed. Bridges are falling, highways are crumbling, airports are aging, US trains are old and awful and even our technology and communications are falling behind. This type of investment creates a beneficial cycle where more people have good jobs, higher wages, more confidence, and increasing disposable income — which triggers more demand, consumption, growth and jobs.
What goes around comes around. It also means government revenues increase, other things being equal, which can lower debt and deficits, while social costs (like unemployment insurance, welfare, food stamps) decrease, helping even more.
Congress can react to these economic imperatives in three ways: Do things that are harmful to the economy (like shutting down the government); do nothing or produce generally accepted bipartisan solutions.
So far, Republicans have offered small-government, anti-regulatory, pro-petroleum suggestions like: Reducing taxes for the most wealthy; subsidizing such energy interests as Keystone XL pipeline, fracking & off-shore drilling; opening national forests to commercial interests and un-doing health insurance reform (the Affordable Care Act).
Democrats are pushing: infrastructure; bipartisan immigration reform (which the CBO says would increase growth 3.3% over the next decade); increasing the minimum wage; tax reform; education investments and energy independence.
Americans need rational, fact based economic solutions, as opposed to politics and disproven economic ideology. And they need it now.
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]
Pragmatism. Common sense. Common good. Fact based. These are all foreign concepts to the right, although they will deny it til the cows come home. The cancer of corporate, in the forms of Big Oi, Big Finance and all the other “Bigs” has spread to many on the left, as well. Until we overturn the Supreme’s ruling that money is speech and corporations are people, lobbyists will continue to make the rules and our “representatives” in DC will do the bidding of their masters. Get the money out and, we the people, will get our country back. Period.