The story dominating the news today is the fiscal cliff. Unless there is a grand bargain between Republicans, who tried to hold up the government over the debt ceiling, and an administration trying to put the economy back on track, we fall off. Watching this political theater, with a super committee that failed to make the grand bargain, and the looming disaster intended to force a bargain, would be entertaining, if it wasn’t proof that this Congress is hopeless.
Republicans believe that ending Bush’s income tax cuts on millionaires will somehow keep these rich guys from hiring more workers. Bunk. Workers get jobs when there is more demand for products and services.
We’ve got a jobs problem not a debt problem. We’ve got an infrastructure problem. Trains derailing. Bridges collapsing. Pipelines leaking. We can put people to work, not by giving rich guys tax breaks, but by giving governments funds to rebuild roads, bridges, and rail lines. We can convert spending for unneeded weapons into rebuilding the nation’s structures, school systems, and public services.
We need to learn again how to talk about people in this economy. Folks are rich. They are poor. Some are in the middle. The 99 percent are not middle class. Everybody except the upper class has not been getting ahead for a long time.
In the Great Recession millions have fallen off this scale. Losing jobs, losing homes, and losing hope in a system that failed them.
We hear the cruel suggestion that taking away earned Social Security payments and Medicare benefits from the elderly is the way to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Getting the country back to work and out of debt will take sacrifice. Shared sacrifice — from all. Let’s get on with the job and cut out the silly theater in Congress.
Gordon Prickett
Aitkin
Comments (30)
Add commentUh, higher employment creates higher demand...
...but higher production creates higher employment. You see the problem with your demand side theology? You can't BUY something if it's not THERE.
There must have been
a Liberal Kool Aid party somewhere this weekend in Aitkin County.
Obama wants us bankrupt and the Libs are whining.
Anybody Notice
There are only 2 comments under this posting but the comments section shows there are three. Where's the third comment. Did I get another speeding ticket from the BDD cyber police or did the police chief get a new set of (filtered word) and figured he would mess with me again. It won't be as simple as a letter of reprimand if this (filtered word) keeps up. It won't be a very nice Christmas present for your family if you lose your job. I could understand the first pull but my "Libs Cry Foul-Eyolf" post had nothing wrong with it.
Boo!!! Hooo!!!
Boo!!! Hooo!!!
Mr.Gordon
You will understand the whole fiscal clff better if you look at the total picture including Pres. Obama and the Democrats
part in it.
Where did all that stimulus go.? It was to be for highways and bridges and look up where it went. First look up
bankrupt green companies.
Look up CA and where raising taxes is taking them.
Raising taxes on Obama's rich people will only be spent
on about 8 days of federal spending. It's not going to do anythng for the debt.
my gosh fella, wake up, look around and smell the debt.
Demand creates jobs. The
Demand creates jobs. The so-called 'job creators' are sitting on trillions of dollars but without the demand created by the working class they aren't creating jobs.
Put money into the hands of workers through much needed infrastructure investment and they will create the demand that creates the jobs.
Why is that so difficult for the GOP to understand?
A need creates demand
You are paying union wages for non-union work.
Make it competitive by getting rid of the Davis-Bacon Act.
Then taxpayers wouldn't be paying more than the job is worth.
Also, the stimulus was meant for such jobs and where did it go? If you have looked back at Obama's career in Illinois poltics, you will find that his top two priorities are:redistrbutng the wealth and empowering the unions.
What working class?
Obama has pretty effectively destroyed it during his four years in office. Unemployment is so protracted that millions of people have simply "disappeared from the statistics". But don't worry, China is planning to buy up all the companies we've pumped billions into. But don't worry, some of them were already bankrupt.
fishhead
What is your definition of "working class"?
"Trains derailing.'
"Trains derailing.' Really? When and where? I didn't see or hear anything about a derailment. I'll bet it was in California or some other foreign country.
"What working class?" "Obama
"What working class?"
"Obama has pretty effectively destroyed it during his four years in office."
It seems that I remember the jr. bush Great Recession started in 2008! Employment has slowly been increasing since. Perhaps without the republicon obstructionism, we would be at or near full employment!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-A09a_gHJc
"Trains derailing.' Really?
"Trains derailing.' Really? When and where? I didn't see or hear anything about a derailment. I'll bet it was in California or some other foreign country."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/30/us-usa-train-derailment-idUSBR...
Thanks for the reminder, scary.
Infrastructure projects and other New Deal/WPA type repairs have proven effective in our past history.
Obviously you haven't a clue, Scary...
Those numbers don't count the "discouraged workers". And those discouraged workers now exceed one million people who have given up on finding a job.
DISCOURAGED WORKERS,
DISCOURAGED WORKERS, workers who have given up on finding a job have been excluded from the unemployment numbers for YEARS AND YEARS!!! I know, I know...the first thing the republican'ts will say is that DISCOURAGED WORKERS not being counted is a NEW phenomenon, thought up by President Obama and Governor Dayton, with help from Senator Franken!!! No, it's been that way for many, many years. It was that way even when Ronald Reagan was president!!! You COULD Google it...there's LOTS of info on DISCOURAGED WORKERS, and you republican'ts could probably find a grown-up to read it to you!!!!!!!
The difference being, Scary,...
...we've never had such a slow recovery during the last 70 or so years, and hence, there's never been such a pile up of "discouraged workers". Catch a clue, Scary, the job market stinks and it's gotten worse since Obama's election with all the layoffs that were put on the backburner. Only a person who isn't looking for a better job would think everything was hunk dory. If you think you can wallpaper over this mess with a chart, you're wrong. People know what they are experiencing.
Discouraged Workers
You are missing the point Scary. Discouraged workers may have been excluded from unemployment for many years, but the point is their numbers have never been higher. If every unemployed worker gave up looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 0%. I hardly think that would be cause to celebrate. The number of people on government assistance (food stamps, disability benefits, medicaid, unemployment benefits, etc, etc, etc) keeps rising, but we are told things are "getting better" because the unemployment rate has decreased. The best numbers to look at would would be the number of people in the workforce vs. those receiving government payments. Those numbers aren't so pretty.
today is what counts
the percentage of eligible workers has been dropping steadily for a few years. How can fewer workers support more and more every day? It doesn't matter when it started, it is here, it is now, today.
shovel ready projects
The stimulus was meant for infrastructure projects, you know,
shovel ready, it went to not so shovel ready bankrupt grreeeeennn
Obama voting, donating, friends.
Look up where the stimulus money went, where are the bridges, roads money? Some of it went overseas and then went bankrupt.
Not so smart.
The difference being
"The difference being, Scary,...
...we've never had such a slow recovery during the last 70 or so years, and hence, there's never been such a pile up of "discouraged workers".
You are EXACTLY RIGHT!!!!
The jr. bush Great Recession is the SECOND WORST economic times in our history!
The VERY WORST was the Great Depression.
It took more than a decade to recover from the VERY WORST economic times in our history, and will take YEARS to fully recover from the SECOND WORST economic times in our history!
Why is that so hard to understand?!?!?!
Blinders...scary....blinders.
Nice try, though, attempting to educate them.
Why is that so hard to understand?!?!?!
As you and your ilk march obediently behind your master tooting his flute to the abyss.................
OK then,
OK then, tell us how long this recovery SHOULD take.
A couple days?
A week???
A month???
You tell us!!!
Fair and Balanced
What exactly do you disagree with?
I said "The jr. bush Great Recession is the SECOND WORST economic times in our history!" History says that's accurate. Do you disagree with history?
I said "The VERY WORST was the Great Depression." History says that's accurate. Do you disagree with history?
I said "It took more than a decade to recover from the VERY WORST economic times in our history." History says that's accurate. Do you disagree with history?
I said "and will take YEARS to fully recover from the SECOND WORST economic times in our history!" Wouldn't common sense tell you that's true?
Again, why is that so hard to understand?!?!?!
Purposed
" We will NEVER recover by doing the same stupid stuff."
You mean like the tax cut giveaways to the wealthy that ended up in their secret Cayman Islands accounts?
Scary
All of your increased taxes on "The Rich" even if implemented would only fund the government for 8 days. Then what? More food stamps? We just hit another record high of almost 48,000,000 people on food stamps, an increase of over 600,000 from the month before. This is a recovery?? 350,000 discouraged people dropping out of the workforce last month. This is Obama's recovery?? Oh, I forgot, repeat after me, "It's all Bush's fault, it's all Bush's fault, it's all Bush's fault."
How about we all try this-- get up in the morning, look in the mirror and repeat after me-- "If I succeed today I'll take the credit, if I fail I'll take the blame".
DISCOURAGED WORKERS, Again!
DISCOURAGED WORKERS, workers who have given up on finding a job have been excluded from the unemployment numbers for YEARS AND YEARS!!! I know, I know...the first thing the republican'ts will say is that DISCOURAGED WORKERS not being counted is a NEW phenomenon, thought up by President Obama and Governor Dayton, with help from Senator Franken!!! No, it's been that way for many, many years. It was that way even when Ronald Reagan was president!!! You COULD Google it...there's LOTS of info on DISCOURAGED WORKERS, and you republican'ts could probably find a grown-up to read it to you!!!!!!!
Scarefactor
Blinders,------- take off so you can see the blunders made by
Republicans and Democrats alike.
Read what Hunt and Purposed are trying to tell you.
The country is in the huge debt now. Who caused it?
all of the above - this is now.... today....
No one has said that discouraged workers have never been
counted before. Look at the numbers - there are more now
that have taken themselves out of the available for work crew. We are talking about today... and going forward.