DislikedIf it wasn't for the democrats that caused the financial meltdown in the firstplace for accepting loans they couldn't afford to pay back we wouldn't be in this mess. Now republicans have to pay the price for their stupidity.Ignored
Think about what you are saying, instead of buying into the political hype and rhetoric being spewed on BOTH sides of the isle. Economies tumble, due to a lack of production. Production decreases, in turn, yield lower wages in the aggregate and most insidiously, job loss. Our economy ran on Financial Bubbles for more than two decades, while the downsizing of America took place. In that same time-frame, American Middle Class jobs were shipped overseas. Congress, created a reverse-regulatory environment that allowed for the ease of "Re-Engineering" the American Economy, lock, stock and barrel. This was not caused by "regulation" - but "de-regulation" of major components of our national economic engine.
Thus, we did two very insane things:
1) We drastically reduced the level of home-grown manufacturing in the United States.
2) We drastically reduced the level of Middle Class incomes in the United States.
We never got away with that poor inverse-regulatory calculus and smart economists were writing about the coming Economic Collapse for more than 20 years before it happened. Industry-by-industry, the re-engineering began. Re-Engineering became a buzz-word in the 1990's. All it meant, was finding ways to dispatch operational units overseas and into low-cost production and service delivery environments. The rationale behind it was: why pay a U.S. worker $1/hr, when we can pay someone in South East Asia or the South East Pacific, 30-50 times less money and have almost no benefits costs associated. That's called having your cake, eating it and then having a massive bowl of ice cream on the side with strawberries, whipped cream and walnuts, just for the appetizer.
We swing from one oblivion to the next in this country. Too much regulation in all the wrong places, followed by too little regulation in all the right places. And, the politicians then sit and point the finger at the other side for "causing the mess." The fact of the matter is that Republican, Independent and Democrat alike, are precisely responsible or this mess. Not someone unable to pay their mortgage.
Failure to pay the mortgage comes from job loss, and we lost those jobs because we all got greedy. Corporations got greedy, but so too did their shareholders and employee pension plan participants, when they saw their 401K turn into an 801k, in a very short period of time. So, corporations needed to find ways to continually pump-up the EBITDA and EPS. This fueled even more shipments of American jobs overseas into low wage (slave wage) environments.
During the Clinton years, and in large part due to Clintonomic Policies, the country underwent the largest economic boom, not just in American history, but in world history. That boom was lead by the Enterprise Technology Revolution and it was televised across the world. It produced more millionaires and billionaires, than at any other time in world history and it produced those capital surpluses in many parts of the world. It was the perfect storm of capital meeting head-on with innovation. The stock market went through the roof and people once again, got greedy. Yet, we were STILL not developing a strong enough manufacturing base here at home and that, more than anything else will help a nations weather the storm of cyclical production shortages. The key during this time period was innovation.
Most good economic theories will not discount the power of innovation. After we elected Bush II as President, we got hit with 911, started two wars that were never fully funded with cuts in spending by a dominant Republican Congress, and paid [literally] no attention whatsoever to our domestic economy. The barnstorming innovation that existed eight (8) years prior, slipped well below the level necessary to sustain new IPO growth and companies once again, began looking for way to cut-back. Salaries dropped like a rock off the top of Mt. Everest and once again, the Middle Class took the brunt of the assault. That same Administration offered one of the largest tax increases in modern U.S. history and the Congress just stood by and let it happen.
Job losses began flooding the headlines and over the full term of the Bush Administration, America lost millions of net jobs. The actual budget surplus of nearly $317 billion was gone in 60 seconds. The projected multi-Trillion budget surplus turned into wishful thinking. The economy entered a tailspin and has never looked back since.
The mortgage crisis was nothing but a scapegoat for a highly mismanaged national economy. That, more than any Democratic hype, Independent hype or Republican hype, is the reality behind the mess we find ourselves in today. We are all to blame because we just sat by and let it happen. And, all of Congress sat their laughing at us, as we allowed it to unfold.
We have one shot at recovery. And, I'm not talking about short-term recovery. I'm talking about long-term economic growth that benefits all Americans. Its called the New Energy Technology Economy, and it has the potential to make the Enterprise Technology Economy, pale by comparison. Ironically, it will actually help to revive the Enterprise Technology sector, to a level that it never saw during the Clinton years. Both the new Energy and revived Technology economy, will spark the New Materials Economy and that will be the beginning of the next wave of truly massive economic productivity in this country. Those three giants together, are what can take America, into the 21st century and well beyond as the preeminent leader of the most dominant industries on earth and it can spark an entirely new (fresh/clean) lifestyle opportunity for Americans and the rest of the world.
But, we MUST shake our dependence on foreign oil, in order for that to really work. And, that is not a conversation that Americans are serious about having at this stage. We have not had enough economic pain and suffering, yet. Carter, warned us about this more than 30 years ago and people outright laughed at him. They are not laughing at his idea now, are they. In fact, some are actually trying to finally get around to what Carter warned people about - decades ago.
Funny, how life turns out sometimes and the truth of the matter is often times stranger than fiction.
So, no, my friend. Fannie and Freddy did not cause this mess. The economy you see before you today, was engineered by our inability to make "Made in America" the axiomatic term of our generation. Thus, because we don't make much in America anymore, we now suffer, as China, looms on the horizon (not too far from now) as the dominant economic powerhouse of our time.
Its all about new Energy, new Technology and advanced Materials. If we don't have the vision to capture that opportunity (right now), then we just might hit the slippery slope of economic third-world status over the next 150 years. We are not growing (graduating from college) Engineers, Chemists, Scientists and Mathematicians, at anywhere near the same rate we used to anymore and until we do start doing that, we won't be able to participate in the new economies to come, from the standpoint of producer. We will end up being relegated to consumer economy status for a long time to come.
This ain't about petty political games. This is about the very survival of the American way of life as we know it. But, how many American do you know, who realize this and are willing to sit down and have this serious discussion? Most are trying to fill-up their Hummer with gas to get it around the next block. The others? Sitting in front of the television & radio, getting "educated" (uhuh) by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.
Turn off the tube America and start doing your homework. We are dying a thousand deaths, and no one seems to care anymore. A house divided cannot stand and a nation that continues to spend itself into a foaming frenzy, will go the way of Rome.
So, shall it be written - so shall it be done.
