110833821
We have all heard the question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, has it really made a sound?” I’m not big on philosophical questions, but here’s a fact based question, the answer to which explains why we Americans are so vulnerable to BS solutions to our everyday problems. Answer this question for me: Since 2009, the year when Barack Obama first took office, has the federal deficit gone up or down?
According to a poll cited on MSN.com last week, 71 percent of Americans think the deficit has gone up. Of those 71 percent, about 88 percent of folks who identify themselves as Republicans believe the deficit has gone up (no indication of how many of them get their news solely from FOX). The reality is that since Obama first took office, the federal deficit has gone DOWN, continues to go down as this column is written, and is predicted to keep going down for the foreseeable future. Based on percentage of Gross National Product, the budget deficit has actually been cut in half. But nobody knows it or practically nobody. Let me hasten to add that these figures haven’t been compiled by the Democratic National Committee, they come straight out of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, a favorite source of conservatives when the stats represent bad news.
Please let this fact sink in because if the federal budget isn’t spinning crazily out of control, what the hell are we doing making the reduction of the deficit our number one priority while people are out of work? Didn’t Congress just cut off temporary emergency unemployment benefits? The conservative argument is simply when you make the unemployed desperate for income, they will find work. The idea is rooted in the belief that by and large, those out of work are the “takers” and not really interested in finding a job. That argument seems plausible until you find out there are almost three unemployed people looking for work for every job opening. Unfortunately, I get the feeling the Public is as unaware of that fact as they are about the federal deficit falling.
If all of this were just part of an exercise in philosophy class like the tree falling in the forest, it wouldn’t be a big deal. We could all laugh it off and go back to wondering when Princess Kate will get pregnant again. And please, this disconnect isn’t about Obama and his legacy. Please. Leave your politics at the door on this one. There are people out of work and families in need who depend on our getting our facts in order so that public policy solutions fit the actual problem. I realize that the Christmas season is over and it is customary to not worry about the hungry until Thanksgiving rolls around again, but maybe our national psyche needs an overhaul.
You see, because most of us have bought into the false idea that our number one national priority is to reduce the deficit, we are imposing needless pain on those Americans who are suffering hard times. Instead of worrying about spending, we should be worrying about unemployment. Americans out of work are our biggest problem, not the myth that the deficit is ballooning.
What would happen if we understood the really serious problem in America? We would be spending money not cutting spending. Instead of falling for the myth that the stimulus didn’t work, we would understand that the stimulus worked, it just wasn’t big enough. What we need is another stimulus.
I realize for some of you the idea of the government spending on another stimulus package is as crazy as thinking that the earth is more than 6,000 years old. Bear with me. Let’s begin with reinstating temporary emergency unemployment benefits. This would not only alleviate the hardship on those out of work, it would put more money back into the economy. Next let’s use a new stimulus to restore cuts to hire back teachers, cops and firemen. I can hear the howls that public sector jobs don’t count for anything, you need private sector jobs. First off, if you think public sector jobs don’t count for anything then the next time your kid’s favorite teacher gets laid off or you can’t find a cop or get a fire engine to put out the fire in your house, call Sean Hannity. And why is it we think that folks who get their jobs back — public or private — don’t spend money like everybody else.
See, here’s where the dirty little secret comes in. If you want companies to start hiring again, you need employed folks to spend money on their products. Conservatives would have you believe that companies aren’t hiring because they’re not sure what new taxes may be placed on them by those big, bad socialists in Washington. Actually the big firms are sitting on a boatload of money waiting for people to start buying their products again. When Americans are employed, they will buy that dishwasher they’ve needed, but couldn’t afford because they were out of work. When they start buying, companies will start hiring. It’s the beauty of capitalism.
All we have to do is get our heads out of our butts and realize the federal deficit is going down. Really it is.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
110833821
110833831
