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TOPIC: "They Still Don’t Get It" (The New York Times Op-Ed 1/22/10) US Economy needs urgent attention


Diamond

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"They Still Don’t Get It" (The New York Times Op-Ed 1/22/10) US Economy needs urgent attention
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Op-Ed Columnist

"

They Still Don’t Get It


Published: January 22, 2010

How loud do the alarms have to get? There is an economic emergency in the country with millions upon millions of Americans riddled with fear and anxiety as they struggle with long-term joblessness, home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies and dwindling opportunities for themselves and their children.

The door is being slammed on the American dream and the politicians, including the president and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill, seem not just helpless to deal with the crisis, but completely out of touch with the hardships that have fallen on so many.

While the nation was suffering through the worst economy since the Depression, the Democrats wasted a year squabbling like unruly toddlers over health insurance legislation. No one in his or her right mind could have believed that a workable, efficient, cost-effective system could come out of the monstrously ugly plan that finally emerged from the Senate after long months of shady alliances, disgraceful back-room deals, outlandish payoffs and abject capitulation to the insurance companies and giant pharmaceutical outfits.

The public interest? Forget about it.

With the power elite consumed with its incessant, discordant fiddling over health care, the economic plight of ordinary Americans, from the middle class to the very poor, got pathetically short shrift. And there is no evidence, even now, that leaders of either party fully grasp the depth of the crisis, which began long before the official start of the Great Recession in December 2007.

A new study from the Brookings Institution tells us that the largest and fastest-growing population of poor people in the U.S. is in the suburbs. You don’t hear about this from the politicians who are always so anxious to tell you, in between fund-raisers and photo-ops, what a great job they’re doing. From 2000 to 2008, the number of poor people in the U.S. grew by 5.2 million, reaching nearly 40 million. That represented an increase of 15.4 percent in the poor population, which was more than twice the increase in the population as a whole during that period.

The study does not include data from 2009, when so many millions of families were just hammered by the recession. So the reality is worse than the Brookings figures would indicate.

Job losses, stagnant or reduced wages over the past decade, and the loss of home equity when the housing bubble burst have combined to take a horrendous toll on families who thought they had done all the right things and were living the dream. A great deal of that bleeding is in the suburbs. The study, compiled by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, said, “Suburbs gained more than 2.5 million poor individuals, accounting for almost half of the total increase in the nation’s poor population since 2000.”

More . . .

"

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Pres.Obama and his fiscal administrators have been asleep at the wheels of US Economy.  And, they are still not getting it!

-- Edited by Sanders on Saturday 23rd of January 2010 09:03:10 PM

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Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010
Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010

Madam Secretary Blog at ForeignPolicy.com
Project Vote Smart - Stay informed and engaged!


Moderator

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Bob Herbert hit the nail on the head with this article. While it's obvious that the elite liberals in government don't identify with regular Americans, you would think they could read an article or two, maybe even visit their constituents and figure out that people are having a pretty rough time.

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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.  ~Susan B. Anthony



Diamond

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Look, the banks collapsed in October 2008... Underneath that was the collapse of the real estate market.. That does not happen without serious weakness in the economy. If they wanted to heed to the signs and pay attention to the economy, there were plenty of additional signals from unemployment (10%) and underemployment (17.5%) that are the highest in the longest time.. Underemployment doubled in one year period... that is HUGE.

Every Rep needs to be told that the #1 issue is the Economy. Do not try to back-end into it with a reform that will not go into effect until 2014.  Or a cap & tax that creates another fictitious asset to be taxed.

Job creation and Job security for the common (wo)man (outside of the government) is what is needed... URGENTLY!

__________________
Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010
Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010

Madam Secretary Blog at ForeignPolicy.com
Project Vote Smart - Stay informed and engaged!
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