I am tired and sick of hearing about the “US economic recovery”.
The Federal government borrowed and spent $6.1 trillion during the last 4 years to obtain a cumulative $700 billion increase in the country’s GDP. That means we’ve borrowed and spent $8.70 for every $1 of nominal “growth” in Gross domestic product.
In constant dollars, GDP is flat, we’ve got no “growth” at all for the $6.1 trillion. In constant dollars, the GDP in 2011 might return to the 2007 level, if the US economy continues “growing” at the same pace reached inside the first 90 days of 2011. If not, then the Gross Domestic Product will in reality be lower than pre-recession levels. There is no recovery, the numbers prove this.
EDITOR: There is no depression either, as likely otherwise would have been the case.
TARP was repaid. “W” in advocating it with Democrat congressional support understood that without it the banking system would have collapsed and a worldwide calamity would have followed greater than the Depression.
General Motors and Chryslers remain in business and are paying off their government loans, so the U. S. automotive industry was saved without taxpayer cost.
A third of the $800 billion Recovery Act was tax cuts.
The Clinton years brought a budget surplus and a reduction of national debt. Reckless “W” spending on Iraq, unfunded prescription subsidies through Medicare, and tax cuts largely for the rich generated deficits. Failure by Democrats and Republicans alike to regulate Wall Street led to the housing bubble debacle and the resulting unemployment caused reduced tax revenues and increased government expenditures.
I get a kick out of how Republicans, who strongly supported George W. Bush for eight years can attempt to make their own errors go away by simply repudiating Bush. This goes for all the Republican supported unfunded spending (huge) on top of tax cuts (huge), following of the conservative Republican principle to “starve the beast” of government, i.e. to “bankrupt” the government to force the issue of huge spending cuts which would lead o smaller government etc etc. Congratulations, but, as Sarah would say “How’s that working fer ya”?
And who proposed the 700 billion (plus!) bank bailout? Who, supported deregulation and the “cure all” of dogmatic “free market” magic? Democrats?
Certainly there was Democratic support but that does not mitigate one iota against almost universal Republican support. You can try to escape responsibility by the nonsense of the “new” Tea Party Republicans but where were they during the eight years of the Bush administration?
In light of the unbelievable failure that Republicans cannot seem to face, they double down on the same ridiculous arguments that got us here in the first place.
We have a problem and it needs to be fixed! Failed ideological principles, mantras, slogans, noise, money, power, influence, talking points, religion, pundits, demagogues, social agendas, will not solve the problem, but that is all we hear. Hey, there is an election coming up in less than two years, solutions will have to wait until after that or maybe the mid-term elections after that.
I do, really do, blame Republicans more than Democrats because that is where, I believe, the bulk of the responsibility for our current predicament lies. But I would strongly support any Republican in a heartbeat who offered non-parroted, real solutions to serious solve-able problems.
It may also be true, but I hope it is not, that real solutions are beyond our capability, because we are not in charge of our own destiny. That is the most frightening possibility. The US is simply another country to our own plutocratic leaders who have embraced a global economy where they and their wealth are instantly mobile but our factories and our jobs are not.