Only the young despair!

An article “Past Peak Prosperity“ from a prominent Sunday News columnist reflects:

“As our economy has evolved, it has distorted the very nature of our society. Once upon a time in America you could believe that if you worked hard your wages and standard of living would increase; your kids would live better than you did. All that’s inoperative now. The fundamental American promise seems broken. There are many reasons for this — globalization would top my list — but the bottom line is that as a society, we appear to have passed the point of ‘peak prosperity.’ Never again will we be as broadly prosperous as we were, or believed we were.”

It doesn’t take genius to recognize what are the causes of our nation’s precipitous decline and what needs to be done to bring back prosperity that will be unparalleled by even the best years of the past.

Let us set forth some of the causes of our woes, which should come as no surprise to NewsLanc readers:

1)     The mergers and acquisitions that both Republican and Democrat administrations and the federal courts have permitted to take place through torturous re-interpretation of laws constraining monopolies.

2)      A corresponding drop in consumer buying power as the income of the middle class stagnated for decades.

3)    The result has been the benefit of a very few at the cost of the many and a stifling of competition and the stifling of innovation.

4)    One-half of one percent of our population has been enriched beyond Croesus and now either out of fear or shame are barricading themselves behind gated communities or building quarter of a million dollar fences around their homes.

5)    The foolish Iraq War has depleted our treasury and killed and maimed our young.

6)    The ignoring of the war in Afghanistan while we concentrated on Iraq, with the resulting necessity to spend additional billions and the tragedy of more dead and maimed youth!

7)    The equally stupid and even more debilitating War on Drugs, based upon lies and myths and used to suppress minorities and to enrich the worse elements of our society.

8)    Health Care has been allowed to range out of control as we allow respect and dependency for the medical profession  to cause us to  ignore vast inefficiencies, and the turning of an honorable profession into one of waste and exploitation.  If the rest of the advanced nations can provide health care at ½ to 2/3^rd of our cost, then so can we.  Meanwhile we are  misdirecting at least 5% of our Gross National Product to health care that otherwise would be invested directly or indirectly in economic growth.

9)    Failure to adequately enforce the tax laws, hamstringing the IRS so that they cannot adequately audit that top ½ of one percent.

10) Neglecting our institutions of education, such a libraries, schools and colleges while other countries do all they can to develop skilled workers and future leaders.

11) Exploitation of the distraction of most of the population by right wing ideologues through  half truths and lies.

12)  Members of the Republican Party who seek to win an election by undermining a president with cheap shots rather than to find non-partisan solutions to the nation’s problems.

13) An Obama Administration mistake of using funds from the Recovery Act for long term initiatives rather than concentrating on investments in early infrastructure. The Recovery Act became the Recovery Act Light.

14) The political stalemate based on ignorance of economics which prevents another recovery act package from being formulated and enacted.   There is no waste greater than workers sitting at home living off a public dole.

Unlike the young “pup”, the Watchdog has struggled to bring about social reform for a quarter of a century (the War on Drugs) and knows the satisfaction of progress.  So he is not overwhelmed, but rather angry and energized.

We know our problems.  Now let’s get to work solving them!