With our economy still struggling to get out of the pits, unemployment rates keep going further and further up and it's not looking like they're going to go down any time soon. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics as of July the unemployment rate is sitting at 9.5 percent, which is the highest in our recent downturn. Right now with the midterm elections just more than two months away, the Obama administration needs to make job creation the first priority or else not only the country will suffer, but also the Democratic party.
Our economy has been in a lull for too long now, and getting up time after time to see the morning paper saying nothing has changed is starting to get a little on my nerves. Chances are that the numbers aren't going to be going in the good direction any time soon, but as Paul Krugman comments in Defining Prosperity Down we have something far worse to deal with: the governing elite. The elite of our society are starting to think of the economic distress more and more like its just the norm because they aren't being affected by it. The people in power are failing to take responsibility seeing the problems as simply a transition stage, and if they aren't willing to make a change than our chances aren't looking that great.
Is the government doing anything? No. Republicans and Democrats alike are continuing to reject putting the money into job creation, but are willingly turning their backs on the struggling jobless. Instead what is happening is what has always happened, Congress is caring only about fighting deficits and continuing to give the most attention to the taxes of richest 1% of our nation. That's justifiable though right, because after all they are the people that need it most. Turning to the Federal Reserve to step in might seem like an option, but they too have showed they won't take the aggressive stance and make a move, so I don't know who else there is to turn to.
Something has to change, and soon, or else the problems regarding unemployment rates and our economy will get out of control. We're in no situation for a new stimulus, given the lack of reason to make large scale infusions of cash into the economy. Instead, I think Congress should look at extending both unemployment benefits and much needed aid to state governments who are suffering with the continual deficits. It's obvious that the American public is fed up and tired of waiting for the economy to pick back up, but it's up to them to put the real pressure on government officials in order to see any change.
"Something has to change, and soon, or else the problems regarding unemployment rates and our economy will get out of control. The feds need to step up and take unemployment as their responsibility instead of making this issue an afterthought."
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoroughly liberal approach to the problem. This post sounds like a watered down version of what any Democrat would say in response to the current situation, adding nothing to the conversation. Have you considered the effects of any of the solutions you are hinting at? Any move the government makes will only send our nation further into the widening pit of debt we're already mired in. Do you think that will reflect well in the polls this December?
Have you considered that the government might not be as powerful as we'd like it to be? What can they do, really? What solution can Obama pull out of his hat that hasn't been thought of, that doesn't have as many downsides as upsides? America is in a bad spot, assuredly. Unemployment and debt are high, confidence in our president is as low as ever, and few legislation is passing regardless of the widespread liberal majorities. But is the answer really to blame the rich and the politicians?
I'd challenge you to think outside the box a bit and consider what really is to be done. The world's a messed up place: there are no easy solutions to problems as big as an economic depression. Liberals don't have it figured out and neither do Republicans.
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ReplyDeleteUnemployment is an issue for discussion. In a classmate's blog, a post introduces ideas to help the unemployment problem that is facing our nation today. The unemployment rates just seem to keep going up and up with little efforts to fix the problem. Any route that the government will try and take to fix this problem will just create more debt in our already dwindling economy. I have to disagree in the idea that the government should extend better unemployment benefits to the public. This would keep the public from continuing to try to find work, and just leave them to be lazy with no real reason to try very hard. This is a hard time for our nation but I believe we can push through it with a proper plan. Also, this idea is hard to believe that there wouldn’t be some kind of catch to it. I’m sure that with these benefits, debt would likely be involved.
ReplyDeleteThe New York Times further writes on this topic saying that there are two reasons that unemployment rates are so slow. The first being that “there has been a big increase in the number of people not working purely by their own choice.” This category can be referred to as the “self-unemployed” and include “retirees, stay-at-home parents” and others doing “unpaid work.” The second explanation to the low rates would be a “jump in the number of people who aren’t working, who aren’t actively looking but who would, in fact, like to find a good job.” I think that finding a job is very time consuming and it takes a lot of will power. However, if you invest your time and attention to the situation, you will eventually be able to find something substantial.
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ReplyDeleteIn my fellow colleague's blog titled, "Current Agenda", Lorenzo Salazar critiques the government's role in the recession and its' after effects of unemployment. Salazar believes that the government and the leaders in today's politics, the "elite", are not doing their job to solve these economic issues. He is quoted, " Is the government doing anything? No. Republicans and Democrats alike are continuing to reject putting the money into job creation, but are willingly turning their backs on the struggling jobless. Instead what is happening is what has always happened, Congress is caring only about fighting deficits and continuing to give the most attention to the taxes of richest 1% of our nation." Like many Americans, myself included, Salazar is hoping and looking for a miraculous, dramatic employment increase to automatically occur one day. We want to pick up the newspaper one morning and read headlines that give us hope that the economy is rising out of this Great Recession. However, in reality, change doesn't just occur with a snap of a finger. The government is taking gradual steps to better our economy which need time to develop. With that said, I return to Salazar's comment that both political parties are continuing to reject putting money into job creation. Recently, Obama revisited Detroit to oversee the success of his prior decision to bail out GM and Chrysler in 2008. According to a White House report, "the administration's efforts have helped create 55,000 jobs during the last year." Also, the government just recently invested over 26 billion dollars for state education and Medicaid. The main purpose of this Act was to not only save thousands of teachers from becoming unemployed, but allow a higher number of students to have a quality education. As I stated in my earlier blogs, education is the key to economic success. If children are allowed better education in public schools, they are more likely to attend schools of higher education. By doing so, this opens up opportunities for the United States to stay competitive with other developing nations in areas of technology, science, etc. I agree that there are more efficient means of addressing unemployment and job creation, however, stating that the government is not doing anything to fix these problems is false.
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