The Democrats Did It

I can hear the Right Wing Noise machine already: The economy was doing just fine until the Democrats took over the Congress.  They threatened to raise taxes and they refused to fix Social Security.  They were able to stop the Republican anti illegal immigration legislation that would have saved American jobs by insisting on enforcement of current immigration laws.  Then they produced no immigration bill to resolve the problems.  So here we are with a recession.  And if you want to look deeper you will find that Bill Clinton did NAFTA and that Bill Clinton signed the 1997 capital gains tax cuts and the repeal of Glass Steagall.  And both of these latter stupidities fed the Dot.Com bubble and are totally responsible for the current housing debacle.  George Bush was able to preside over a growing economy until the Democrats came to town.  Then everything went to hell in a hand basket.

The (P)residential (s)elections will be masking all of this for now but its all going to hit the fan very soon and I have to question the ability of the current nincompoops in the fake Democratic Party to handle this.  I know that there are some very strict limits to how deep an economic discussion can run.  Economics glazes the voters eyeballs and that's a fact.  Both the "Dot Com" bubble and the housing bubble had root cause in the Gingrich Congress.  But there is much to be haggled over here. Clinton was stuck with a Republican Congress, but the 1997 tax cuts and the repeal of Glass Steagall did not seem to be economically or politically necessary.  If they were then I would be very please to know what Clinton got in trade.  I can understand the politics of the 1997 tax cuts because it has been shown to be almost politically impossible to fight tax cuts or to raise taxes. But I am at a loss to explain why Clinton went along with the Glass Steagall deal.  As proved by the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 the tax code has been a powerful weapon for the Republicans.  The Tax increase of 1993 was used by the Republicans all during the 1994 election cycle to bash the Democratic Congress even though the tax hikes did not adversely effect the middle class or the economy. That is a huge part of how the Republicans took the Congress in 1994. And it is a huge part of why proper actions are difficult now.  The voting public is simply too damned ignorant concerning real economics and actual tax policy.

The only viable short term solution is probably to counter the ignorance for the right by not delving too deep:

The left wing talking heads and bloggers need to repeat over and over again that the Republicans got a system producing budget surpluses from Bill Clinton and they have managed to create the biggest debt of all time.  They need to repeat over and over again that the Republican credit card economy is imploding just as any sane person would expect.  And last, but not least, they should be smart enough to figure out what the voters want done even if it is wrong. That's right. Just do to the right what they have been doing to the left.  Give the ignorant voters what they want even if it is economically stupid.   The "economically ignorant voters" would be just about all of the voters. But the focus should be the majority of the voters which are both the union and non union workers of America including the people that own the local mini mart and the laundry and are the proprietors of same; people that own their own capital (like a truck or a back hoe). The problem is in actually talking with these people.  They are not "represented" anywhere and the unions are a very poor and pitiful percentage of the real America.  The vast majority are not union people and they are the true "great unwashed".  The dividing line between the real people and the elitists is not drawn at the boundaries of the labor union(s).  It is drawn in consideration of UNEARNED income.  But there I go getting econish again and that doesn't work on Mary Moonbat or Joe Sixpack.

It is entirely possible to raise taxes on people with income over $200k a year for the sake of funding health insurance that covers all persons regarding medical catastrophe (e.g.cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, etc.).  It is possible to insist that all income from tobacco taxes be used to defray the medical costs associated with those who smoke; to tax trans-fats for the same reason so long as the proceeds are directed to medical expenses.  These proposals need to be totally defined with no room left for the apologists of the rich to wiggle off.  Forget about prenatal care and pregnancy.  Those are choices and they are not catastrophic.  And when you get it down to the basics there is no argument at all. "Free market" insurance will be very affordable indeed when catastrophic costs are removed.

The immigration problem will not go away and the new (P)resident will, of necessity, have to address the issue.  The Democrats are going to have to show a little more concern for the American workers and a little less compassion for the poor of Mexico.  I do not know how to do this without ruffling Mary Moonbat's feathers but the Democrats will have to do it or they will lose the Congress and perhaps their bid for the White House.  The S**T is about to hit the fan with the recession and the unemployment in the construction industry and everywhere else.  And its going to be a very big deal.  And for this election, the Democrats will have to choose between Joe Sixpack and the Mexican illegals and that is the way it is. The answer to recession and depression is jobs and wages.  Even the dumbest worker understands that part.  And the great unwashed will be determining the outcome of this election.