Democrats should be emphasizing every minute of every day that The Great Recession was caused by Republican (Bush/Cheney) policies (or lack of them in the case of financial regulations and oversight), and that The Recovery from that Recession was caused by Democratic policies (Obama's).
When they complain now about the recovery slowing down, it should be pointed out that while Obama's policies were in play—tax cuts for working families and small businesses, stimulus package to help state governments and the auto industry and to create jobs etc. (remember, when Obama took office our economy was losing jobs at an incredible rate but since his policies have been implemented our economy has been gaining jobs every month)., etc.—the recovery was working.
When Republicans and other rightwingers attack Obama for the current slowdown that some are predicting will mean a double-dip recession (though by economic indicators we are still in a recovery, not a recession), and complain about the lack of greater job creation, Democrats should point out that as long as the federal government was SPENDING MONEY on stimulus packages helping states and small businesses and larger industries etc., the recovery was going fairly well, but once those programs ended ("cash for clunkers," state aid, etc.) AND TAX BREAKS FOR THE WEALTHY ON THE INSISTENCE OF THE REPUBLICANS were extended, the recovery slowed.
So, where are all the jobs that Republicans insist tax breaks for the wealthy create? That's what the Dems should be asking insistently over and over again. if the main argument for tax breaks for the wealthiest few among us is that it creates jobs, where are the jobs?
And if cutting spending helps the economy, how come cutting spending now has created a slowdown?
It's pretty clear, the solution to the slowdown in the recovery and the possibility of a double-dip recession is to raise taxes on the wealthiest to compensate for more spending on programs that help the rest of us not just survive the recession and its aftermath but stimulate economic growth, because the reality is, working and poor people spend any extra money they get on the economy, wealthy people hoard it and leave the economy (and the rest of us) to fend for itself (and ourselves).
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8 comments:
And please, lets not forget all the vitriol during last year's campaigning and how the Republicans said if they had control that they would create jobs and fix the deficit - that was Boehner's promise ...
Yeah right - like the promise of 70 Virgins (Virginians?).
How many jobs were created - how are we any better off than we were - except for Obama's policies and decisiveness ...
Man, I can choke on the B.S. they hemorrhage ...
There's a huge gap between blame and responsibility.
Well, sure, yeah, the Democrats should do a lot of things, like grow backbones, testicles, and whatever other body parts it might take to make them capable of resisting the Repugnant Party's attempts to abrogate the social contract. I'm not holding my breath.
yeah that's a good point, the Republicans gained the majority - so why aren't things all fixed by now - after all it's been half a year? Obama got blamed for it all from the instant he took office, if not before. Teapocrits one and all, especially the deleted one.
Robert, Democrats controlled the Senate, house and presidency. Republicans control the only the house for now.
There you have it - the republicans are the reason for gridlocking progress ...
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