From Stark
Amid the sighs of relief that the U.S. has avoided default on its debt payments, there are widespread fears in both the public and the private sector that curbs on government spending will push the economy back into recession.
In the U.S., the debate is pretty much colored by partisanship. The deficit hawks and the embattled band of economic stimulus advocates don’t agree on the facts, much less on policy. But on NPR this morning, I heard an interview with a private-sector Japanese economist who believes the U.S. is about to repeat the mistakes made in Japan in cutting back on spending at a time when the economy needs more stimulus–a position that President Barack Obama himself has abandoned.
I don’t know if this economist is correct, and neither do you. But we may all know in a year or so. If I were the Democratic president at this moment in history (and I’m glad I’m not) I would spin the debt ceiling compromise this way: “Okay, Republicans. You got the deal you wanted. Spending cuts. No tax increases. Let’s see if this stimulates the economy to create jobs. This economy is yours now. I invite you all to run on the economy’s performance in the second half of 2012.”
It’s also worth noting that the deal approved earlier this week reduces the rate of increase in the national debt. It does not put us on a path to eliminate that debt. Check out the chart on this report, also from NPR.
Meanwhile, the NBC Nightly News reported this evening that a record 46 million Americans are now on food stamps. That’s one our of every five households in the country. Unfortunately, the situation is really bad in places like Alabama, where an astonishing 36% of the population are dependent upon food stamps.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ns/nightly_news/#44010741
And, on the Herald’s site this evening, in an article entitled, Study: Healthy eating is privilege of the rich, I learned that many Americans can’t afford to meet the new federal health guidelines:
I suppose that if you are on food stamps, you would most likely make food decisions based on cost.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/08/03/2128745/study-healthy-eating-is-privilege.html
Seems to me that America is in very serious economic and political trouble.
Over at FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver has a post entitled Double Dip or Not, Economy Is Falling Farther Behind:
Mr. Silver uses some very cool graphs to convincingly argue that we are falling further and further behind the long term growth trends. Indeed, it seems the Great Recession is beginning to look more and more like the possible beginnings of another Great Depression.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/double-dip-or-not-economy-is-falling-farther-behind/
It took a decade, and then the economic stimulus of WWII, to crawl out of the Great Depression. Following which, we have been engaged in one or another hot or cold war since.
After the “great depression” that followed the Civil War, it seems the 20th century was largely about firmly establishing our dependence on military production to, first restore, then maintain something like full employment.
Following the surrender of our currency, and fiscal and monetary policy, to the financial elites of the world (thank you Mr. Wilson) only repeated adventures abroad have kept their factories humming.
Until we admit and examine our addiction to munitions, we will never free ourselves from the useless deaths of so many of our youths, not to speak of the senseless slaughter of innocent civilians around the world.
When will we understand that we are indiscriminately killing to keep their oil monopoly safe?
Michael Hudson had some interesting things to say with Amy Goodman following the debt pseudo crisis http://michael-hudson.com/2011/08/debt-ceiling-economy-sacrificed-for-military-bias/