Robert Reich, starts his essay, The Republicans' Double-Dip, and What Must Be Done,
by asking John Boehner, if his claim that he got "90% of what he wanted" in the budget deal is he willing to take responsibility for 90% of yesterday's drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Since the Republicans assured us their plan would cure our economic woes Reich suggests we should call it "the Republican's double-dip recession." ...
First, the economy looks like it's dead in the water. The Commerce Department reports almost no growth in the first half of the year... meaning the employment picture is actually worsening. ... Secondly. , investors now know the federal government's hands are tied. The original stimulus is over; the Fed's "quantitative easing" is over. ...
The economy plunged 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 -- the steepest quarterly decline in more than half a century. And in 2009 household buying declined almost 2 percent (compared with a previous estimate of 1.2 percent). That's the biggest contraction in almost sixty years. ...
Reich says "it was never a debt crisis... it has been about jobs, wages, and growth."
I support all of these measures and more.
Now that we're slouching toward a double-dip recession, the only hope is voters will tell their members of Congress -- who are now on recess back home -- to stop obsessing about future budget deficits and get to work on the real crisis of unemployment, falling wages, and no growth.
We need a bold jobs bill to restart the economy. Eliminate payroll taxes on the first $20,000 of income for two years. Recreate the WPA and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The federal government should lend money to cash-strapped states and local governments. Give employers tax credits for net new jobs. Amend the bankruptcy laws to allow distressed homeowners to declare bankruptcy on their primary residence. Extend unemployment insurance. Provide partial unemployment benefits to people who have lost part-time jobs. Start an infrastructure bank.
Even though, it might seem repetitious, I'd like to underline a couple of key points that we need to keep repeating until we get through to the politicians, and American voteres.
1. The economy is dead in the water, is not getting better, but worse, and we need every extra push we can give it.
2. "It's the jobs stupid!" We need a Keynesian style fiscal stimulus creating jobs. Dylan Ratigan is picking up the theme many of us have been pushing here, a focus on clean renewable energy jobs, with made in America solar panels, wind power, geothermal, tidal-marine, efficiency investment, and efficiency. I created Kosowatt to advance these themes, and I ask all of your here to help me emphasize these synergies.
Clean American energy. such as solar rooftop panels, not only creates installation jobs for Americans than can be outsourced, such clean energy jobs, reduce oil imports and trade deficits, keeping more of our money in America, and gives us an opportunity to stimulate the solar supply chain and infrastructure keeping more of it in the USA.
3. MSNBC and Senator John Kerry are pushing the "infrastructure bank." Our own Roger Fox is asking for better explanation and more details, which I second. Kerry suggests a relatively small investment could create millions of jobs.
4. We need 29 million new jobs. How do we fire these folks up to demand jobs with as much "rage" as the TeaParty fired up the misplaced focus on deficit.
5. We need to highlight Reich's blaming this economic crisis and double dip recession on Bush, and the Republicans, who have now capped Federal spending after we have lost 500,000 jobs.
It looks like we going to vote in the 2012 election with 8.5% unemployment, or worse. Normally, this would be a "throw the bums out" election. Reich, is giving ammunition to fight back with a blame the Republicans theme.
6. This is part of a class struggle. Wealth has become overly concentrated in the top 2%. We need to get these folks paying their fair share of taxes, and we need to make sure the reduction of the wealth estates taxes don't get re-extended again in 2012.
7. We need to extend unemployment compensation. It's compassion and goes right back into local economies.
8. We should consider spreading the meme that the Teabaggers seem intent on harming our economy to enhance their 2012 elections prospects. This is a serious charge but Bob Shrum, who is pretty smart is pushing it.
Thanks to all the Keynesian Kossacks helping to keep this message alive while I tend to my partner who is in the hospital today, after having her knee replaced.