Over the past week, fourteen were killed in Binghamton, New York, three police officers were killed in Pittsburgh, and five children were murdered in Washington state. All of these situations are tragic, and I grieve for all of the families involved. But we should realize that increased unemployment combined with cuts in state and local budgets will cause crime to increase for the foreseeable future. If we want to fix these problems, then we have to restore purpose to middle class life in America.
This week was a rough week. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, meaning half a million plus more Americans are staring at things like losing their homes. The flood of bad news on Main Street has caused many people to become depressed; many people who are unemployed immediately gamble by canceling their health insurance; uninsured people facing mental illnesses tend to not be treated for their illness--the $100 a week it costs to see a therapist is too much money for them. As bad news compounds itself, more and more people fall into this vicious cycle of despair.
It is only a matter of time before one or two people snap. Sadly, in an era of firearms, these people can easily take many other lives with them. As local governments grapple with decreased property values--and therefore decreased property tax revenues--cuts are being made in essential programs like public safety and health care.
While it is too early to say that things could've been different in the cases of the past week, it is not too early to observe disturbing new trends. Crime is up in city after city; people with no jobs turn to property crimes, fraud, and drug dealing to pay the bills. When they get caught, and reality stares them in the face, more and more of them are committing "suicide by cop."
The Atlantic magazine makes a compelling case that government needs to alter its policies to help restore the American middle class in its article "The Quiet Coup." But President Obama faces a difficult balancing act--he must on the one hand save the banks because all reasonable minded people agree that our economy needs a healthy banking system. But because the banks are so far in the hole, saving them is a costly proposition which is difficult to sell to the public.
The President's task is made all the more difficult by stubbornness from some quarters of the financial world. When regular Americans who are scraping by on food stamps and weekly trips to the food bank hear about seven figure bonuses at bailed out firms, corporate jets, company vacations posing as conferences, and four figure brunches, they get rightly angry.
The problem is one of disconnect. Last week, as the picture of just how bad it has become on Main Street became clear, the stock market went up for other reasons. The naive hope of many--both on Wall Street and on Main Street--is that this is a fleeting crisis which will be over in a few months.
The reality is that this is a national day of reckoning brought about by a generation of living beyond our means. The collective bill is due, and in order to pay it everyone will have to make sacrifices. People on Main Street will have to accept that they can't maintain a too-high standard of living on credit alone. And people on Wall Street will have to accept that the paper they buy and sell is ultimately backed by the economic health of Main Street.
The President is a unique politician. He has the capability to listen to all sides, talk to all sides in their language, and move people towards common ground. I'm convinced that he is the right person to lead this country at this time. The only question is Main Street will allow him to lead or return to throwing fits, and whether Wall Street will let him lead or return to their parties...