I've recently had a back and forth email discussion with a friend of mine about economic issues. He basically said "they're all to blame", holding both parties equally responsible for our economic problems. I felt it necessary to reply, and I thought my response might be useful to some of you. I hope you find it interesting enough to share.
Please comment if you have any thoughts to improve this discussion. Thanks.
It's easy to say they're all to blame and look the other way, but LOOKING THE OTHER WAY is how they get away with it year after year. Luckily, we have facts to confirm who's done the right things and who's screwed things up. Of course, it's not as simple as saying ALL Republicans are wrong or ALL Democrats are right. But we can look at the PARTY'S POLICIES and apply logic and historical context to see which party has better answers to our problems. In reality, there are conservative Democrats who will vote with the Republicans on many economic issues (as three democrats in the Senate have helped Republicans filibuster the Democratic agenda under Obama), and some liberal Republicans (extremely rare in current environment) who might vote with Democrats on other issues. But overall, it's simple to see where each party stands and the results of their policies.
Take a look at these three charts:
National Deficit by Presidents:
http://unastronaut.files.wordpress.c...
Summary: 82% of the national debt was created under Republican presidents, Reagan, Bush Sr and Bush Jr were the biggest offenders.
Job Growth Relative to Population Growth by President:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/...
Summary: Almost EVERY Democratic term has gained jobs, while almost EVERY Republican has lost jobs since Coolidge.
Jobs under Bush and Obama:
http://www.pensitoreview.com/...
Summary: Simple version, Bush lost jobs, Obama has been recovering.
The data in the charts is hard to deny, but you could say it's not the president's fault, Congress plays a major role in the economy. Well, that's true, but there are two important counterpoints.
- First, the president DOES have a major role in the economy, because the president presents Congress with the budget, which they must approve or deny. It's not a coincidence that we see trends under presidents, because it's the president's policies being approved by Congress each year. Look at what Bush did with a Republican congress rubber stamping his policies.
- Republicans controlled Congress for a long time, during which they cut taxes for corporations and deregulated the financial industry (I've worked in investment banks since 1997). We saw the results of this in 2008, when the world economy almost collapsed (that's not an exaggeration).
We could rewind and go back to the "golden Reagan years". Republicans under Reagan and Bush 41 pushed for "trickle down economics", which was a joke among real economists even at that time. The idea is basically taking OUR taxes and giving more money to the rich, and somehow it would come back to us someday. We saw the results of that policy during the recession of the early 90's, when Bill Clinton won the election by running against Bush 41's failing economy and unpopular Persian Gulf War. Republican foreign policy and preference for war is another issue, we're talking about economy so I won't get into that.
I don't believe in taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. Robin Hood (translation "Robbing Thug") is a nice fairy tale, but in America, we earn our success and deserve to reap the benefits of our hard work. That's what makes this the greatest country in the world. But Republican policy is doing the opposite, taking from the poor and giving it to the rich. That's outrageous, and it's a horrible long term fiscal policy. Republicans claim if we give more tax cuts to the rich, they'll spend the money, hire more people and fund our recovery. They've had Bush's tax cuts for 8 years, where's the result? The truth is average Americans are the life blood of the US economy (still the greatest in the world), 250+ million people spending small amounts is much more productive than the top 2% hoarding the money.
Why do I think I'm right? I admit, I'm not an economist, but I do have experience in the financial sector and a degree in business management. I've learned about American history, US politics, economic legislation and corporate business practices. I've learned that every time we try the Republican policies, economic disparity increases, the rich get richer while everyone else gets poorer, and we've got a century of facts and data to prove that. Republicans don't really deny that. They think that's how this country should work (although it never works, they try it every time they come into power). But that's not the American Dream I know, and it's not how this country became the greatest country in the world. I'd like to see America continue to be #1, and it's not very difficult to see who's blocking that path to recovery if we pay attention to politics.