In July we wrote about how uncertainty regarding policy coming out of Washington was hindering economic recovery.
Regrettably, things are no better three months later. The economy, especially the job market, is still shaky despite the federal government spending trillions on “stimulus,” bailouts, and the like – and passing countless pages of new regulation – all ostensibly aimed at helping the economy recover.
The private sector – from businesses to individual consumers – doesn’t appear to be confident about the future.
A recent Harris poll found American consumers are unlikely to increase their spending anytime soon
Entrepreneurs are worried about what Washington will do next. Yesterday The Washington Post’s Robert Samuelson illustrated how Washington is hampering the economy: “[Boston entrepreneur Morris] Panner, a registered Democrat, criticizes complex accounting, employment, and health-care regulations imposed by federal and state agencies that consume scarce investment funds and time. … Any one rule or tax may seem justifiable, but the collective effect can be crushing.”
Also yesterday, The New York Times reported corporations are holding onto $1.6 trillion in cash reserves, waiting for the economy to improve before investing in new projects or equipment or hiring new workers. The Times said, “This situation underscores the limits of Washington policy makers’ power to stimulate the economy.”
In short, individuals and businesses are not sure what the government will do next, or how it will affect them, so they’re sitting on the sidelines, holding onto their money with clenched fists. Our recent fact sheet lays out how the government’s fiscal irresponsibility over the past decade has fueled this uncertainty.
Right wing nut along with hypocritical corparations are what’s ruining this country. The latter gladly ships such mundane call center jobs to india just to get some cheap labor. They accept having call center staff who barely speaks english interact with us customers back here in the country. If ever there is a disloyal bunch, it is these so called corporate leaders. They pay themselves hundreds of millions of dollars and gladly offshore their jobs to india, china, vietnam, etc. Leaders who gladly pursue the cheapest labor in the world are the most irrational bunch ever – to whom are they planning to sell their products in say 5 or 10 years. They in my opinion are the most unpatriotic bunch ever.
The economy and apprehention about the future could be fixed in three easy steps. Reinstall Glass Steigle, strip corporations of “citizen” status and overturn Citizen’s United. I can’t believe after the near Deprrssion and the current recesssion that a modern version of Glass Steigle, or even the same version that protected our economy from the insatiable greed of those who already have more money than they need since the last Depression untill 1998 (I believe), when Phill Graham and his equally dishonest wife gamed the system to strip the G.S. Act from the law. Most of our elected officials should be fired and quite a few of them brought up on RICO charges, along with their corporate and lobbyist cronies. (In a perfect world).
Right on, Atlanta and Doug! (I only wish your spell- and grammer-check were working better)
The excuse of uncertainty is a very poor excuse. The Obama Administration is very CLEAR, it passed the Health Care Reform, the Financial Reform, the Credit Card Reform, the Banking Reform, and it has passed all sorts of tax breaks for small businesses, therefore anyone that owns a company and can READ should know what to expect and act accordingly. Now, as for the ad running on television that shows a man digging a hole and claiming that we are creating more debt, —- The man is actually digging the FOUNDATION for a BETTER America, an america that has universal health care, high-speed transportation, great schools and teachers, secure fire and police protection, and is moving forward in its attempt to get off of foreign oil, and to stop corporate pollution of the air we breathe, water we drink, and land on which we live. Spend a $1 now and it will save or return $100 in the future. Not spend a $1 to fix a broken bridge, and pay $10,000,000 later to replace it, which do you prefer??