|
|
Wealthy Obama and Party Backers Say, To Hell with Jobs
22 May 2013
(LPAC)—The Washington Post, apparently stung by Obama’s war on journalists into a number of surprisingly blunt accounts of the administration lately, reported May 21 that Obama is completely uninterested in doing anything to aid an economic recovery, and neither are Congressional leaders. They have "abandoned efforts to help the economy recover faster, and lawmakers don’t seem worried that voters will punish them for it," the newspaper reported. "There are no serious negotiations underway between the White House and congressional leaders on legislation to spur growth.... Yet economic growth remains slow by historical standards, and 11.5 million Americans are still looking for work." The paper is completely understating the continuing economic collapse. Some 22-23 million Americans need and are looking for full-time work, or were until last year and then gave up. The labor force has shrunk by almost the entire amount it could have grown in Obama’s four-plus years. The young generation are 30% unemployed or underemployed. 56 Million Americans need food stamps for nutrition. 4 million households have lost their homes, which are being bought up for cash by speculators. Economic infrastructure-building is non-existent; construction employment is 2 million less than six years ago. A very well-connected political activist from a Northeast state, in discussion with EIR yesterday on pushing through Glass-Steagall, said the economy in his state, and those around it, "is still completely depressed and it looks like it’s going to get worse. And all the kind of companies I represent, especially the smaller ones, and startups — there is simply no credit available to them at all." But as the Post put it, that doesn’t matter to Obama and Congressional leaders, because "There also is mounting evidence that the political donor class — wealthier Americans — is feeling a stock-market-fueled surge of optimism about the economy. It all adds up to inaction." Commenting on the Post report, economist Mark Thoma told the Fiscal Times that at least the Fed should be doing something: "For example, the Fed could charge banks for holding excess reserves instead of paying them interest on those reserves as it does now. With such a penalty in place banks, would have a much larger incentive to make loans, and some of the piled up reserves would leave banks and turn into new demand for goods and services. That’s just what the economy needs." A typical liberal economist’s "good idea", such a move by the Fed absolutely would not work without re-enactment of Glass-Steagall and generation of a Federal credit system — in which case, it would be unnecessary. A much better idea to take up: impeach Obama. [PBG] |