Why Won't Anyone Listen To The People ?

If you ask the economic pundits and the politicians you might think that things are going pretty well in this country. They will tell you the recession is over, jobs are being created, and as soon as they finish cutting the deficit (something both parties think is the most important thing) everything will be just hunky-dory again in America. There'll be rainbows everywhere, a chicken in every pot, and pink unicorns roaming the countryside.

The problem is that the American people know that is a load of unadulterated crap. A recent McClatchy/Marist poll (of 1,274 adults from April 10th through April 14th) shows that the huge majority of Americans say the recession is still raging in America -- about 71% to be exact (and this view cuts across all demographics). The recession may be over for the rich (and the politicians), but it's still negatively affecting everyone else. Here are the numbers of those who say the economy is still in a recession:

All Americans...............71%
Democrats...............67%
Republicans...............73%
Independents...............73%
Northeast...............71%
Midwest...............66%
South...............68%
West...............80%
Making <$50,000...............72%
Making >$50,000...............73%
College graduate...............68%
Not college graduate...............73%
Age 18 to 29...............67%
Age 30 to 44...............67%
Age 45 to 59...............77%
Age 60 or older...............69%
White...............73%
Non-white...............68%
Men...............72%
Women...............70%

Those are some pretty large majorities who believe the recession is still raging (and far more than the 3 point margin of error can account for). The fact is that the American people are still hurting, and they are still waiting for someone to do something about it. This is where the Republicans (and some Democrats) will jump in to assure people that they are acting to cut the deficit, and where Democrats will jump in to assure people they will protect social programs. But while the people consider both of those things to be important, they don't consider either to be the most important thing.

I don't know why no one is listening to the American people, but the polls show us that the people know Congress is not listening. That is why they give both parties in Congress such a low approval rating. They don't think either party is doing what is necessary to end the recession (a recent Gallup poll showed 32% of Americans approve of congressional Democrats and 31% approve of congressional Republicans -- some pretty anemic numbers).

So what do the American people want? That can be answered by one 4-letter word -- JOBS. The recession (which 63% of Americans still believe Obama inherited) has cost this country millions of jobs -- somewhere between 9 and 12 million jobs depending on who you listen to. And the people want those jobs back. And they know neither party is currently doing anything to solve the jobs crises (and it is a crises to ordinary Americans).

Poll after poll has shown that Americans believe the number one problem facing America is the lack of jobs. The pundits have said the nation is in recovery -- albeit a jobless recovery. The people are not stupid enough to believe that though. They know there will be no recovery until large numbers of jobs are being created month after month (far more than the small number currently being created -- which barely keeps up with the new workers entering the job market).

When the Democrats assumed power they took on health care and Wall Street. Both of those problems needed to be addressed, but neither of these did anything to solve the major problem of massive unemployment. When the Republicans took back the House they took on the problem of cutting the deficit. Again, it is a problem that needs to be addressed but does nothing to solve the unemployment problem.

I realize that each party has its pet issues and they are going to address those when given the opportunity, but isn't it about time that both parties start listening to the American people? Isn't it time to put all the contentious issues on the shelf and address the one issue the people want addressed -- job creation?