Something To Ponder

Thanks to the mean-spirited policies started under the administration of Ronald Reagan and accelerated under the Bush administration, this country has been in the throes of a serious and deep recession since the latter part of 2007.   The country has lost somewhere between 12 and 15 million jobs in addition to the good jobs already being lost through outsourcing, and we have yet to really start replacing those jobs.

While the economic "experts" tell us the economy is getting better, it is obvious that the only people not hurting in this continuing recession are the rich.   Ordinary citizens are still having a tough time and this will probably continue for some extended period of time.   Consider these facts released by the United States Census Bureau:

* The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3% of the population in 2009 (a jump of 1.1%).

* There are now 43.6 million people living below the poverty level in the United States.

* The amount of Americans without health insurance rose to 16.7% of the population in 2009 ( a jump of 1.3%).

* There are now 50.7 million people without health insurance in the United States.

* At least 6.6 million people lost their employer-based health insurance in 2009.

* The poverty rate among working-age people (18 to 64) is the highest it's been since the 1960s (before President Johnson's War on Poverty).

* The number of children living under the poverty level rose to 20.7% in 2009 (a jump of 1.7%).

* The number of Hispanics living under the poverty line rose to 25.3% in 2009 (a jump of 2.1%).

* The number of Blacks living under the poverty level rose to 25.8% in 2009 (a jump of 1.1%).

* The number of Whites living under the poverty level rose to 9.4% in 2009 (a jump of 0.8%).

* Expanded unemployment insurance kept 3.3 million people out of poverty in 2009.

These are shameful statistics and should not be tolerated in the "richest nation in the world". So far, neither party seems willing to bite the bullet and do what is necessary to end the recession and put Americans back to work (and end job outsourcing).   The Democrats have made a few timid efforts, but have let the Republicans scare them out of taking enough action with talk of "deficit problems".

But while the Democrats have not done nearly enough, the Republicans want to go back to the policies that got us into this mess in the first place.   The centerpiece of their economic proposal is to give the richest 2% of Americans another massive tax cut (giving lie to their talk of deficit concerns).   They still can't get past a belief in the "trickle-down" theory of economics -- which is to keep giving money to rich people in the hope that someday they'll share some of it with the rest of America.

Ordinary working Americans (and those who would like to be working) should be mad at the politicians in Washington.   Those politicians (of both parties) have failed them so far.   But the answer is not to vote Republican in November.   Putting Republicans back in power will just mean a return to the policies of Reagan and Bush -- the same policies that started the recession in the first place.

The only answer is to keep the Democrats in power, but hold their feet to the fire.   We must demand they institute real solutions that will put millions of Americans back to work (with good jobs -- not minimum wage jobs).   Write and/or call these Democrats and demand they stop pussyfooting around and get the job done, and keep putting pressure on them until they do.