Thursday, August 29, 2013

What's Holding Us Back

This morning, we got some good news. No really, we have good news to discuss! Unemployment claims slipped last week to 331,000. And not only that, but second quarter GDP growth was revised upward from 1.7% to 2.5%. Both numbers indicate improved economic conditions.

Yet while these numbers indicate economic growth and lower unemployment, they also indicate continuing slow recovery. While 2.5% quarterly growth is certainly better than none, we'll have to wait several more years to finish recovering from The Great Recession if we continue at this pace. And of course, that means it will be several more years before we ever approach full employment again.

So why is this? Simple: austerity. While federal divestment from the economy has not been enough (yet?) to throw us back into recession, it's held down growth.

After their austerity program did prolong recession there, more and more voices in Europe have called for an end to it. So why do we want to repeat Europe's great mistake? Why do we want to risk double-dip recession?

We've said it before, but it's probably worthwhile to say this again: Investment begets growth. Austerity and divestment just hurt growth. Just by repealing the Sequester that G-O-TEA intransigence forced the nation into, we can create 900,000 jobs and increase real GDP by 0.7%.

Austerity is holding us back. While our economy is apparently resilient enough to grow despite it, there's no reason to manufacture these obstacles to recovery and growth. Why should we prevent economic recovery at all?



1 comment:

  1. Another factor in the slow growth of employment is the continued exportation of jobs to other countries. It is not just low-paying jobs that are being outsourced, but high-paying jobs in accounting, engineering, computer programming, etc.

    What I suggest in my book, Job Creation Tax Plan, is a revised income tax rate structure for corporations that will charge a higher tax rate for corporations that are not growing their American payrolls and a lower tax rate for companies that are hiring more Americans year by year.

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