We will learn during this unit on the legislature and lawmaking that the United States Congress has the "Power of the Purse." That has nothing to do with all the attention Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has been getting lately.
Congress has the power to tax and spend as well as to appropriate funds and it uses its oversight function to watch over how the Federal Reserve Bank does its business. So as we open our look at Congress, what is a better indicator of the economy, The Dow or Downtrodden employment figures?
Three pieces to consider:
First, this only goes through June, but it is a great visual showing the number of jobs lost since the recession s
tarted. The graphic actually goes from blue (jobs) to red (job losses - Freudian blame of Bush?!). From June, 2008 to June, 2009, 5.5 million jobs were lost nation-wide. In Illinois, 31,000 jobs were lost over the last year.At the same, Wednesday for the first time in over a year, the Dow Jones Industrial Index briefly hit 10,000. While much of the economy is still languishing -- for one, unemployment hit 9.8 percent earlier this month -- the Dow has risen roughly 50 percent since March. Judging by the stock market alone, the economy seems to be inching its way toward a recovery.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/dow-hits-10000---however_n_320930.html
Finally, with all the talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts" and now health care reform, it might be time to get some perspective of the size of our national debt. Check out this site to get a look at what just one TRILLION looks like. Now times that by about 12 and you get a look at how far our federal government is in the whole.
www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html
7 comments:
Honestly, although the job losses are devastating and I'm not trying to undermine them at all but this graph makes it seem as if the jobs that were gained in 2007 and before were lost because of the recession. I'm not saying it balanced out at all but this graph definitely makes it seem like so. I personally think this recession has made jobs mot only hard to get but difficult to maintain
Right.
Add to that the Global Economy stuff from earlier in the year. Now we've got the recession's financial pressure coupled with the highly competitive world market. In a world of corporations trying to keep their heads above water by cutting weight (mixed metaphor penalty -3), even "steady" jobs suffer.
it is truly a shame that the job market is so hard to get into. Employers know that they can use employs and in ways abuse their priviledges (sick days, pay, etc).. because they know if an employee quits, there are 10 more people behind them getting in.
I know the Obama administration has said that they stimulus plan created more jobs but even at the beginning of this year i don't truly see these jobs.. sure i see people working on the road and big orange signs reading "funded by the American Reinvestment Act", but does that really jolt the economy? We hope.
With 5.5 million jobs lost this past year, I wonder if America should consider altering its view on capitalism. In sociology class we learned about communitarian capitalism. This type of capitalism has greater protection for its workers and will also create more local markets so counties won't have to depend on others for resources as much. This is predominantly seen in countries like Japan and is called the "socialism" of capitalism. I think it would be interesting to see if this policy could work with some corporations and potentially spread throughout America. However, I think the word "socialism" might scare many Americans...
I'm astounded at the level of jobs still being lost and the amount of money we're spending, but at the same time I recognize that it's basic Keynes. We can spend more when we need to keep things going, then tighten our belt when there's not as much of a need for it. Still, I hope we don't overdo it to the point where we can't catch up. Democrats will be doomed if Obama goes down as a typical 'tax and spend' kind of guy.
I agree with Ryan. It seems like the economy of this country makes the same mistakes over and over again. We have to begin to question ourselves and ask what it is about our foundation that keeps causing these mistakes. These bad economic times might be a good time to try something different. We have proof, like Ryan said, that it does work in other nations. We should be unafraid to try it.
I agree with Ryan and Lasya's statement and feel we should explore new options for helping our economy. I even feel as if we do not need to be fearless going into it; just open and willing. I think going into a new situation with a little bit of fear at times is actually a positive thing because it allows people to be cautious and extra careful with finances rather than foolish or overly hopeful.
Post a Comment