Congress Is Squandering the Opportunity of a Lifetime

Dan McKay / Flickr



In other words, despite the improving economy, we’re still stuck in a period of mass unemployment. And, thanks the GOP’s categorical opposition to spending–and stimulus in particular—there’s no chance of relief for the economy.

What’s frustrating—and, given the cost of long-term unemployment to individuals, families, and communities, cruel—is that conditions are perfect for another round of large-scale government spending. Not only are there millions of potential workers (to say nothing of an overall demand shortfall), but—as Suzy Khimm notes for MSNBC—interest rates are still at historic lows. But that won’t last: “Already,” she writes, “there are early warning signs that this era of absurdly cheap borrowing will eventually come to an end: The interest rate on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes—the benchmark for long-term borrowing rates—rose to 2.66% on Monday, the highest rate since August 2011.”

There’s still time to act on this unprecedented opportunity by investing in new infrastructure: We could take advantage of these low rates, borrow, and use the cash to rebuild our roads, bridges, airstrips, and pipelines. The subsequent economic growth—from more jobs and a faster recovery—would be more than enough to pay back whatever we owe when the economy is stronger.

But Republicans have not budged from their commitment to spending cuts, monetary tightening, and other austerity-minded policies. They warn that greater public debt will lead to inflation and low growth, ignoring the extent to which inflation has held steady at just under 2 percent for the last four years, and disregarding the disastrous results of austerity in Europe, which has plunged several countries, including the United Kingdom, into a second recession. Because of this, their House majority, and their ability to filibuster in the Senate, there’s no chance Congress will move on new stimulus, or anything else that could boost the economy.

The sad fact is that the GOP’s dysfunctions—its hyper-ideological approach to government, hostility to liberalism, and opposition to compromise—will keep the United States from capitalizing on one of the great opportunities of the last 20 years. Thanks to GOP-driven gridlock and Washington’s myopic focus on debt reduction, we have squandered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to rebuild this country at pennies on the dollar, and bounce back from a long decade of mismanagement and neglect.


"...GOP’s dysfunctions—its hyper-ideological approach to government, hostility to liberalism, and opposition to compromise..." Yep!!!


Remember Grover Norquist's statement that they want to shrink the federal government until its small enough to drown in a bath tub. Also the two recent SCOTUS rulings were both basically "states rights" decisions. Look at how right wing intransigence is preventing fair, even medical coverage for every citizen. Its sick really.
The result is that large beneficial projects like the Interstate Highway System would have a really hard time being implemented nationally. That brainiac Scott Walker immediately cut the high speed rail project when he became governor of Wisconsin killing many long term jobs including manufacturing the trains themselves. He probably did it at the behest of the Koch Brothers who want the country to continue consuming oil in a big way to their benefit. We really don't have much time, the demographics may be changing, but a really bad depression type economy would take decades to crawl out of.

The problem is that infrastructure appears to be our ONLY idea. These are primarily male jobs, while the economy, and American families today, depend on women's jobs/wages. Most American women are co- or sole supporters of families, while men play a shrinking role in providing for families. Poverty among women and children is reaching alarming levels. Since Clinton's "successful" welfare "reform," extreme poverty in the US has doubled, and the great majority of our poor are women and children. Granted, a focus on infrastructure would create some trickle down jobs for women, but that would barely make a dent in US poverty. The more people in poverty, the fewer consumers, the fewer products need to be manufactured, the fewer jobs, the more poverty.

You need to be logged in to comment.

, after login or registration your account will be connected.