Simple Explanation for the Current State of the Economy

[Trajan]

It has been (among other things) primary tenets in 'conservative' philosophy to suppress worker wages, to reduce guaranteed pensions and other perks and compensation, to restrict union activity and development, and to remove the safety nets that had been placed underneath American citizens since FDR and the Great Depression.

They have largely succeeded in that regard ....

The current state of the economy is the fruit of their efforts ...

What is unfortunate is that the 'conservatives' could not have implemented their philosophy without the connivance of Democrats .... Those who were entrusted to defend and extend the ideas of 'The New Deal', and to continue those same platform planks that had lifted a nation from the economic dust bowl of the 30's, and ennobled it's citizens by providing a path toward work, and by restricting the unfair practices of managers and corporations that denied working people a decent living in a fair workplace ....

Without those Democrats .... 'conservatives' could NOT do what they eventually did, which was to tear down the very fabrics of the New Deal, just as Newt Gingrich promised when he stood on the Capital steps the day after the GOP took over the House in 1994 ...

By reducing wages, and by denying those avenues, like unions, which promote the interests of workers, working people and their families are now suffering a HUGE decrease in purchasing power ....

That reduction of economic power has been masked by the 'easy credit' policies derived from the so called housing bubble .... That freely flowing money presented an pool of wealth that was 'a mile wide and an inch deep' .... It gave the impression that citizens were 'wealthy', and so therefore were doing good even without wage protections .... But now that bird has come home to roost ....

That false wealth is fast fading into history, leaving a populace that is woefully underpaid, under compensated, and without the safety nets that have been removed, step by step over time, with the help of those who should have defended the New Deal legacy ....

There is one simple cause for the current state of the economy : Low wages

There is one simple cause for low wages .... Conservative philosophy, an obviously FAILED philosophy for a mighty nation ....

There is one simple reason that conservative philosophy was allowed to become policy : backsliding Democrats .....

I have watched as CONSERVATIVE policies have reduced the economic strength of families across the nation, and has now brought this nation to it's knees (again) ....

It is time for Democratic Representatives and Senators to reverse this downward trend, and begin again to defend american families by promoting policies that were in place since FDR.

Restore the previous bankruptcy laws, as this will be especially important as the next months pass ... ( > 30% of household are upside down ????, with banks now shutting off the Home Equity tap ??)

Restore rules that promoted union membership ....

Restore educational funding that would provide those workers that industry claims it can only find 'offshore' ... If education had been a paramount policy, then industry would have the workers they need ...

Restore PUHCA .... It is time to rein in the outrageous price gouging that is hurting american families ....

Restore regulation where it makes sense ..... De-regulation has promoted predatory pricing in many markets .... There is no doubt that rampant oil and gas prices are driving much of the pain in the nation ..... STOP IT NOW ....

We need REAL Democrats to stand up now ... It is time for 'republican' Democrats to consider their 'conservative' Democrat experiment an utter failure ..... They were to be our last defense, and they folded like cheap lawn chairs ....

Decades of hard work for workers have been ruined ... And it is a damned shame ....

[truedelphi]

1. None f this could have been accomplished without the complicity of the middle income

And working class person.

[Trajan]

2. Im not sure what you mean ...

Most of us here at DU are middle class, AND working class ....

We are doing the best we can for our families ..... What did our 'complicity' do ?

[truedelphi]

4. My bad. I'm sorry - I should have written that to read

the complicity of every middle income and working class person who stayed uninvolved.

And believe me there are many. For a long time, it has not been "kool" to register to vote. People who smoke marijuana and don't understand why it is not legalized, but can't vote for the local pro-legalization politicians on election day because they never bothered to registrer.

People who are mad that they don't have health insurance, but were too busy attending concerts etc to bother registering to vote.

I am dubious about Obama - but will hand it to him that he has gotten the 18 to 30 crowd off their duffs and into the politicial fray.

And for that I feel gratitude.

[antigop]

3. Restore pensions -- provide pensions for all.

And who helped pass the pos Pension "Protection" Act?

Ted Kennedy. Thanks for nothing, Ted.

[KoKo]

5. Restore Glass-Steagal Act to seprate Banks for Brokerages....

Make the Hedge Funds pay their share of taxes and regulate them.

But, all of what your post says are steps that must be done now. American People didn't have a voice because many didn't know what was going on...Blinded by the Right...they were manipulated by the Military/Industrial/Media complex into caring more about Social issues like "Prayer in Scool and Reproductive Rights and other "red herrings" than about what was being done to their jobs and wages.

Both parties are responsible. They both need to fix it...but, will it be too late...