Finals Hiatus

The Sound Bite is going on a break for finals, don't worry though, it'll be back by Christmas time.

The Economy on Life Support: Are we Saving it or Letting it Die?

So far Washington has only given the economy high powered pain killers, will it get about the business of curing the broader economic sicknesses?

Without a doubt the American economy is sick, sicker perhaps than it has been in over seventy years.  In the midst of the crisis I wonder if our government is doing anything to actually help the country recover or just administering fiscal and monetary narcotics that moderate the symptoms without actually curing the underlying disease.  The various stimulus and aid packages have been aimed at easing credit markets, propping up crucial financial institutions, and soothing spooked investors.  

These problems, though severe, are not the underlying cause of this recession or the broader malaise that has stricken the American economy for the last eight to nine years.  They are, rather, just the painful symptoms of the broader problem, namely a decrease in American worker productivity and a decrease in real economic output. 

The various stimulus and aid packages are an important way to ease the pain of a recession.  However, unless this is to be the first of many prolonged recessions the American people and government need to find a way to reestablish the American economy as the most productive in the world, not just the biggest consumer.

A re-establishment of a strong (union free) industrial complex along with much needed educational reform to train the skilled workers needed in the 21st century would go a long way to solving the larger problems.  We need to create both the skills and the resources to drive a dynamic productive economy, this is the medicine that will cure the American economy.