The greatest source of uncertainty facing the American economy has been, and continues to be, Republican/Tea Party threats related to funding government and raising the debt ceiling.
To listen to the Republicans, the Obama adminstration is creating uncertainty in our economy that is deterring private sector job creation. It’s the government’s fault — by way of government overreach in the form of taxes that are too high, regulation that is strangling the private sector, and President Obama’s government takeover of health care in America.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone afraid to hire workers because of a few percent increase in marginal tax rates probably shouldn’t be hiring anyone anyway. Regulation intended to protect the American people from environmental pollution and financial fraud and malfeasance will only inhibit job creation by major polluters and white collar criminals. And the Obama health care law when fully enacted in 2014 will if anything bring a little competition into the health insurance industry and help stabilize health insurance premiums.
While they do need to be able to predict their costs, employers need even more to have confidence that consumers and other businesses will create sufficient demand for the goods and services they produce. Economic demand for goods and services is the only real driver of job creation.
Republican propaganda notwithstanding, government bailouts and deficit spending saved the economy by propping up demand. Without the intercession of the Federal Reserve, and the bailouts and economic stimulus by the Bush and Obama administrations in 2008 and 2009, the United States would probably have led the world into a second Great Depression. And this second Great Depression would likely have by far exceeded the first in terms of human suffering.
The biggest drags on the economy and job creation have without any doubt been Republican threats to shut down the government and to force the government to default on its financial obligations. Republicans and their tea party allies are playing a game of chicken with nothing less than the full faith and credit of the United States. The American people better wake up, or they might one day find themselves living through not just a great depression, but the collapse of capitalism.
Purposefully forcing the government into default by failing to raise the debt ceiling would amount to nothing less than treason.
