When Bill Clinton was president and the economy was booming, the frequent refrain was “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Government was paying down the debt accrued by the Reagan-Bush (I) years and we had a strong economy with budget surpluses. Life was good. When George W. Bush became president, it was tax cuts all around but particularly for the most well off under the guise “the rich are the job creators.” The economy went into a funk, 9/11 hit and we [put two wars on a credit card — from prosperity to the brink of global economic collapse. And where are all the jobs the Bush tax cuts were supposed to create?
Now today’s generation of Republican leaders are chiding the President for seeking European-style socialism (he’s not) as they preach European-style austerity. It is the austerity programs in Europe that are stiffling economic growth and expansion there, preventing countries from growing their way out of a sluggish economy. Republicans in OC, folks like John Campbell and Ed Royce, are part of the austerity crowd. And Democratic candidates like Sukhee Kang and Jay Chen are pro-prosperity.
How does this work? From Crooks and Liars:
Prosperity economics is built on three pillars: growth, security and democracy. These pillars reinforce one another and are intertwined politically and economically.
• Dynamic, innovation-led growth, grounded in job creation, public investment and broad opportunity
We must take immediate action to jumpstart our sagging economy. In the future, we need to invest in people and productivity that will lead to good jobs and rising wages. Growth alone is not sufficient to sustain our nation. We need long-term growth that is broadly enjoyed, sustainable in light of our resource and energy constraints and driven by investments in our workforce and strong collective bargaining rules that raise our standard of living.
• Security for workers and their families, the environment and government finances
Markets work better when working families feel a basic security for their futures. A dynamic and competitive market requires a strong foundation that is reinforced by programs like Social Security and Medicare that guarantee a secure retirement and access to health care. Markets also work better when governments have the resources to operate smoothly far into the future. These resources are best raised through a progressive tax structure that supports the middle class; no more tax giveaways for corporations and super rich.
• Democratic voice, inclusivity and accountability in Washington and the workplace
Money is increasingly corrupting and corroding democracy. When economic winners are allowed to write the economic rules, the rest of America becomes poorer and our political system weaker. For democracy to thrive, strong Unions, and empowered citizens and community organizations are needed to ensure that workers and the broader public have an organized, effective voice in our politics.
Chen is quoted in the CrooksandLiars story:
Jay Chen, the Democrat running for the new 39th CD in the L.A. area, is taking on one of Wall Street’s most devoted servants, Ed Royce, who uses his perch on the House Financial Services Committee to push a Wall Street agenda that makes a few people incredibly wealthy while decimating the middle class. Jay, who worked for Bain when he graduated from Harvard and saw the monster from inside, is brimming over with enthusiasm for the ideas behind Prosperity Economics:
“When I first read up on Prosperity Economics, I thought someone must have really taken a liking to my stump speeches. The ideas espoused by Professor Jacob Hacker and Nate Loewentheil are completely aligned with my core beliefs for getting our country and economy back on track. These beliefs, which include investing in infrastructure, education, and our social safety nets, and limiting the power of corporations to distort our political system, are not new. They are part of the original formula that drove the unparalleled success our nation has enjoyed up until recently.
“But these ideas are now under constant attack, as is the prosperity of our nation, by corporate interests and social extremists whose ultimate goal is to increase income inequality and cultural disharmony. Wealth accumulation has now been confused with job creation, and the right wants to slash government services further to grow the war machine. All the while our middle class, which is the true engine of economic growth and stability, continues to shrink. We simply cannot cut our way to prosperity anymore than we can drill our way out of oil dependence. We need leaders who understand how smart, sound investment made us the great nation we are today, and how prosperity economics can ensure our leadership in the world for generations to come.”
Interestingly enough, both Chen and Kang have about the same number of supporters, yet Kang has raised more than $72,000 to Chen’s $22,000. We’re a little more than two months away from election day. Write them checks!
Bill Clinton
Clinton signed the legislation in 1999 that formally killed the Glass-Steagall Act, the separation of Investment banking (speculation, derivatives) from commercial banking (loans to small business, saving, checking accounts).
Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement implementation act. The NAFTA agreement was first signed by Bush Sr. then pushed through Congress by Clinton, then Bush Jr. expanded NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership, SPP Bush Jr. also attempted to put NAFTA on steroids (Free Trade Area of the Americas) FTAA. Free trade is a more efficient form of Colonialism (a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit).
The European Union is finished, – nothing can save it.
For America its Economic Collapse or:
1a Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act
1b Hamiltonian Credit System
1c NAWAPA
“The Full Recovery Program for the United States”
http://larouchepac.com/fullrecoveryplatform
Neither John Campbell – Sukhee Kang, neither Jay Chen – Ed Royce are reinstate Glass-Steagall candidates; of the 78 cosponsors to HR 1489 no one (other than the sponsor) mentions reinstating Glass-Steagall on their Washington D.C. or Campaign websites.
“Crooks & Liars’ are only that.
We are hopelessly doomed.
Dan here you are again, putting lipstick on the pig, trying to make it look like a Hollywood starlet. If what we have been experiencing over the last four years is prosperity, then I’d hate to think what tough times would be like. Maybe, we could ask a few of the thousands who lost their jobs, their homes and their savings. Do you think these folks will be voting for more of the thing? I kind of doubt it. So in the end, what you really have is a just pig with lipstick.
You got this wrong from the get-go Dan.
It is not “Prosperity vs. Austerity.”
It is that, although painful for a time, austerity leads to prosperity.
The government cannot dictate or “provide” prosperity – JMK had his head up his ass.