Bernie Sanders: we must not accept this economic 'new normal'

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/06/02-0


Out of luck in Las Vegas: a homeless man sleeps at an encampment in Las Vegas, Nevada, a state which has had one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation. (Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The front pages of American newspapers are filled with stories about how the US economy is recovering. There is some truth to that. Since President George W Bush left office in 2008, significant progress has been made in moving our economy out of the abyss of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But in the midst of this slow recovery, we must not accept a "new normal".

We must not be content with an economic reality in which the middle class of this country continues to disappear, poverty is near an all-time high and the gap between the very rich and everyone else grows wider and wider.

The good news is that instead of losing more than 700,000 jobs a month as we were five years ago, we've been gaining almost 200,000 jobs a month since January. The bad news is that, in addition to those job numbers being much too low, nearly 60% of the jobs gained since the "recovery" are low-wage jobs that pay less than $14 an hour, while most of the jobs lost during the recession were decent-paying middle-class jobs.

The good news is that the official unemployment rate has gone down from 10% in October of 2009 to 7.5% in April. The bad news is that 20 million Americans still are looking for work and the real unemployment rate – counting those who have given up looking for work and those working part time when they need full time jobs – is 13.9% The very bad news is that youth and minority unemployment is far higher than that and, with the decline in factory jobs, income for poorly educated men has shrunk by nearly two-thirds over the past four decades.

[byeya]

1. Bernie looks at the big picture and gives a good analysis.

I think he fails to address the fact that globalization and the hyper-mobility of capital wants this situation. It's the neoliberal dreamland.
We live in a country where GE has not paid a dime in corporate income taxes on its US profits for years.

[marmar]

2. Bernie Sanders: One of the few, the proud, the sane.

[byeya]

3. I think that there are quite a few "Bernie Sanders" in the USA but they are marginalized and can't

get their message to a large audience. Senator Sanders has a position where he can make news, although I wager his warnings on this issue get less play then a RW conspiracy fantasy aimed at 0bama.
But, I am thinkful for Bernie and wish him a long and productive life - he's definately one of the good ones.

[marmar]

4. Oh I agree -- I was just thinking about our top-level elected officials.

[bvar22]

5. This is the predictable results of the NeoLiberal Economic Policies...

...pushed by leadership of BOTH Parties over the last 25 years.
This is the direct results of:
Free Trade
Free Markets
De-Regulation
Privatization
No Limits on Wealth Concentration
No limits of Corporate size
Open trade with Slave Labor Countries
Race to the Bottom between states
Low Taxes on Wealth Accumulation

[font size=3]If you oppose these policies,
then YOU are Shit Out of Luck in the USA,
because BOTH dominant Political Parties SUPPORT them.
YOU don't get a vote.[/font]



New Rule (Passed by Congress and signed by President Obama) signals Kiss of Death for Pensions
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100694955

Wealthy win lion's share of major tax breaks
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2013/05/29/wealthy-win-lion-share-major-tax-breaks/Ua0UyYle21EUXub7g1suCI/story.html

Half of America is in poverty, and its creeping toward 75%
http://www.alternet.org/economy/real-numbers-half-america-poverty-and-its-creeping-toward-75-0

Wealth gap widens as labor's share of income falls
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/wealth-gap-widens-labors-share-income-falls-1B6097385

As the Economy Recovers, the Wealth Gap Widens
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2013/03/11/as-the-economy-recovers-the-wealth-gap-widens
Top One Percent Captured 121 Percent Of All Income Gains
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/top-one-percent-income-gains_n_2670455.html

Corporate Profits Hit Record High While Worker Wages Hit Record Low
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/03/1270541/corporate-profits-wages-record/?mobile=nc

The above does NOT happen [font size=3]by accident[/font]
It is the result of careful Planning, and Economic Policy.


You will know them by their WORKS.

[theaocp]

12. Can we call out trade with

slave labor countries trade with "Slavers' Bay" instead? It gives it a nice GoT ring, no? People might pay more attention. Keep up the good work.

[byeya]

6. It doesn't have to be the neoliberal way.because we can build a rational and humanistic

society from the ground up. Many of the institutions are already in place.
100 Million Americans belong to credit Unions and co-ops - better than banks.
Several million work in labor-owned enterprises
Millions live in municipalities with community owned electric power generators.
Millions more get their power from federally owned power generators like TVA and, I think, Bonneville, as well as the Lake Mead complex.

We need to preserve these socially owned resources and put our little money into credit unions.

Buy locally produced food and produce some yourself, if possible.

If the above grow and continue to prosper, particularly the local and municipal ones, then just maybe when the next huge-bank failure hits, we'll be in a position to let them fail and demand nationalization of the big banks and transfer more business to credit unions and other small investor owned and controlled entities.

[TheKentuckian]

7. No worries from here, Bernie. I still haven't accepted the old normal.

[ProSense]

8. Good piece, and

The front pages of American newspapers are filled with stories about how the US economy is recovering. There is some truth to that. Since President George W Bush left office in 2008, significant progress has been made in moving our economy out of the abyss of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But in the midst of this slow recovery, we must not accept a "new normal".

<...>

The United States Congress and the president must begin listening to the American people. While there clearly has been some improvement in the economy over the last five years, much more needs to be done. We need a major jobs program which puts millions back to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. We need to tackle the planetary crisis of global warming by creating jobs transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

...no one can argue with that.

Digging into recent poverty data
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022928129

Obama pushes to limit federal spending on corporate executive pay
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022927167

Obama challenges Congress to actually pass some laws upon return from vacation
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/01/1212924/-Obama-challenges-Congress-to-actually-pass-some-laws-upon-return-from-vacation

[kentuck]

9. I agree with Bernie.

We do not need that many unemployed. People need jobs because jobs can add meaning to their lives. But let's face the truth: The private sector is not going to fix our roads, they are not going to re-build our bridges. They are not going to repair our infrastructure on their own. It's just too big of a job to undertake. That is why we have to have government take the lead in rebuilding our infrastructure.

But, of course, the government can do nothing if the private sector is not involved. For example, if there is a bridge that needs repaired or built, the government does not stop people on the street and ask if they "know how to build a bridge"??

Government goes to the existing private sector, including small construction companies, and take bids for the jobs that need to be done. The private sector benefits from their work and their hiring others to work for them. Government leads but government is not taking the profit from the infrastructure that benefits us all. That is how government serves us all, regardless of your Party affiliation.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. K&R For Bernie. n/t

[idwiyo]

11. K&R