theaveragejoe.us

HOODWINKED ON THE ECONOMY

This HOODWINK AWARD goes to the members of Congress and the Bush and Obama Administrations who continued to tell the average everyday working, taxpaying, home-owning, consuming citizen that the economy was/is going to be, all right.

Do they think we’re stupid?  Do they actually believe that they are representing the welfare of our citizens and our country’s future by spinning the condition of the economy to us?

Do you remember just a couple of years ago when Bush’s people were telling us that the economy was strong and that Americans were better off than they have ever been?  I kept wondering about who those Americans were, since all the Average Joes I knew were worse off.  We knew we were in a recession back then and that things were getting worse, not better.  But the government knew that they had to put out a positive spin so that they could continue to spend our tax dollars to fund an inefficient and corruptible government and protect big business.

We can now observe who those Americans were who were better off.  It was the heads of corporations receiving bonuses and golden parachutes from boards of directors whose companies were essentially unregulated by government regulation.  It was those in business with the government who received inflated contracts through their political influence by making contributions to our elected officials and hiring lobbyists who bought the votes they needed to succeed.  It was even those in government, who were elected by us “average” voters, who received over the top salaries, expenses, perks and other personal benefits voting on behalf of special interests, that provided them guaranteed, riskless compensation that their constituents could only dream of receiving. 

Now we have the Obama Administration telling us Average Joes not to worry, because they know what they are doing, and that one answer is a term used on sinking ships—bailouts.  What they don’t realize is that you should first take the time to plug the holes or you’re going to spend all your time, effort and resources bailing, without any hope of successfully sailing off into the future. We’re hearing from the Obama folks that these billions and now trillions we’re spending on Bailouts, Tarps and Stimulus packages are going to bring our economy back.  For who?  Once again, it will be the major corporations receiving government aid; it will be those receiving contracts from those stimulus funds; and of course, those elected officials and their friends who will continue to make and spend money that is paid through taxes by us Average Joes, and now our children, and our children’s children.

From an Average Joe perspective, wouldn’t it have provided a better result to have this stimulus be driven by consumers rather than by government in collusion with big business?  For example, wouldn’t it have been more resourceful to give each homeowner a $10,000 grant to spend creating new business in our country?  We could have offered that to install individual solar or wind generated electricity or heat in our homes.  That would not only have allowed homeowners to eliminate much of their monthly utility expenses, thus being able to pay their mortgages, but would have created an industry dedicated to manufacturing such government regulated systems for $10,000 or less.  Don’t you think with that kind of demand and market that manufacturing businesses would be sprouting up all over our country to provide that product?  And, how many jobs would that create?  And what if we did the same thing with energy efficient cars, and other products that would create a new market for innovation? 

If we’re going to spend OUR money to stimulate the economy, why not use it to help the Average Joe survive the current crisis and create a vibrant economy in the future, rather than the doom of a future preceded by continually borrowing more money for bailouts of those whose decisions got us in this mess to begin with.  We need to start by plugging the hole.

Unfortunately, those making these decisions on our behalf are not only those same brilliant minds who created those holes, but who are now putting us in a hole so deep that it reaches China.  Didn’t we just vote for a “CHANGE” in how our government was operating and who it was representing?  I guess the “average” Bush, Obama and members of Congress have never experienced what it’s like to live like the Average Joe.