An Update on the US Economic Crisis
by Randy Shannon
Treasurer, PA 4th CD Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America
Rampant speculation, asset bubbles and corruption led to a crash of the Japanese economy in 1990. Like the U.S. government today, the government of Japan was controlled by the banks. The government of Japan liquidated the savings of the people of Japan, most of which were in Postal Savings accounts, to bail out the crooked banks. This bailout wrecked the economy and took ten years to overcome. The economy of Japan is still struggling at a very low growth rate.
The U.S. government bailed out the crooked banks with $13 trillion of debt that obligates future generations to a long term economic recession. The bankers oppose any measures that would require the U.S. government to increase its debt beyond the debt already incurred to rescue themselves.
Thus stimulus spending to get production and employment going is opposed or gutted with tax cuts. Businesses with debt that they are able to service are seeing their debt called by the banks, forcing the businesses into bankruptcy. Infrastructure projects are not funded or underfunded while millions of construction workers are idle. Over 840 small and community banks are official “problem banks” facing foreclosure, not rescue. The Republican and Blue Dog Democrat neo-liberal majority is reluctant to extend unemployment benefits.
Continue reading Japan’s Lost Decades 1990-2010: The U.S. Sequel 2008-???
As PDA continues its work through summer 2010, we are pursuing an aggressive progressive agenda in support of economic and social justice and a call for the end to war funding. We have joined with our allies to fight for this nation’s social insurance safety net programs—Social Security and Medicare—in the face of cries by conservative groups and other non-progressive types to cut benefits and raise the retirement age as a mechanism to somehow put a dent in the federal deficit.
Beaver County Blue: Voice of the 17th CD of Progressive Democrats of America 