Washington

Recent economic news indicates that we are slipping backwards on virtually all fronts as working people continue to struggle with the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. The official unemployment rate still hovers near 10%, with new layoff and plant closing notices wiping out any employment gains over the past month. The hard-hit public sector is now reeling under the current recessionary pressure, with mass layoffs spreading throughout this sector in all 50 states. Corporations across-the-board are refusing to hire new employees in the current period, choosing instead to accumulate cash reserves beyond any previously recorded in the past 50 years. Our nation’s astronomical and unsustainable trade deficit has also taken a new turn for the worse over the past month, as imported products continue to pour in from sweatshop zones all across the planet. Home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies continue at record levels as a result of the unemployment crisis as well. This is what hard times look like for many millions of working people.

Congressional action in early August to pass a one-shot $26 billion aid bill for states and school districts was welcomed by working people, despite its limited impact. Similar slices of aid for workers and the unemployed passed over the last several months are certainly beneficial, but remain far too small to confront the size and scope of our current jobs and unemployment catastrophe. Congressional Democrats – taking their lead from the White House – remain mired in a self-destructive pursuit of “bipartisanship” with a Republican minority which has made it clear for the past 18 months that they are not interested in compromise with Democrats on practically any issue whatsoever. While Democrats in the House of Representatives have provided far more support for working people than those in the Senate, the failure of Senate Democrats to take the required bold action on the jobs crisis is likely to be felt by more House Democrats on Election Day.  House Democrats will almost certainly pay a heavy price for the failure of their Senate brethren to act decisively to confront the ongoing jobs and unemployment crisis.  

The remaining weeks running up the November elections are likely to hold even more bad news on the jobs front, and certainly no dramatic good news is expected.  The negative economic trends now weakening an already anemic economy show signs of gaining dangerous momentum. Corporate America is apparently committed to a strategy of working those still employed longer and harder, and their program of destroying and offshoring U.S. jobs continues without letup. They have no plans to expand or hire new workers – at least here in the U.S.  There is therefore little good news on the horizon for the battered public sector, since real economic growth, employment growth, and tax revenue growth is needed in order to resuscitate state and local budgets.  

Working people have had their fill of foolish and self destructive entreaties for more “bipartisanship” from the Republican Congressional minority. This is all the more apparent when we are reminded that these same anti-worker forces have never made a secret of this fact. They are content to block all positive legislation in order to demoralize working people and benefit from that frustration on Election Day.  Working people are rightly fed-up with the situation in Washington. It’s time for Democrats to respond to the obvious needs of the people, and pass massive job-creation legislation before it’s too late.