Sally Kohn on What is Wrong With Our Economy

I just discovered the writing of Sally Kohn, founder of the Liberal think tank: the Movement Vision Lab.

When I went to read one of her articles on line, a picture of a smiling face was presented with the question: "Do you own an oil company?" Why would that make me giggle? (I shouldn't laugh, because it sounded like it was mocking people with modest lifestyles who vote Republican.) Democracy Now a few weeks ago played this activist folk song entitled something like: "God Help Us, the President Is An Oil Man."

As for what is wrong with the economy, you can read Sally Kohn's op-ed piece in USA Today, May 24: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-05-24-Dont-believe-national-debt-hype_n.htm#

A few highlights.

1) 8 million people lost their jobs during the last year of the Bush administration and the first few months of the Obama administration. No substantial progress has been made at putting these people back to work.

2) It is tragically misplaced to even contemplate tax cuts for large American business.

Why? Large American Industry is sitting on record levels of capital, which is not being invested to create jobs. Why? Because the American consumer is broke and is not buying anything. American corporations are using their tax-break money to invest in infrastructure, or just saving it for the time when their customers will start spending again.

Conclusion. Tax cuts need to be directed at the consumer. If the consumer is empowered to spend more, industry will be able to do what they already want to do: expand.

3) It is tragically misplaced to be reducing government spending at this time.

Why? Because cutting government spending directly reduces consumer spending. Not to mention that the government is itself a very important consumer.

4) It is tragically misplaced to be obsessed with the deficit and to see a Democratic president obsessing over the deficit with all these people unemployed.

Why? First of all, the biggest cause of the deficit (other than the Bush tax cuts) is that 8 million people stopped paying taxes three years ago, and started depending on the government programs set up to give them temporary support, thereby causing the government to spend more.

Why? Because our deficit, while a big, long-term problem, is not a major problem in the short-term. Sally Kohn provides some perspective. The American government has a debt-to-income ratio of 1-to-1. That means that what we owe is equal to what we take in during one year. The debt-to-income ratio of IBM is 2-1, Dupont 3-1, Boeing 4-1, Caterpillar 14-1. (I won't mention JP Morgan Chase which is at 50-1, because they are too big to fail.)

CONCLUSIONS:

1) Taxes need to be cut immediately on the American consumer. This is in the interest of American business large and small.

2) Republican economic policy is driven by an ideological obsession, hatred for government, which is counter to the interests of American business.

Another outstanding Sally Kohn article is from April 15, entitled: "Liberals Pride Themselves on Being Tolerant. Are They Really Just Suckers."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/liberals-pride-themselves-on-being-tolerant-are-they-really-just-suckers/2011/04/13/AFhsTZjD_story.html

Of course, I think this is a great article because it seems to say just what I am thinking. In fact, a future blog ruminating in my mind is entitled: "Why Liberals Repeatedly get their Butts Kicked In Debates With Right-Wingers."