In the wake of the economic troubles facing our country, certain politicians and pundits have been turning to an old standby of their rhetoric... They are blaming you - average, everyday people - for the state of the economy. For example, I saw a television talk show recently on which George Will said that the reason for the current economic problems is that all Americans have been on a spending spree, buying more than they can afford.
But that kind of accusation is grossly unfair. It is true that American consumer debt has been increasing, but the reason for that is far from Mr. Will's accusation. The truth is that bad trade policies and other damaging federal policies have been slowly undermining the standard of living of the American middle class for decades, now. And the result is clear:
This video on MSNBC shows both the problem (and possibilities for hope). It talks about industrial jobs lost when federal trade policies allowed a corporation to move jobs to a lower-wage country. This is a story we know very well in Connecticut, and especially in New Britain.
But this video also shows the industrial opportunities that exist to start manufacturing renewable energy products. This is the kind of manufacturing that Connecticut's - and New Britain's - high tech industry and highly skilled workforce are well-prepared to start - or do a lot more of. And good policies designed to get us there can help to alleviate the harm done by decades of poor economic decisions by the federal government - and help set us on a path to a prosperous future.
The Green Jobs legislation other legislators and I are working on right now can start accomplishing exactly this.
But that kind of accusation is grossly unfair. It is true that American consumer debt has been increasing, but the reason for that is far from Mr. Will's accusation. The truth is that bad trade policies and other damaging federal policies have been slowly undermining the standard of living of the American middle class for decades, now. And the result is clear:
Jared Bernstein, [President Barack Obama's task force on middle-class issues] executive director, said middle-class incomes have fallen by about $2,000 in real terms since the start of the decade. (MSNBC)Americans have been struggling to keep themselves in (or get themselves into) the middle class, with bad federal trade policies continually undermining their hard work.
This video on MSNBC shows both the problem (and possibilities for hope). It talks about industrial jobs lost when federal trade policies allowed a corporation to move jobs to a lower-wage country. This is a story we know very well in Connecticut, and especially in New Britain.
But this video also shows the industrial opportunities that exist to start manufacturing renewable energy products. This is the kind of manufacturing that Connecticut's - and New Britain's - high tech industry and highly skilled workforce are well-prepared to start - or do a lot more of. And good policies designed to get us there can help to alleviate the harm done by decades of poor economic decisions by the federal government - and help set us on a path to a prosperous future.
The Green Jobs legislation other legislators and I are working on right now can start accomplishing exactly this.
