The Reading Forum

Layoffs abound.   The credit crisis deepens as the housing market continues to tank, or drift along like a patient in a vegetative state.  Americans are hurting.  There is a real and deepening sense of unease throughout the land. 

There is an election and Americans in their great wisdom and eternal optimism vote for a man who says that he will bring change to the government.  For a moment, the people celebrate.

How sad, then, that the first act of this new government is to relapse into the same old habits that made the nation sick in the first place.  A great crisis has not brought forth from our leaders a great response, but the use of a crisis to pay-off the political base and grab more power.

America needs new policies and legislation that will spur businesses to expand and retain jobs.  It needs simple spending plans on infrastructure that will spur local governments to let contracts that put people to work.  Instead, Congress has given the people a mish-mash of pet projects, “get-even” legistlation, and policy decisions that have nothing to do with putting people to work.   The Wall Street Journal reports that only 12 cents on the dollar is evenly remotely for something that could stimulate the economy and less than half of hte $355B slated for infrastructure will be spent before 2010.

 Quite simply, when faced with a crisis and chance to do something good for America the Congress and President balked.  They couldn’t pitch one over the plate.  Americans are beginning to realize the truth of the matter, that they are on their own.  The American people will have to buckle-down, trim the fat, and work their way through this crisis and the coming hard times without any expectation of real help from their elected leaders.   Americans are strong, and not prone to sniveling, a fortunate thing for a people with hard times ahead.