Someone has to say it...

The United States of America, the great country that I am so proud to call my home, must wake up, recognize and react to the current economic landscape that continues to challenge our smartest leaders.  The difficulty we continue to face is that nobody will concede that there are necessary changes on both sides of the coin. Politicians stick to their talking points, the 24-hour news outlets reinforce those talking points on the right (Fox) and the left (MSNBC) and our country's big businesses simply fund the politicians who are advocates for their individual interests.  That leaves one major stakeholder, the general public.  The citizens of this country must stop listening to politicians, because they no longer represent their best interests on the right or the left. Citizens need to turn off Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow, and begin to cultivate their own opinions and outlook.  The future success of this country is contingent on the development of a truly educated public, not a false perception of education based on watching our favorite talking heads each night.

Middle Ground
Self admittedly, I am progressive, liberal, whatever label is appropriate these days.  However, I do not agree that spend, spend, spend is the solution to economic hardship.  That being said, it is clear to me that investment is necessary.  I'm no economist or business expert, but the simple principle of, "you must spend money to make money," makes sense and should be very familiar to my friends on the right.  Our nation's newest political fad, the Tea Party, would lead us to believe that our tax rates are among the highest in the world and that the only solution to our economic woes is to cut every government funded program we can.  Sounds easy, cut taxes to put more money in our own pockets and cut government spending to balance our budget.  However, I would venture to guess that there are a lot of Tea-Party members who are benefitting from a wide range of government programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Public Schools, Public Transportation, maybe even Welfare.  What a perfect opportunity to be realistic and find a middle ground!  What if we recognized that there are some significant cuts that can be made while conceding that reasonable taxation is a major source of income that allows our government to fund programs which a significant portion of our population relies on?  Democrats are demonized because "tax" has become an evil term in our society, but why?  Tax cuts may be popular, but they are expensive and will never allow us to climb out of the deepening hole that is our National Debt.  Again, recognize and react to the reality of the challenges we face, which will require us to make some difficult decisions including the potential of higher taxes. 

Jobs
I don't know when it happened, but I think it started under Clinton and continued throughout George W.'s two terms.  Either way, we were asleep at the wheel while we allowed a large percentage of our blue-collar jobs to be shipped off-shore.  In my opinion, this is a complex issue with some very simple causes. 

1. Unions drove wages to a level that manufacturing companies could no longer afford
2. Companies recognized the ability to move their jobs off-shore with significantly cheaper compensation
3. These companies were able to move off-shore and ship their goods back to the States without being heavily taxed

Addressing the first and second causes, clearly there is a purpose for unions and at certain points in our history they have been very influential in creating standards for wages and work environments.  That was at a time when we did not have a government imposed minimum wage, government standards for work environments, standards for retirement benefits, etc.  While unions were the catalyst to create those necessary standards, it got to the point where compensation was so out of control that it was no longer possible for businesses to run profitable ventures.  Again, not popular, but why are assembly line workers making $30 +  per hour at our major auto companies, not including the cost of benefits? No wonder companies shipped their jobs off-shore when blue-collar jobs no longer pay blue-collar wages. 

Finally, the third point, there should be no restriction on US companies shipping jobs off-shore, but they should be taxed accordingly when they attempt to import their goods back into the country.  What incentives are we giving companies to keep their jobs in the States and what punishment are we applying to companies who send them to Mexico and China?  While these companies can get cheaper wages off-shore they still heavily rely on our population to consume their goods.  Therefore, our government has every right and every reason to place higher taxes on imports.  Yet another opportunity to find a middle ground. Democrats must concede that wages need to be reigned in despite the fact that their biggest supporters, the unions, will kick and scream the whole way.  Meanwhile, Republicans must stray from their 100% allegiance to the interests of big businesses and start providing incentives to companies that keep jobs in the US while punishing companies who move off-shore with significantly higher taxes on imported goods.

There are many other components that contributed to our economic downfall.  Yet, the idea that is most clear to me is that a middle-ground will lead us to resolve our economic woes.  While I do not agree with a lot of the policies that come from the right, many of their conservative principles will allow us to reestablish economic prosperity.  Similarly, while the left is often too willing to spend without clear sources of funding, their socially progressive philosophies speak for those who don't have a voice and allow us to provide a level of economic prosperity to the entire country and not just the upper-class.  Prosperity is relative, but poverty is concrete. 

Take it upon yourself to recognize the reality of the situation we face.  The solutions won't come from just the right or the left, it will require the two sides to genuinely work together.  While that idea requires a lot of optimism, I am confident that it is the only path back to the light that used to shine so brightly throughout the world.