The State of the American Economy and Its Relation to National Politics

Over the past several months, the condition of the United States economy has been a concern on the minds of many. And, although most economists now agree that we are currently in the state of a recession, it is debatable as to how concerning this recession really is.

On September 15, the Dow Jones Industrial dropped more than 500 points following the weekend announcement that two market giants Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. would be going under. This has thrown some into a panic while others continue to watch and wait.

It is basic economics, which any first-year college student can tell you, that recessions are a naturally occurring phenomenon. Although it can be unfortunate sometimes, economic growth requires a period of balance. Thus, without periods of recession, we could never have periods of progression.

For example, there was a recession in the mid-1990's before a period of growth going into the new millennium. There was another just after the terrorist attacks of 9-11 which was followed up by arguably the greatest economic growth in our nation's history.

One question on the minds of many Americans is, "who is to blame?"

Some politicians like Senator Barack Obama, like to blame the oppositional party when it might benefit them to do so. In this case, this philosophy is irrational and highly inaccurate. As that we are a capitalist economy, the federal government is limited in its power and influence over business.

Obama suggests President George W. Bush and his party-mates are the problem here. Well, as a member of the executive branch of government, Bush has no ability to institute law in relation to business. On the other hand, the Congress, being the legislative branch, does have some say here. However, rather than react appropriately, the overwhelmingly Democratic Congress has invested more of their time into such efforts as renaming post offices than strengthening the economy.

On the other hand, although he should have clarified his comments immediately, Senator John McCain's comments have been a bit more realistic. He suggested that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong. He should have informed the American public of his definition of "fundamentals" which he later defined as the skills and work ethic of the American worker.

However, as opposed to Obama, McCain places the blame on companies themselves. And, now that these businesses are constantly replacing workers with automated systems and sending jobs overseas for slave wages, nobody can really argue his logic.

I truly believe that to find the source of this current recession, one need not look any further than the pocketbook of the average American CEO, cooperate spending and the ugly monster known as greed.

Multi-million dollar bonuses, the aforementioned trend toward outsourcing and an increased emphasis on profit margins have been killers. And, who can forget the pathetic business practices of mortgage companies and those dumb enough to fall into their traps.

As always, we will come out of this recession, it's just a matter of when. What we must ask ourselves is these two questions: "Do we really want a man with only 11 years of political experience running our country in these times?" or "Do we want to rely on McCain, with decades of experience and a VP who has actually been the only person on either ticket to work with a budget, to be leaders?

The answer seems pretty obvious to me.

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