State jobless rate rises to 12.5 percent
Poll: Voters Want to Repeal StimulusCalifornia's unemployment rate increases in October from September's rate of 12.2%, giving the Golden State the fourth-highest rate in the country.
Okay, so we have a citizenry that is economically illiterate.51 percent believe canceling the rest of the stimulus money would create more jobs, and only 32 percent ... want to keep spending it.
This one is pretty simple: if no one is spending, there will be NO jobs. If people can't spend, spending has to come from somewhere. Our government is the only place spending can come from, essentially because it can borrow money to spend if necessary. Lenders trust it won't collapse and will pay back. (If that trust goes -- and in some circumstances such as Germany in 1922 it does -- then you are really up shit creek.)
The 2009 stimulus should have been larger, not smaller. It should in particular have helped the states which can't borrow unlimited money without losing their credit ratings and paying too much for what they borrow. Cuts in state programs hurt employment and quality of life very directly.
Let's hope there are enough economically literate politicians who understand that throwing even more people out of work will not help, so this particularly bit of polling is ignored. But also, it is the responsibility of people who do understand that 2 + 2 makes 4 to explain: yes -- we do need our government to act in order to keep this creaky greed fest of an economy going.
2 comments:
From what I read the Republicans are fiscally illiterate and will throw a monkey wrench in further spending screaming about the deficit.
Part of the problem is that politicians are cutting spending and laying off employees instead of making the rich pay their fair share in taxes.
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