Sad reality: most Americans seem not to realize that the "Tea Baggers" have been making noise, politicking about our jobless economic crisis without being able to outlining ANY practical solution the Democrats have or are willing to try to get the country out of its recesion.
Since January 2009, Democrats and the President have put forth some of the proposals initiated in 2008 by the former Republican Administration to bail out big banks and other lending institutions that were about to fail in Wall Street. Later, they extended a hand to help fix the foreclosure crisis, the automakers on the verge of the bankruptcy.
The "Cash for Clunckers" Program boosted the Sales from American Car makers in a market that helped them keep hundreds of thousands of workers and dealerships on the job; having a reason to believe the crisis will go away.
To these measures to aleviate these unpredicted economic difficulties born out of the deregulation of the economic rules over the FEC and other major lending insitutions that abused privileges, were applied the 2009-2010 necessary Reforms that were needed to respond to prevent future abuses
These Institutions enjoyed much from the governement over the course of te past 8 years: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, for instance, got a free pass from the Bush administration in the matter : Obama's reform prorams inlude the Wall Street Regulation; Banking Reform, Credit Card Reform, Student Loan Reform, Food Safety Regulations, and the Heathcare Reform.
These changes were necesssary to close the loopholes in the regulations, to redo laws that needed a complete revamp, and to scrap those that needed new premises that can sustain a legislation that would bring our economy to a good start.
Republicans used this legislation process of these reforms to fuel up political fear and doubt in their constituencies affected by the harshes of the economy. They then "ironically" gained a vote back in Congress. After the Elections of November 2nd 2010, "Right-Wing" elected-officials who went out of their way, having called the President of the United States, an alien, a fraud, a non-US born who forged his birth certificate, are now having to work with the same President they claimed had legislated and executed illegally as Commander-in-Chief since his win in 2008 presidential elections..
The truth is here: There has been attempt of reforms in the past in this country and harsh reactions from the K Street's lobbyists. Republicans did not count with the recent history of the great depression. You would think Obama and the 111th Congress have suffered enough attacks, insults, threats from the T-Party, relayed by Republicans Elected-Officials' obstructions in Congress?
We are going to review the 1929 Great depression's episode and learn from it. It was an economic crisis doubled with a series of ideological attacks in Washington DC, of clashes between what's good for the middle class or the rich whom both loss their capital during the crisis, political tensions between Congress and the White House, and a lack of civility in debates, off course.
A Democrat President, Roosevelt initiated a great deal of necessary reforms in various aspects of the political life and the collapsed US economy:
• Roosevelt inaugurated; begins 'First 100 Days'; of intensive legislative activity.
• A third banking panic occurs in March. Roosevelt declares a Bank Holiday; closes financial institutions to stop a run on banks.
• Alarmed by Roosevelt's plan to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, a group of millionaire businessmen, led by the DuPont and J.P. Morgan empires, plans to overthrow Roosevelt with a military coup and install a fascist government modelled after Mussolini's regime in Italy.
The businessmen try to recruit General Smedley Butler, promising him an army of 500,000, unlimited financial backing and generous media spin control. The plot is foiled when Butler reports it to Congress.
• Congress authorizes creation of the:
(1) Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(2) Civilian Conservation Corps
(3) Farm Credit Administration
(4) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(5) Federal Emergency Relief Administration
(6) National Recovery Administration
(7) Public Works Administration
(8) Tennessee Valley Authority.
• Congress passes the
(1) Emergency Banking Bill.
(2) Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.
(3) Farm Credit Act.
(4) National Industrial Recovery Act.
(5) Truth-in-Securities Act.
• Roosevelt does much to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, but is concerned with a balanced budget. He later rejects Keynes' advice to begin heavy deficit spending.
• The free fall of the GNP is significantly slowed; it dips only 2.1 percent this year. Unemployment rises slightly, to 24.9 percent.
Does it sound like some thing we are hearing now? Well Unemployment is under 10%. But still, We see here another page of history on the economic depression of the 1930's, when the the President and the US Congress attempted a fix to its laws, the enactment of reforms. What brings these two eras closer is the opposition by various business financiers in the back stage. Just like the T-party sponsored by US Chamber of Commerce and many other DC powerful Lobbyists are standing against President Barack Obama, the Democratic president in the 30's almost got booted out by a plotted "coup d'etat", calling him a sell-out of our country. Ironically, the legacy of programs born out of the Roosevelt Era still benefit the country to this day...
A "Deja Vu" episode in the American History ...
By Franklin Katunda, Host of the Diaspora Show on CBNext.com
