A SYSTEM AS COMPLEX, unorganized, and unplanned as the american economy cannot escape the violent contortions manifest throughout the past two hundred years: depressions, recessions, inflation, unemployment, levels of production inappropiate to actual societal needs have been a permanent feature of the american economy.
A large part of the american economy is invisible because of drug laws, straight cash employment and other transactions. and various forms of organized crime, resulting in billions of annual dollars of unreported economic activity.
Social security, medicare, and medicaid are often wrongly described as "entitlement" programs, but are in fact paid for by the people who receive their benefits. Nonetheless, these programs contribute greatly to the staggering national debt, but perhaps the most draining of all is unemployment insurance, which presently goes out to approximately fourteen million american, and is in fact a disguised form of unemployment insurance.
But the most damagin effect on teh american economy is in the form of military procurement, which has accounted for about half of the sixteen trillion dollar national debt, and which serves primarly to enrich the corporations who pay to elect the politicians who legislate military budgets.
Doomsayers have forever predicted the imminent collapse of the american economy, and their dire prognostications may yet eventuate. Competitive and cooperative economic systems (capitalism and socialism) are both viable, but seldom can anyone be found who is willing to acknowledge this.
There is no shortage of intelligence availabe to contend with economic difficulties, but there seems to be a shortage of people willing to expand their thinking to open mindedly embrace available solutions. And until that changes, our economic instability is likely to proceed apace.
No comments:
Post a Comment