This week was another rough one for the nation’s economy (though these days, most weeks are). We don’t mean to be downers – especially on a Friday, but you have to wonder how long it will take for Congress to come to their senses.
A quick look at recent headlines shows just how dire the need for decisive action has become:
“Wall Street Down Over 3% at Close in Broad Sell-Off” – New York Times
“Economic Signals Heighten Worries of a Double-Dip” – Wall Street Journal
“Markets Swoon on Recession Fears” – Wall Street Journal
“Wall Street Banks Taking a Bruising” – Wall Street Journal
“Global stocks, commodities plunge on growing economic fears” – Washington Post
The latest economic news tells a clear story: the global economy is faltering and Washington’s inability to responsibly handle the nation’s finances is only making fiscal imbalances more pronounced.
Meanwhile the threat of a government shutdown looms as lawmakers can’t agree on a funding solution past September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
And more and more people are becoming frustrated. Ben White in Politico’s Morning Money laments:
The parties are now fighting and threatening a shut down because they know no other way of operating. The sums involved are ridiculously small given the size of the federal budget. And no one outside the Beltway (or cable TV studios) cares about the fight over Solyndra or a few hundred million dollars for alternative energy programs. NO ONE. The entire global economy is on the precipice of total collapse and this is what the United States Congress spends its time on? Stunning incompetence.
On its Facebook page, No Labels notes that Republican presidential candidates are also avoiding talking about country’s the biggest hurdles:
What was striking about the debate however, was the extent to which there was little or no discussion about the world economic meltdown and the poison in our political system that has led to a paralysis of leadership to deal with the crisis we face.
Congress seems dead set on driving their approval ratings lower and lower. When will lawmakers realize that Americans want to see productive, efficient governing, not partisan politicking?
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