Recent polls have been asking people if they are better off now than four years ago. Predictably, 60 percent are saying they are not better off. Many people are hurting. Those in the top 1 percent have received almost all of the economic gains. The poverty rate is increasing. The middle class is shrinking. Manufacturing is declining. Houses are "underwater." Medical costs are soaring. And good jobs are harder to find. The alleged benefits of the free market have not trickled down.
Republicans are hoping to blame it all on the Democratic administration in Washington, D.C. "Are you better off" is a trick question and a cheap campaign gimmick. We should be asking why people are not better off.
The answer is that Republican economic policies have dominated our country for decades. Republican free-market, global-economy, anti-government, anti-regulation policies shipped jobs overseas, killed manufacturing, let banks defraud us, played casino games with our houses and crashed the economy. Republicans' anti-tax obsession and two wars created most of the budget crisis.
In addition, for the past four years, the Republicans have opposed every effort and refused every compromise to find sensible solutions. Even though most of the Bush administration's policies have been continued, they seemed to want only for the Democrats to fail.
This election we should put the blame where it belongs and vote for the people who will at least try to find solutions. Vote Democratic.
ADVERTISEMENT
Philip Anderson
Maple
