SectionsTired of economic analyses
J.D. Garretson
Issue date: 3/17/09 Section: Opinion
God, I'm so sick of hearing about the economy. I watch and read an abnormal amount of news during my daily routine, so I get to hear every nut-job with an economic theory spouting off about how they'd do so much better handling things than the people actually in charge.
Here I thought the Great Depression and the programs that helped us claw our way out of it would directly inform decisions made in light of any similar crisis. But reflecting on the past doesn't seem to be a big concern for the majority of conservatives.
Take housing. I think we can all agree that if you fudged facts and signed up for a mortgage or a home you couldn't afford, it's your own fault if you lost it. But one thing I can't understand about Republican arguments against homeowner bailouts is the refusal to admit that owning a home should be a fundamental right of citizenship.
Everyone should own a home. Shelter is the most basic component of any economy - a homeless population is a jobless one incapable of expanding. Maybe you can make some semblance of a case against universal health care; maybe you can even make a case for allowing major corporations to succumb to bankruptcy. But you simply can't say that someone without a home is capable of leading a productive, healthy life.
And yet, I have to hear the debates about homeowner bailouts every time there's a political roundtable. People are losing their homes while AIG, which the US government owns 80 percent of by now, is planning to spend $450 million in bonuses to just a portion of its employees. For a little perspective, that same money could be spent to stop hundreds of foreclosures.
Did you know the economy is even hitting Sesame Street? The company that makes that show, among others, is laying off a fifth of its production team because of the tough times. It looks like Oscar may get a few neighbors camping out in their own cozy trash cans. And it's only a matter of time before they start craving poultry ...
Here I thought the Great Depression and the programs that helped us claw our way out of it would directly inform decisions made in light of any similar crisis. But reflecting on the past doesn't seem to be a big concern for the majority of conservatives.
Take housing. I think we can all agree that if you fudged facts and signed up for a mortgage or a home you couldn't afford, it's your own fault if you lost it. But one thing I can't understand about Republican arguments against homeowner bailouts is the refusal to admit that owning a home should be a fundamental right of citizenship.
Everyone should own a home. Shelter is the most basic component of any economy - a homeless population is a jobless one incapable of expanding. Maybe you can make some semblance of a case against universal health care; maybe you can even make a case for allowing major corporations to succumb to bankruptcy. But you simply can't say that someone without a home is capable of leading a productive, healthy life.
And yet, I have to hear the debates about homeowner bailouts every time there's a political roundtable. People are losing their homes while AIG, which the US government owns 80 percent of by now, is planning to spend $450 million in bonuses to just a portion of its employees. For a little perspective, that same money could be spent to stop hundreds of foreclosures.
Did you know the economy is even hitting Sesame Street? The company that makes that show, among others, is laying off a fifth of its production team because of the tough times. It looks like Oscar may get a few neighbors camping out in their own cozy trash cans. And it's only a matter of time before they start craving poultry ...
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Billy Dean
Billy Dean
posted 3/17/09 @ 12:31 AM CST
Shelter is a right; home ownership isn't.
Do people need houses? Perhaps the road to real "green" efforts begins with the foreclosure of the American house, the hallmark of consumerism--an oversized status symbol filled to capacity with "stuff. (Continued…)
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