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Continued from a discussion started in a front page story here.
Conservatism and Loss of Wealth Stunning During Bush Years Leading to the Great Recession
(American Progress) – The economic trends that ailed the economy and led to the sharp rise in household debt were unsustainable. American workers lived through the weakest labor market since the Great Depression after the previous recession ended in November 2001. Yet prices for key household items such as health care, energy, transportation, food, and housing rose, often at runaway speed. American families only managed to pay their bills by borrowing on their credit cards, for large consumer items and on their homes. The massive debt boom was a reflection of the economic squeeze American families were in during the 2000s.
.. the money could have been used to stimulate economic growth by giving middle-class families a boost and by investing in needed infrastructure such as new energy sources;
.. tax bill in 2003 was intended to stimulate growth through cuts in taxes for dividends and capital gains;
.. versions of an energy bill that would have brought more alternative fuels and promoted greater energy efficiency were negotiated but never passed;
.. opportunities missed to start to tackle high costs, particularly in health care in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.American Dream, the vanishing middle-class and the great recession
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
