By George Wilson | The Republican ideology-driven policy of austerity at a time of unemployment and low interest rates has been a drag on the economic recovery of the United States from the great recession that started doing the last Republican administration.
Fortunately, some Obama and Democratic inspired spending got through and a recovery of the economy has taken place. The recovery could have been faster and resulted in lower unemployment and a lower deficit if Democratic policies had been implemented fully.
For the skeptics, contrast this with countries in Europe, especially Great Britain, which followed a more conservative policy and got slower growth. I’m hoping that a Democratic victory signals a period of loose fiscal policy, which we will need as we head towards the historical limits of a recovery.
Spending is not the problem. Tax policy (tax cuts for the rich), unpaid wars and austerity are the problems. We need to take advantage of low interest rates and rebuild our infrastructure.
However, saner and effective economic policies may be killed by voter suppression laws, gerrymandering and the Citizens United ruling that allowed for unlimited spending by the one percent, that will insure that the Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives where spending bills have to originate.
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