Volunteer to Fight for the U.S. Economy

Things now are officially so bad in the Great Recession that those of us near the bottom of the economic food chain need to start doing something--anything!--to try to fuel a recovery from the bottom up.

President Obama and the Democrats on Capitol Hill--with almost no constructive help from the Republicans--are struggling to do what they can, within the painfully slow, inefficient and chaotic framework of U.S. politics.

Meanwhile, many among us are suffering and getting their butts kicked. We need to try to help them, today.

Can you start a business, no matter how small? Can you create a job, even part-time, temporary or something for a consultant to do? Can you do it today?

Will you do it today?

Can you buy something extra? (It almost doesn't matter what: a latte, a Lamborghini, a Lava soap bar, a lava lamp, a leg waxing, a loaf of bread.) Almost anything you buy can help save or create a job. Can you buy something today?

Will you do it today?

Can you use and pay for somebody's service? Get the gutters cleaned, get a bicycle repaired, get a haircut, get a pizza delivered--today?

Will you do it today?

Can you donate money or food to a food bank and clothes, unneeded tools and other useful items to Goodwill, the Salvation Army and other organizations and agencies in your community? Can you do it today?

Will you do it today?

And don't forget churches, whether you attend or not. Many churches now are struggling to keep unemployed members, parishioners and strangers afloat even as they try to keep their own doors open, too. Can you donate a few bucks to one or more of them today?

Will you do it today?

Anything and everything we can comfortably afford to do needs to be done...today. Now. Immediately.

Do it today.

Start pushing the economic recovery from the bottom up and keep pushing. Do it today.

Maybe those at the pinnacle of the economic food chain soon will learn how to stop playing "gotcha" games (we can only hope) and start helping push recovery dollars downward where they are now desperately needed.

And maybe we'll all meet in the middle soon and hope things never get out of control like this again.

But it all starts by doing something today.

-- Si Dunn

Stimulating New Jobs: Where's the Leadership?

New York Times columnist Frank Rich got it exactly right when he stated:

"As the nation’s anger rose last week, the president took responsibility for what’s happening on his watch — more than he needed to, given the disaster he inherited. But in the credit mess, action must match words. To fall short would be to deliver us into the catastrophic hands of a Republican opposition whose only known economic program is to reject job-creating stimulus spending and root for Obama and, by extension, the country to fail. With all due deference to Ponzi schemers from Madoff to A.I.G., this would be the biggest outrage of them all."

Anger did rise, and it's still boiling up. There should be more job-creating stimulus spending now and more focus on the "real" people in the American economy: workers, mid-level and low-level managers, small-business owners and entrepreneurs starting new companies.

Yes, the appalling problems in the upper levels of the American economy must be fixed. At the same time, it is vital to deal with the difficulties, challenges and economic emergencies now facing people below the rank of "Master of the Universe." Specifically, emergency focus now should be given to Main Street and rural America, as well.

Where are the Congressional and White House leaders who can cut through the bailout noise and be stronger--and louder--advocates for the millions of Americans struggling in the heartland? These layoff victims need jobs now and can't find any, and thousands of small businesses who could hire them are unable to get crucial loans.

"Congress and the White House Team Up to Tackle Middle America's Deepening Crisis" -- that should (but won't) be tomorrow's big headline.


-- Si Dunn

It's the BushCheneyRoveLimbaugh Economy, Stupid

It's funny--yet not really funny at all--how the current economic crisis suddenly exploded into public view just a few short weeks before the end of the Bush-Cheney-Rove-Limbaugh Administration. And lawmakers were given something like one week to come up with massive amounts of bailout cash, or else the American and world economies would all swirl down the tube like a flushed toilet.

Conspiracy theorists might postulate that Republican insiders were frantically trying to keep the meltdown hidden until BushCheneyRoveLimbaugh made it out of office, so the economy then would implode just after President Barack Obama was inaugurated. And Democrats would get all of the blame for the collapse just as they tried to put forth their agenda of change and help for the downtrodden middle class and poor.

Anyway, it all blew up on the GOP's watch, and the elephant boys now are feeling the wrath from people all over America and the world while they frantically try to deflect the criticism toward President Obama--and make it "his" economy.


“Never underestimate the capacity of angry populism in times of economic stress,” Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, recently told the New York Times. “A big challenge for President Obama will be to maintain a rational and tactical public discussion in the midst of this severe downturn. The desire for culprits at times like this is strong.”

The blame needs to stay squarely on the true culprits: the "free market" Republicans who pushed financial regulation almost completely out of the economy and let crooks, pirates and others driven by greed take over and rip us off while steering corporations, funds and worker benefits straight into the ground.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney recently has said "Don't blame us for this mess." He was just trying--very unsuccessfully--to steer the spotlight away from the economic sins of the past eight years, during which he helped advise and preside.

It's still not Barack Obama's economy--not yet. We're still trying to cope with the financial horrors of the BushCheneyRoveLimbaugh economy. And we will continue trying to cope with them for many months to come, until the Obama Administration's frantic flurry of emergency measures finally starts turning things around.

So, yes, do blame the free-market, anti-regulation Republicans for this current mess. Keep the spotlights squarely focused on BushCheneyRoveLimbaugh--and make them keep paying the electric bills for the illumination, as well.

For a long while, it seemed that the messes in Iraq and Afghanistan would be their main--and dubious--legacy. But those are small potatoes now, compared with the huge pile of burnt hash browns the GOP and their free-market cronies have made out of the American and global economies.

Once a recovery starts to take hold, remember who refused to help and cooperate in our nation's time of peril: the House Republicans and their incessant "No!" votes against the Obama Administration's proposals; and most (but not all) of the Senate Republicans, who keep clinging to the failed policies that nearly sent us into the Great Depression of 2009.

Oh, and especially the real head of the Republican Party: Rush "I Hope Obama Fails" Limbaugh.

--Si Dunn

Small Business: Too Big to Fail?

America's small businesses should also be viewed as "too big to fail." Indeed, small business should be given much greater focus in efforts to revive the national economy.

Small businesses create most of the nation's jobs. With better and focused support, they could create more jobs quickly.

With the top of the economy now in tatters and ruins, the recovery basically will have to come from the bottom up. That includes small business and the millions who own or work for small enterprises. The vast majority of them make a lot less than $250,000.

"Trickle down" has been completely and utterly discredited.

It's time now to emphasize and build upon "trickle up."

-- Si Dunn

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Have We Recovered Yet? Well, Why Not???

By Si Dunn

It's getting ridiculous out there in World Recession Land.

Pollsters here and abroad are surveying the public on whether or not they expect President Obama to make a good speech to Congress tonight about the economic crisis. News flash: Some people do and some people don't expect the President to make a good speech tonight. And a few people have no opinion at all or just don't care. (Feel free to quote my unscientific but common-sense poll results.)

The Republicans already are attacking the speech before it has been given and lining up a multiracial presidential hopeful from Louisiana (that paragon of fiscal stability) to give the GOP "response." Can you say "Tax cuts"? How about: "Earmarks" and "Why weren't we consulted? We have a lot of good ideas, such as tax cuts...and more tax cuts. Oh, and tax cuts!"

Meanwhile, world economies seem to be in free fall. Their financial leaders are particularly worried about Citigroup and Bank of America and AIG, plus a few others. Meanwhile, everyday citizens here and in Great Britain, Ireland, Russia, China and elsewhere are blaming "greedy bankers" and "bank bonuses," because the rest of the mumbo-jumbo makes absolutely no sense to those of us who don't have MBAs and a few years' experience at investment banks and have just lost our jobs and life savings.

We can certainly imagine major investment fraudsters hanging from lampposts, but we can't figure out how to string up or shoot a "derivative."

Anyway, everything apparently hangs in the balance with President Obama's speech. The whole enchilada. Some people apparently hope he will come up with the magic formula that gets us back to "the good old days" by next Friday, or Monday at the latest.

Good luck with that. A good speech is just a good speech, unless it somehow generates a rallying cry that sweeps America and the world.

Look, no one is going to save us except ourselves. The recovery will have to come from the bottom up, because the top is in meltdown and total chaos and ruins.

Figure out what you can do today to help yourself, your family, your friends and your favorite small businesses stay afloat in these absurd times.

Spend some money. Save some money. Sell off some crap on eBay or Amazon. Unclutter your life. Get lean and mean. Take some classes. Learn some new things. Stay in touch, but don't let the bad news keep knocking you down.

The recovery starts with you, with me, with us. Let's get it started now.

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The Ridiculous Republicans Strike (Out) Again

By Si Dunn

Wow! Leaders of the Republican factions that did not support the recent efforts to get an economic stimulous package passed are now claiming President Obama is "off to a bad start," according to CNN Politics. And they are complaining that he is not being bipartisan.

With those two whines, the Ridiculous Republicans have just become the Amazingly Ridiculous Republicans. They have gotten so far out of touch with the economic crisis--and with the needs of the "real" American people--that they are now inhabiting a separate universe. It's a universe where America is ruled by a king, Rush Limbaugh, and everyone has a two-word vocabulary: "Tax cuts."

The Republicans certainly were not bipartisan when they held sway during the eight years of the Bush Administration. But now they are demanding bipartanship from President Obama, even though he has gone out of his way to confer with them--and promises to keep conferring with them.

"Almost all of our proposals went down on a party-line vote," the lead Amazingly Ridiculous Republican, Sen. John McCain, complained.

Well, sir, in case you have forgotten, that's often what happens to parties that end up with a minority of the votes.

A bunch of Republican-desired tax cuts did make it into the stimulous package, and as for the rest, well, the majority decided they sucked and took them out. That's just the way the process works, bucko.

So spare us the indignant complaints, please. Figure out some new ways you can step forward and work with the ruling majority to help get our nation out of the major mess your previous "leadership" helped create.

You lost. The other side won. Get over it and start putting up some fresh ideas, if you have any.

At this point, you've driven "tax cuts" straight into the ground.

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Senator Tom Coburn Shows His Strength ... as a Job Killer

By Si Dunn

In the movies, the good guys almost always win.

But Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn proved recently that the bad guys can win, too, after he took a look at the proposed $246 million tax break for movie production companies.

Instead of investigating and understanding how the tax break could save and create jobs, he simply saw vicious pork and proposed an amendment to strip it out of the Senate's stimulus bill.

Unfortunately, a number of other prominent U.S. Senators, primarily Republican, also demonstrated their ignorance of the movie business and how its health is vital to the American economy.

The vote was 52 in favor of Coburn's amendment and 45 opposed. Only a simple majority was needed to pass the amendment.

Sen. Coburn and the others who opposed the tax break should now congratulate themselves on efficiently killing off thousands of movie production jobs, post-production jobs and jobs at film manufacturing companies and film suppliers.

THE END

How One Dollar Can Help the Stupid Economy

By Si Dunn

Most of us can't battle layoffs. We can't bail out banks or corporations or sectors of the economy. Some of us think we can't do anything except stock up on canned goods and water and hide in the attic or basement until the current bad times blow over.

Two hot news flashes for the attic hiders and basement bunker-ites: (1) Things are gonna be bad for a long time; and (2) things are gonna be even worse if you try to hide from the recession.

No, you can't battle layoffs. You can't bail out banks or corporations or economic sectors. But you can help a few people save their jobs. And, in doing so, you will help lighten the load for their families and their families' families.

Tip a waitress or waiter or your barber an extra dollar today. Put an extra dollar in the church collection plate. Buy a birthday card or get-well card from a little, locally owned gift shop. Donate an extra dollar to a charity or a school fundraiser. Add an extra dollar to your kids' allowance or your grandkids' birthday envelope--and forget the usual admonitions to save it. They'd rather spend it anyway.

If there is something inexpensive you have been wanting to buy for your house or your car or your yard or your favorite hobby, buy it now. But don't spend every penny at your local big-box retailer that can still afford to undercut every Mom-and-Pop shop in your town. Go to the little shop in your neighborhood, instead, and willingly pay a dollar more than you would at the big shrine at the edge of town.

Your individual dollar makes no big difference to Wal-Mart or AIG or Bank of America. But to somebody trying to earn a living with a bicycle repair shop or a hair salon or a one-truck lawn service or a tiny hardware store, that dollar can have direct impact on keeping the doors open and keeping at least one person or a small handful of people employed and working.

If each of us keeps doing a little bit--a dollar here, a dollar there--to help out, the recession can be shorted and many jobs and households at the heart of our economy can be saved. But we will have to sustain the effort and keep doing it for a long time.

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Undecided? Just Take a Harder Look Around You

By Si Dunn

My mind was made up long ago. I wanted Hillary Clinton to win, and I wanted Barack Obama to be Vice President. I was hung up on the narrow notion that experience trumps almost everything else.

When Hillary lost, it took me a while to warm up to Barack Obama. But the more I watched him and listened to what he has to say, the more I realized that the man is the leader we need for these greatly troubled and hugely challenging times.

John McCain has served his country with honor and distinction. But now is not the time for Republican solutions, particularly narrow-minded neoconservative solutions. The Republican Party has splintered into factions and completely lost its compass. It may take years to rebuild itself, or it may spin off into two or more political parties.

At a time when Americans are fearful for their familiess, their jobs, their retirement savings, their homes and the very future of this great nation, the current Republican leadership keeps railing about tax cuts, socialism, abortion and 1960s radicals.

As a result, John McCain and Sarah Palin seem to be harping at us from other dimensions and other planets. They want us all to just sit on our little piles of money (if we still have any) and not let any of it get (horrors!) spread around.

Government? Hey, don't need it. Taxes? Evil! Don't need 'em. Change? The economy is fundamentally sound, you betcha. Especially if the wealthy get to keep their tax cuts forever and ever, amen. Iraq? There is only one victory, and that is the victory where we stay there for up to a hundred years and keep blowing up people and goats and things until somebody important says: "Okay, okay, you win! Thank you very much!"

We need experience and leadership in Washington. But more importantly, we need someone with the ability and courage to tell us that we have to make a few sacrifices and do a few things to help our nation out over the next few years. That may include paying a few taxes to help fund government services. And it may include--horror of horrors!--spreading a little of our money around to help our less-fortunate neighbors.

After 9/11, George Bush looked out over a nation angered and ready to fight back. Americans were motivated and eager to do their part for a war effort. Our fearless leader seized that moment and told us all to go out and...shop.

Huh? Fight Al-Qaeda and the Taliban with American Express? Just party hardy and pretend they don't exist? Have the difficult and painful lessons of World War II already been forgotten?

Now we are in a major economic crisis, and the Republicans are raging against government spending--the very spending that they exploded to unbelievable levels. Yet government spending on infrastructure and other job-creation programs may be almost the only tool left for resuscitating the economy.

The Republicans have had their time and opportunities for economic and social experiments, and they have made an utter mess of things. Now they want four more, or even eight more, years to create an even bigger disaster.

Just look around and take a hard look this time. Our nation is in peril on several fronts, and the party that has lead us to the precipice now wants your permission to take us all over the cliff to complete ruin.

Stand up, fight back and say "Hell, no! We won't go!" to the Republican Party in its present, bastardized form.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden can lead us away from that precipice and toward better and more sensible times. And they'll ask for--and need--our help.

Many of us are ready to be be part of the solution, even if it means making some personal and financial sacrifices on behalf of our country. We are patriotic Americans, not just mindless shoppers looking for the next sale on tax cuts.

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Want to Help Fight the Recession? Buy American...Anything!

By Si Dunn

Billionaire Warren Buffett recently has announced that he is now aggressively buying American stocks, because the current financial crisis has left them undervalued and ripe for turning a profit once conditions improve.

Most of us won't be buying large blocks of stock any time soon, of course. But there is another, less-expensive, way we can follow Mr. Buffett's lead.

The prices of American services and American-made goods also are being depressed by the economic downturn, as providers and merchants struggle to keep their doors open and pay their employees during the long months of recession that lie ahead.

We'll all have to be careful with our money, of course. But those of us who still have jobs and savings should make a special effort to help keep our favorite restaurants, car repair shops, laundries, book shops, gift shops, produce stands and other small firms in business.

We can't help everyone, of course. We can't save the economy on our own. But if we make a deliberate effort, at least a couple of times a week, to buy something extra or get a long-overdue problem fixed, we can keep a little money moving in our local economies.

The laundry owner who makes a few extra bucks today by dry cleaning your suit may decide to buy a hamburger on the way home from work. The tire salesperson who was happy to replace your thin tires earlier this week may have gotten just enough commission to buy a spouse a birthday cake from a favorite little bakery. A $5 gift you're planning to buy tomorrow may help provide the shop owner with just enough lifted spirit to decide to stay in business.

As the old saying goes, every little bit helps.

And don't forget the charities, churches and special programs in your community. The ones you have supported could use an extra dollar or two right now. And the ones that you've thought about supporting are now in need of something more substantial than your intentions.

Everyone is hurting, and we're all in this together.

If we each do a little bit and keep making it a weekly habit, our small gestures can add up to big help in a hurry, for our neighbors, our community and our nation.

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Help Save Main Street! Spend Money Now!

By Si Dunn

None of us can stop the current worldwide economic disaster. But just by repeatedly spending a few dollars each, we can at least help keep our local businesses afloat, save a few jobs, and maybe keep a few friends and neighbors in their homes.

Go out this weekend and buy a meal at a family-owned restaurant. Or, get a haircut at a locally owned barbershop or hair salon. Or, hire a lawn service to trim the scraggly hedges that have been on your to-do list for weeks. Or, buy something from a neighborhood bookstore or thrift shop or plant nursery. Pick one or two things to do and make a deliberate effort to follow through with some focused spending.

Next week, take a pair of shoes to be fixed at a local shoe-repair shop. Or have a garage attendant change out your car's overdue air filter. Or, get a few donuts or a couple of ice-cream cones. Or get a suit cleaned and pressed.

Don't sit on all of your money. Protect most of it, yes. But part with a little bit of it, too, in a steady and controlled manner.

Encourage friends and neighbors and fellow church parishioners to do the same. Don't panic; just spend a few spare bucks each week in considered ways that benefit your own neighborhood and community.

We all have friends and acquaintences who manage or own small businesses that provide their family income. They need our help now.

So do churches, especially small ones, and the local agencies that help the poor and the afflicted in our communities.

A dollar here, ten dollars there. It won't break us, but it can all add up in this crisis, especially if a lot of us truly will remember to "Help thy neighbor."

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