The latest fallout of the Great Recession is the decimation of Washington State Parks personnel. Let’s review: Lenders abandoned decades of safe loan practices and made millions of bad loans so their big shots could get mammoth bonuses. A Republican bill got derivatives exempted from regulatory oversight in 2000. The two caused massive over-leverage in the financial sector, resulting in worldwide economic collapse.
Millions lost their jobs, homes and huge chunks of their life savings. None of the culprits have suffered any consequences. The national debt, ballooned by the tax-cutting, deficit spending, regulation-gutting, Wall Street-stroking policies of George Bush, has made it difficult for the federal government to do the prolonged stimulus spending government normally must do to end a serious recession.
The Republicans have blocked every attempt to improve the economy and tighten financial regulations, instead using the situation as an excuse to extend their failed ideology of cutting taxes on the extremely wealthy and slashing government programs for the middle class.
After people stopped spending, state and local tax revenues imploded. Public school teachers, police and state employees who provide services to ordinary people continue to lose their jobs. The Republican leadership couldn’t care less. They rigidly cling to the long-disproved idea that cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans creates jobs in America and trickles down, when that is precisely what got us into this mess.
We need to finally repudiate this lie and return to fair and responsible citizenship by everyone.
Bill Viertel
Coupeville
