Saturday, November 17, 2007

Why is our economy failing?

The Columbus Dispatch Daily Briefing for yesterday reported that 58% of Ohioans interviewed in a recent Ohio Poll, expect our State economy to get worse in the months ahead. Only 20% thought that economic conditions are "good" or "excellent." Statistics by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services note that Ohio has had a net loss of 11,500 jobs in the last year, including over 16,400 manufacturing jobs (Yeah, there was a net increase elsewhere, but guess what "elsewhere" is ... ) We are still facing a major outmigration of our best and brightest young adults, and inflation is hitting us like everyone else.

To be fair, Ohio has made its own mistakes -- we have allowed ourselves to get into a feeding frenzy for large employers that promise to build plants in Ohio; when we should have been creating a favorable tax and regulatory climate for entrepreneurial startup businesses. We also need to stress innovation, as I stated yesterday.

But we also have a Federal Government that has aggressively pursued economic policies that are against our national interest. Tax laws favor the very rich, and reward spending instead of saving. Federal and State laws have permitted lenders to extend too-easy credit at confiscatory rates. We have built huge trade deficits with China and many other nations, and the Feds don't have a clue how to reverse them.

An Ohio Republic might still make some mistakes, but I can assure you of this: it will conduct foreign trade policy in our national interest -- one that promotes domestic manufacturing, innovation, and the wise use of resources.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am surprised that this excerpt fails to address the larger problem of the Federal Reserve System and an economy based around a central bank and fiat currency (as opposed to a fair and equitable economy using silver as a direct means of exchange).