What makes for a good economy, from a liberal perspective?

I see all these liberals saying that we are in a recession or a depression or whatever and yet, we have like a 4.5% unemployment rate or something close to that. How can this be like the great depression? And I hear them say that the deficit is the highest in history, but of course that is true since we have a $13 trillion economy. If you take the deficit as a percentage of our GDP, then it isn%26#039;t very high. Economic growth is high, inflation isn%26#039;t any different than in the past, more people own their homes and are college grads than every before, so where is the disaster? I%26#039;m trying to figure out the liberal perspective on things, but I just don%26#039;t see tons of homeless people and %26quot;going out of business%26quot; signs like I would in a normal depression. What am I missing here that makes me so much poorer than I realize?

What makes for a good economy, from a liberal perspective?

unemployment has never been at a record low under a democratic administration. home ownership has never been at a record high under a democratic administration. every American that wants a college education has access to one. thanks to the bush tax cuts we are putting more money in our pockets. so don%26#039;t stress to much over what you think your missing, just do like the rest of us and go buy yourself a wonderful steak dinner, you know the one they say we cant afford.

What makes for a good economy, from a liberal perspective? loan

I%26#039;m pretty sure that liberals are not the only people concerned with the economy. We aren%26#039;t an island. Money and economical well-being is a world-wide entity. We%26#039;re all tied together.

I%26#039;m hearing rather conservative people saying that we are being very fiscally irresponsible and we%26#039;re facing debt the likes of which are unfathomable. Just because a few folks have jobs doesn%26#039;t mean the economy is stable and growing.

FP|||inflation is up, income is down|||i am not going to fill you in on all that you are missing,,,,,,

but here is a tidbit

the housing bubble is collapsing

25% of our pop is employed in some way by the housing market

personal debt is higher than any time in recent history (since the depression) now when foreclosures start, layoffs will occur,,,

when layoffs occur foreclosures will increase......

also severe poverty is at its highest since 1975...|||Are you talking about political or economic liberals? There%26#039;s a big difference...Perhaps you should do some research and learn about the terms you are throwing around like wild generalizations.|||Liberals believe government is the prime solution to social problems. This is why they are identified with high taxes. Impose a tax and use the funds to solve a social problem. More often than not these funds are used for projects/programs in the interest of members of Congress not the public. In addition many of these problems put the government in activities that should be clearly the responsibilities of families.

Liberals will always complain about the economy when Republicans are in control - %26quot;the economy is good but it only benefits the rich%26quot; is a common liberal argument.

If you want to get a taste of liberalism to the extreme read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.|||well, some things are a little troubling.... apparently you did%26#039;t see the market... check on what was going on today... and MORE IMPORTANTLY... why...

growth is WAY down... and inflation is up, especially in key areas that are conveniently left out of many inflation figures... like insurance rates... and home forclosure rates are way up...

but OVERALL things aren%26#039;t that bad... granted... they just haven%26#039;t been improving at the rates that they have in the past... and we%26#039;re no where near a great depression... people just love to say the sky if falling...

so, of course a lot of it is just politics... like when the Republicans cried bloody murder during the dot com bubble bust... and most indicators are very similar to those now... there was very low unemployment at the time... the numbers slowed down... but there was no depression... or even close...|||Redistribution of the wealth. Standing in line for T.P. (Free though!)

To each according to need, from each according to ability.

And we can all wear red!

Liberals = Commies.|||I don%26#039;t speak for all of us, becuase just as some Conservatives make outrageous claims, so do some Liberals. Fanatics are fanatics no matter what their %26quot;allegiance%26quot; if you wanna call it that.

What I dont%26#039; like the US deficit. Who does like deficit? Eventually, someone%26#039;s gonna have to pay that money off. What really bothers me, is that it%26#039;s not 100% public deficit either (meaning through the sales of bonds, ect), it%26#039;s through private capitalists working through several nations and the World Bank. I%26#039;d much rather have a balanced budget, and a fiscally responsible Federal government, wouldn%26#039;t you?

Real inflation in terms of goods and services is going up (though not drastically), BUT the real wages aren%26#039;t catching up with it. If you look at trends in the United States since the late 1980%26#039;s, there has been an incredible growth in the disparity gap between rich and poor. This is a direct result of the de-regulation of key industries, and the elimination of tariffs. Secondar industry is becoming a thing of the past, whereas now the US depends on service industries for it%26#039;s bread and butter. The jobs in this sector are two-fold

1. Knowledge workers in the service industry typically are in higher demand, and have more sway with management. Therefore, the results are usually higher wages than before. This group composes a small minority of the newly created jobs in America since the 1980%26#039;s.

2. Most service sector jobs offer little job security, and pay low wages. More grads are leaving college, but their backgrounds are usually upper middle class. The rising costs of education has basically blocked out many of the working class%26#039; children. This forces them (the majority) to work in the service sector in MOST cases. These jobs have had an influx of people since the 1980%26#039;s, and have essentially become a dime a dozen.

What Liberals are concerned with, is the trends of jobs leaving America, or the growing disparity between rich and poor. By subsidizing education, and health care, and regulating SOME (not all) essential services such as insurance, this would lead to steps to reverse that trend. Cheaper education would give some people at least a chance, while subsidized health care will better insure most people. Insurance... that%26#039;s just something I think would be great. Some places have state-run insurance that costs next to nothing, and doesn%26#039;t even drain the tax dollars becuase it%26#039;s self-sufficient. The only downside is, no one gets million dollar settlements.

What you also fail to mention is the under-employed in America. The Unemployment rate has remained fairly stable, but there are more people working double shifts to make ends meet. The average work week in America is now about 50 -60 hours a week. People can%26#039;t seem to make ends meet, and many times have two jobs.

I think what many Liberals agree on, is that the government should be looking out for people who are rather vulnerable to big corporations, in order to protect them. The Middle Class makes America, the Upper Class doesn%26#039;t.|||You%26#039;ve got an interesting take on the subject, that%26#039;s for sure!

The US economy is like a freight train going 80 miles an hour and then tries to stop quickly..it aint going to happen. That%26#039;s how our economy works along with having interlaced trading and serious finanacial linkage to just about every other country in the world. A really strong example of that would be China. They have based their economic purchase power on the silver and gold backed dollar for years, now when they are strong enough to go into the world market on their own they can%26#039;t. They hold so many US dollar investments and mortagages that changing their monetary system one iota sends shock waves around the world and then back. You must have heard about the US stock market drop a few weeks ago, China did some correcting to it%26#039;s market to fend off a future disater which hit us just as hard as it hit them.

I think it%26#039;s time you joined the ranks of us that think change is in order but from a different angle. All politicians know we have a 9 trillion dollar national debt (we owe everyone) that we only pay interest on. We%26#039;ve been doing that for over 40 years. Buzz words like trade deficit and accronyms like GDP, only deflect some very simple arithmatic. We owe alot and don%26#039;t have the courage to pay it back. Think about it; the dollar isn%26#039;t even based on gold or silver standards anymore. So who fooling who? Our politicians need to be changed out.

Half the voting public don%26#039;t even realize what side the far left or right is. Ask people where I work about gun control and they will tell you what they think about those scum republicans, or mention right to life and they will condem the democratic party. Whose a Liberal and whose a Conservative. Well, the anwer isn%26#039;t blowing in the wind, it%26#039;s who we are. Our country is being led by dinasauors.

There is no Liberal or Conservative perspective! It%26#039;s all about getting enough money to win the next election. Remember: A campaign pledge is not a true mandate for a candidate|||From an outsider looking in the US has a few issues that you raised above that are of major concern.

Firstly the US no longer controls the destiny of its foreign exchange rate, China does. It holds to much of the deficit and currency.

Secondly, the minimum wage in the US has not risen for years. This produces an underclass that puts a strain on resources that a healthy educated middle class does not. It also helps inefficient and internationally nonviable companies to continue longer than they should. While they go down the foreign competition goes up.

The term liberal now seems to be aligned with communism and socialism. Anyone making these comparisons has obviously never seen a government of true oppression first hand.

Thirdly, the rest of the world is nervous about lending any more to a nation with huge debt and no apparent desire to pay it off. Europe, China, SE Asia, India are now and will be economic power houses. Can the US compete with nothing in the kitty and China flooding the market with US currency?

Just a thought. Don%26#039;t oppose a view because of a label. Allow yourself the rare ability to consider, appraise and change your mind. The founding fathers did.