By Robert Singer

Click here to read why “this article is not currently available” at OpEdNews.

October 8, 2008

2008 Debate: "It's the economy, stupid"

Barack Obama and John McCain clashed over the causes and cures for the worst economic crisis in 80 years in the debate last night.

Republican McCain called for a sweeping $300 billion program to stop mortgage foreclosures so they could continue the American Dream and get back to shopping. Yes, national politicians are still suggesting that if we just shop some more for stuff made in China, our economy will get back on track. What part of import/export economics do our elected officials not understand?

The current economic crisis, according to Barack Obama, is the result of the last eight years of the Bush administration. Not true, it is the final verdict of United States economic policies of the last six decades. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the Western world based on our ability to import cheap, raw materials (thanks to the CIA) and ship refrigerators, cars, airplanes and military hardware to the rest of the world. When the rest of the world caught on, and the refrigerators, cars, airplanes and even our socks started to be produced elsewhere, we still had one more product to ship offshore, and, beginning in 1980 the Reagan administration embarked upon the greatest export of all: OUR DEBT. What we are witnessing in the economic crisis today is the final death march of the dollar. After the government printed an extra trillion dollars over the weekend, the huge drop in markets worldwide shows the extent to which people no longer believe the safest place to be is in U.S. dollars. Our economy also hinges on understanding our dependence on foreign oil. Both Obama and McCain were sure that if we just get out and start drilling we can get the economy out of trouble and back on track for everyone to experience the American Dream. Although drilling offshore or onshore is on the bridge to nowhere, there is a solution to our economic problems related to energy.

Does the following analysis sound familiar?

A weakening U.S. dollar is putting upward pressure on oil prices. The shock produced chaos in the West. In the United States, the retail price of a gallon of gasoline rose 50%, consumption dropped by 6.1% from September to February. Underscoring the interdependence of the world societies and economies, oil-importing nations in the noncommunist industrial world saw sudden inflation and economic recession. The energy crisis led to greater interest in renewable energy and spurred research in solar power and wind power as well as increased interest in mass transit.

Read more »