Those who believe that right wing Republican leadership of the country will bring us a solid economy need to deal with this unfortunate statistic: In July, 2007, housing prices fell at their fastest rate in 16 years. Think back 16 years, now. The year was 1991… and America had been suffering under Republicans in the White House for eleven years. The Republicans couldn’t blame Jimmy Carter for that economic disaster, and the Republicans can’t blame Bill Clinton for the economic disaster American homeowners are suffering from now.
(Source: Financial Times, September 25, 2007)
Housing prices fell again in August, it was announced today. Happy days.
So, what is it the Republicans did to cause housing prices to fall?
Duh, Alan Greenspan, anyone?
He was appointed by Reagan, and Bush I, but he was also reappointed by both terms of Bill Clinton, before being reappointed by Bush.
Greenspan would be a bi-partisan problem, not a Republican problem.
Regardless, what did he do to the economy to cause housing prices to fall?
But, Alan Greenspan is not a progressive, by any measure. Neither was Bill Clinton a progressive.
The 2008 reasons are not just about voting against Republicans. They’re 2008 reasons to vote for a progressive candidate – and Democrats are often not progressive. If you really think that they are, let me remind you of Zell Miller, someone who was helped along by James Carville, just like the Clintons were.
Regardless of whether Alan Greenspan caused the problem, and many experts point out that he contributed to it strongly by promoting the sub prime loans that have subsequently defaulted, the existence of the problem is a good reason to take a different tack than the non-progressive approach that has been taken for decades now.
As I am at a loss in regard to economics, what are some progressive approaches to economics?
In terms of the housing market, an important progressive economic approach is sustainable development policies that encourage people to invest in communities instead of flipping houses as speculative investments. Long term thinking in housing development, instead of short term boom-market thinking, I would categorize as part of progressive economics. Progressives fundamentally understand economics as an aspect of community, not just abstract worth. The right wing focus on markets tends to diminish the community development focus, in my opinion.
Hmm, thanks. If i’m understanding it right, that’s actually really helpful and would actually explain some of the problems with many neighborhoods and areas near me. I tend to agree that community focus on housing as opposed to monetary focus would be much more beneficial for the vast majority of people, and the nation as a whole.