Boy, Am I Confused

So I was reading a Newsweek article today that had some new opinion polls on a broad number of topics. So I browsed over the actual, full results and found some interesting things about the current state of politics.

The poll found that 54% of people surveyed approve of the way President Obama is doing his job. The poll also found that 41% of Americans approve of the job Congressional Democrats are doing to 31% of Congressional Republicans. It also found, similarly, that 47% of Americans disapprove of the job Congressional Democrats are doing compared to 57% of Congressional Republicans.

That's weird, all I hear is how Republicans will take back the House and close the gap in the Senate this November 2.

But one would assume people would vote for Democrats if they like them better.

So, wait, people prefer Democrats but want to vote them out anyway?

Hey, that makes absolutely no sense.

Or maybe it does.

When people actually sit down and think about things they say, "Hmm, well the CBO has said that the stimulus saved and generated up to a combined 3.3 million jobs, the healthcare bill is probably going to effect me positively, and it's always a good idea to look out for those less fortunate who are without jobs. Maybe the Democrats are doing a pretty good job."

But when people watch FOX News or whatever shit they're are watching or reading or listening to that continuously spews the same jargon over and over and over again, they get scared and rush to irrational decisions. People start to wonder whether Republicans should simply take over Congress just because unemployment is still high (mostly due to the fact that Republicans won't allow more bailout money, I'll get into that soon, bear with me).

But that doesn't really make sense because it's like giving someone back the keys to the car they crashed into a ditch that you started to pull out single-handedly.

I'm personally calling shenanigans on that.

Rationally it makes no sense and Republicans have literally pledged to create the same policy they made that caused this whole economic catastrophe.

But hey, people will believe anything if you tell them the other guys suck literally nonstop for two years. Maybe that will help the Dems in 2012 because the Republicans actually did suck, and I have no doubt they will again.

But here's the even crazier thing, Nobel Prize winning economists like Paul Krugman have argued the bailout was not big enough and that the only way to pull ourselves out of recession and avoid a double-dip recession is to spend more money. However, Republicans have made the terms "bailout" and "stimulus" equivalent to swear words, making it impossible for Democrats to pass more legislation this election year without terrible repercussions, not to mention the GOPers in the Senate would filibuster any such legislation even if it did pass the House.

To add to that, Republicans seem to want to balance the federal budget, which couldn't be a dumber idea in a recession, but being stupid seems to be a popular character trait within the GOP.

Here's a simple history lesson:
On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed, creating what we now call "The Great Depression."

President Hoover did nothing to help the worsening economy, and in turn it got worse and worse and eventually 25% (yeah, one in every four) of Americans were unemployed.

In 1932, FDR was elected president and immediately crafted legislation to spend government money to help banks. At that point the unemployment rate began to decrease, slowly, but surely.

In 1933, Roosevelt and Congress created the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) which sent thousands of people to work on public projects in Tennessee (and still exists today). It was so popular and successful that Congress and the President created a nationwide version of the TVA.

The outcome was the Works Progress Administration (WPA), funded by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. This was a 1930s version of a stimulus package. It sent millions to work across the country on various public projects. With this the unemployment rate dropped even lower.

In 1937, President Roosevelt tried to balance the budget. In turn, the unemployment rate went back up significantly by 1938.

In 1942, the US had entered World War Two, effectively ending the Depression because the government spent so much money preparing the war. I have the crude chart that proves it:




















(Also, here's a sweet infographic that shows unemployment during the Great Depression vs. the "Great Recession".)

That's right, what got us out of the Depression was government spending. So don't believe the baloney that Republicans try to sell. Government spending works, we need more of it, and Republicans certainly won't provide it.

Thank heaven we have a president that can veto the crap legislation Republicans will create in the House.

All I can say is please, please, please, please, PLUH-EASE go to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear this Saturday, October 30 and vote Democrat on November 2.

But, hey, hopefully my fears won't come true and people will come to their senses. One can only hope, that, and vote.