Stunting the Symptoms: The Declining Economy

"It’s not globalization or immigration or computers per se that widen inequality. It’s the skills gap. Boosting educational attainment at the bottom is more promising than trying to reorganize the global economy."
-David Brooks, Op-ed columnist at NYTimes, in his article The Biggest Issue

The economy is of course at the heart of nearly every political debate these days, with social issues such as gay marriage and abortion largely in the shadows. This is a simple phenomenon to grasp--this issue is something we face daily, whether it's at the gas station, grocery store, work or bank, and ideological issues give way to survival instints ALWAYS. That said, the economy is the hot-ticket platform--even over the war, seemingly.

But what are the powers-that-be doing to "fix" the economy? Well, largely nothing. Especially in the Republican camp.

This is one of those issues that defines me as the "south-park-minded" moderate--Democrats have a one-up on this issue over the Republicans, and here's why...

Republicans (as a perhaps over-reaching generality) can't seem to see past ten years from now. Example? Well, off-shore drilling, for instance. Will that help gas prices? Sure; within 10 years we would see a slight decrease at the pump, which would be nice. Is this a viable option? Of course it isn't. This simply stunts the symptoms--the real problem lies in the fact that fossil fuels are just that: FOSSIL fuels. They are obviously not quick to replenish. So perfect: pump billioins into an off-shore drilling budget that could more effectively be put to use in alternative energies R&D. Good thinking, republicans.

(In all fairness, McCain has supported alt. energy research with his proposal of a $300 million prize to whomever can come up with a viable energy source that's comparable to gasoline/oil...but in the meantime, he fully supports off-shore drilling)

Hopping off that tangent, we're back at the economy. Especially the job market, with out-sourcing, down-sizing and every other hyphenated buzz-word. This is where Democrats win the battle; focus on EDUCATION is a must here. Otherwise, we're cutting off our proverbial noses, despite our chubby, high-fructose corn syruped faces.

Is our plunging ecomony (and the coinciding value of our dollar), do you think, somehow related to our plummeting reading scores? Of course it is. This is especially important in the sciences, via technology. And, as you can see, we are below the international average. Of course jobs are going overseas; it's in these places that people are receiving special, particular training to work certain jobs. In this case, the squeaky wheel isn't getting the jobs.