The New York Times has created a way to allow it’s readers to share their thoughts on the ongoing debt ceiling debates in Washington. Click here to access it.
House Republicans, led by Speaker Boehner, are currently stalling the vote as they have become aware that their proposal is highly unpopular among both other Republicans and Democrats:
Just minutes from a roll call vote on the plan pushed by Speaker John A. Boehner, Republicans stunned the House by interrupting the debate and turning to routine matters while Mr. Boehner and his lieutenants tried to pressure reluctant conservatives into backing their plan. The House then went into a recess and shortly before 11 p.m., the leadership announced that no vote would be held Thursday.
Read the rest of the story here.
The new feature on the Times website allows readers to pick a point on a graph, stating what they think should be done regarding the current debt-ceiling issue. The graph gives readers the ability to choose what Congress should do to government revenue and spending. It’s worth taking a look at to see what America (or at least New York Times readers) think should be done to get our country out of this jobless, poor rut.
A quick glance at the chart shows that readers share an overwhelming affinity for increasing revenue. What’s surprising, however, is that the chart doesn’t give readers the option to increase spending, instead keeping the choices confined between reducing and not reducing,
Good jobs don’t get created by accident, just like the middle class didn’t happen by accident. What America needs right now is to create a good jobs program that will provide work for millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans who are struggling to provide for themselves, their children, and their senior citizen parents.
George Bush’s tax cuts for the rich was supposed to provide jobs, using Reagan’s outdated “trickle-down” theory. Well, where are the jobs? Instead of more jobs and prosperity, we have a greater divide than ever before between the rich and the middle class (which is growing ever smaller). Immense greed has clouded the judgement of “conservative” lawmakers and caused the economic crisis we are currently facing. The proverbial pie is not getting smaller, as so many on the right wants us to believe. The pie is, in fact, continually growing. The middle- and lower-classes are just getting a smaller slice.
If America wants to get the economy back to the way it was before the recession, we need to invest in our people.