Didn't we learn about this in History class?

As a country, we have been in an eerily similar position before…the years leading up to the Great Depression. Although it is still debated, the generally accepted cause was a sudden loss of confidence in the economic future; brought on by a combination of high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted malfeasance by banks and investors, cutbacks in foreign trade, and growing wealth inequality, all interacting to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending and production.

The government’s answer (besides the initial protectionist efforts that exacerbated the crisis) was the New Deal. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a sequence of programs with the goal of giving work (relief) to the unemployed, reform of business and financial practices, and recovery of the economy.

Eventually the country recovered.

Then the cycle began again. Most of the regulations created by the New Deal ended during the ensuing wave of deregulation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We now find ourselves facing a similar situation to that which preceded the Great Depression…high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that have permitted malfeasance by banks and investors, a substantial trade deficit, and growing wealth inequality; add to all this, the seemingly sudden loss of confidence in the economic future as the Dow continues its meteoric descent.

At this moment, the future is uncertain, nobody knows exactly what is going to happen. We can argue all we want about what got us here, but it will not matter. What will matter is if we decide to continue on the same path we’ve been following for the last 8 years or if we decide to grasp the opportunity to alter course.

It is time to put aside our differences, stop listening to (and spreading) the propaganda, and look within ourselves. Ask ourselves…are we happy with where this country is headed?

Politicians have split this country in two and have pitted us against one another so that they could continue on with their agendas. We have had enough. It is time for us to come together and demand a change.