Editor’s Notebook — The Economy And Political Anger

Historical November 1994 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.

Looking across the country, it seems like this has been the nastiest campaign I can remember.

It almost seems like you never see a positive political ad anymore.

This level of discussion aids and abets a public mood of get the rascals out, no taxes, much less government, and anyone holding office for more than just a few years is considered suspect. Where does this sentiment come from? Obviously it feeds off of the tone of today’s campaigns and ads. But, why is there so much anger at government? Part of the reason is that we just aren’t doing as well as we used to. Our real income has gone down in the past few years.

The notion that our children would do better than we have is now only a memory. Jobs are hard to come by, for college graduates, and for those with less than a baccalaureate degree. Certain simplistic campaigners are quick to blame government and taxes for personal plight. Yet, very few point to the changing nature of the American economy.

We are not an industrial nation anymore. Instead, there is a twotiered wage structure: professionals at quite high salaries and those earning only minimum wage or a little higher. Did the government contribute to this? Certain tax policies gave businesses an incentive to move their plants abroad.

We do not have laws making business relocation more difficult the way western European countries do. But, a lot of the problem has to do with a changed corporate mentality.

When John Kenneth Galbraith wrote The New Industrial State in the early 1960s, corporations wanted to maintain their level of profit and market share; they were not maximizers. That all changed especially in the 1980s. Profit maximization became the goal and capital became hypermobile.

We saw takeovers, mergers, leveraged buyouts, etc., which served to raise business debt and in turn bring about the downsizing so evident today. Taxes were only a small part of the business decision. Ironically, we have the lowest unemployment rate in many years now. But, that’s just part of the story. People who once had good jobs earn a lot less. Many work part-time.

The anxiety is always there. Its human nature to try to find scapegoats for problems. Today it’s politicians who bear the burden.

There are certainly some who might not deserve the public trust. But, in the present mood in the country, all are tarred with the same brush and people rush to simplistic solutions to very complicated problems. It’s not a new phenomenon, but a disheartening one nonetheless.

Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November 1994.

Read this article in the original newspaper issue.

Original source: SD_Times1994_11.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.