The vicious cycle of economic inequality

Opinion: The vicious cycle of economic inequality - Joseph E. Stiglitz - POLITICO.com

No amount of spin, no re-purposing of words and phrases, no continuation of austerity policies will solve the economic problems facing us today. Pitting the middle class against one another will not help anyone but the wealthy, and will hurt many more "regular" people. Deceptions and lies put in place to convince or reinforce uniformed potential voters will only exacerbate the division and anxiety, which lead to uncertainty and inertia.

Demand will create jobs. Middle class people with money will create demand. The wealthy "job creators" do not create American jobs, as they have amply demonstrated for the last decade. There is work to be done, and workers to do it, but we cannot and should not wait for the" invisible" hand, which has out-sourced American jobs and hoarded its wealth overseas. These people and their corporations are motivated by self-interest and profit, and expect subsidies from the taxpayers as they decimate the economy.

The government is of, by, and for the people. It is the visible hand which can and should step in to protect and defend the American dream and a functioning economy. There are several very effective tools which could provide immediate relief and provide jobs for Americans, QE3 for monetary easing, and investment in our infrastructure. Infrastructure would include physical roads, bridges, schools, transportation systems, public utility maintenance. It would also include investment in our people, which is our greatest treasure, in the form of education, health care, and safety net repair to enable those compromised by the recession to get back up and running.

We can do this, and we should do it NOW. Intentional crippling of the economy for political expediency is not only morally wrong, but continues to drag all of us down further. Who does not know people that have been affected by this? Elected public officials are CHOOSING to prolong the agony. Lobbyists are buying them and their votes. Corporate and political organizations are selling Americans down the road by peddling a false narrative.

The President presented Congress with the American Jobs Act in October 2011. They need to pass it today. No more obstruction. Americans have a job to do, and are waiting for Congress to do theirs.