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All that is necessary for the failure of the economy is that Congress does nothing

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
November 23rd, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" can now be rephrased as "all that is necessary for the failure of the economy is that Congress do nothing." Lawmakers have a long list of recent failures to account for . The super committee failed. Lawmakers failed to "go big" on a debt reduction package. Congress failed to preserve the country's AAA debt rating.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I give them a failing grade," David Kendall, a senior fellow at centrist think tank Third Way said. "Ok, I'll give them a 'D' because they did some deficit reduction. But even that was not done in a productive way."
 
The list is long and relentlessly dreary. Congress couldn't pass a real budget. The government almost shut down on more than one occasion. The nation came perilously close to default.

Congress took power in January, when the U.S. economy was floundering, a status it still holds today.

The unemployment rate has been sitting at or above 9 percent since April, and higher than 8 percent for 33 straight months, and home prices have hit rock bottom.

To their credit, Congress has approved free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama that have been in the works for years, and a bill designed to reform the nation's twisted patent system became law in September.

One of the chief reasons that Congress has been slow to take action on the U.S. economy is that lawmakers disagree on how to best promote growth. Both democrats and Republicans disagree on fiscal policy.

"This Congress has had a very difficult time getting its political footing," Kendall said. "It never seems to have gotten past this angry mob feeling. There is a lot of one step forward, one step back."

President Obama in response to Congress' inaction has changed his campaign slogan from "Yes we can" has become "We can't wait" - to which he American people has taken a keen notice.

According to a CNN/ORC International Poll, nearly seven in ten Americans think Congress has done nothing to address the problems facing America.

A New York Times poll found that American's approval of Congress hit its lowest mark ever in October -- only 9 percent approve of the way Congress is handling its job.

If you're keeping track, that's pretty bad. The Nixon White House, for instance, maintained an approval rating of 40 percent -- more than four times Congress's current rating -- during the Watergate scandal.

© 2011, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)