We end the year 2019 — and we end the decade! — with an hour of Bob Hennelly’s brilliant analysis and commentary. Bob writes for the union newspaper The Chief in NYC, as well as Salon.com. He has reported for the Village Voice, Pacifica Radio, WNYC, CBS, and other outlets.
THE U.S. ECONOMY – A DISASTER FOR AVERAGE AMERICANS.
We discuss the state of the US economy — which is terrible when viewed through the eyes of most regular Americans. The true picture contrasts sharply with Pres. Trump’s misleadingly rosy view of the economy — which, unfortunately, the mainstream media merely amplifies, without a challenge and without any factual research.
As Hennelly explains, an average working family must struggle every day just to make ends meet. This year, 30 million Americans live in substandard housing, unwillingly putting their children in danger. Fully 137 million Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with zero discretionary funds to use beyond their basic living expenses. If they encounter an unanticipated expense — whether a $400 car repair or a $ #%!?+ medical expense — they must seriously worry: Should they pay their electric bill or instead forego today’s medications (or skip a meal!)?
But you wouldn’t know this was happening in our America, if you are only listening to the mainstream media or to social media. Most of the ads on mainstream media promote nothing but luxury items — fancy cruises, vacations at Caribbean resorts or fancy BMWs — luxuries which normal people simply can’t afford. Reporters talk about the economy being “robust” simply by reporting the latest earnings on the stock markets. Even NPR news simply tells us a couple of meaningless numbers: the Dow Jones is up, the NASDAQ is down — as if that fully describes how the US economy is doing.
But the stock market doesn’t tell us anything about what economic struggles are facing the vast majority of Americans — whether they’re working (one or more minimum-wage or middle-paying jobs) or whether they can’t find any job at all that’s willing to hire them (that is, hire them in particular, not an average employer wanting to hire some average person). Fully 79% of millennials don’t own any stock whatsoever. Some commentators say these millennials need to be taught how to invest. Seriously? What they really need is jobs that pay them enough to have some money left over after paying their bills. (Not to mention paying off their gargantuan student debt.) They don’t have any discretionary income, so they have nothing that they can invest.
No, to understand what’s really happening to ordinary people in the American economy, you have to pay attention at a granular level, i.e., through local reporting from local communities. Or just ask some folks who live in those local communities about their everyday realities. This way, you would learn about a motel fire in Las Vegas in which 6 people died. The family was trying to keep themselves warm by keeping the oven on; The apartment complex was in such disrepair that they couldn’t rely on the landlord’s heat.
CAN WE JUST KEEP DEBATING THE SAME ISSUES, IN THE SAME WAY, AS IF IT’S STILL 2010?
When we listen to neoliberals discussing the ACA, it would seem as if Pres. Obama was Moses and the ACA (Obamacare!) was the tablets. We can speak no ill of the ACA. But the reality is that, when the ACA was debated and enacted, Big Pharma & the big health care companies were at the table. And they made out like bandits. Now almost 10 years later, they continue to command an ever-increasing portion of American household income. Their corporate profits and CEO compensation packages have skyrocketed, while premiums, deductibles, copays, and surprise fees — paid by those of us who consume health care — have exploded.
Hennelly describes it colorfully: It was the wild west before; now, under Trump, it’s like the bar in Star Wars! There is nothing to block late-stage vulture capitalism as it gobbles up everything that isn’t nailed down. It is hard for us to understand, therefore, why even many Democrats keep repeating the mantra that Americans would be very upset if they were to lose their private health insurance plans. Who have they been talking with? If any of us need a medical procedure, it’s a part-time job for us merely to get our private insurance company to cover the costs. We have to undergo a “forensic audit” every time the bill comes.
As of 2019, the average health insurance premium (just the premium) for a family has increased 22% over 5 years, and 54% over 10 years, a lot more than wages or inflation. And we’ve had the benefit of the ACA for most of that time period. The situation on the ground has changed. We can’t continue trying to solve yesterday’s problems.
It’s like battlefield triage. When someone is wounded, we put a bandaid on it. Later, when the wound engulfs the bandaid, do we say “it’s okay because I really like the person that put the bandaid on it”? Or do we say “put a tourniquet on it.” At what point do we say, enough bandages, we have to actually treat the gaping wound, to solve the underlying problem.
So for Americans in 2020, do we stop the bleeding now? Or do we cautiously maintain the status quo because who knows, things might geet even worse if we rock the boat? It is certainly true, yes, that the ACA was a big accomplishment, providing health insurance coverage to millions of previously-uninsured Americans, guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions (behind which private insurers had been hiding in order to avoid paying for huge amounts of medical expenses), and keeping children on their parents’ coverage through age 26.
But it is also true that the ACA gave away huge profits to private mega-health insurance companies and to Big Pharma. We can say both of these true things, can’t we? And make improvements to eliminate the continuing problematic effects on Americans’ access to quality health care.
And what should Democrats say about Pres. Obama? He deserves our thanks and admiration. He was a distinguished president, graceful, compassionate, smart, and reliable. He calmly faced many serious problems at home (think about the Great Recession which almost led to a Great Depression even before Obama took office), and abroad he resolutely cooperated with our allies and negotiated with countries. Let’s give him credit for what he did do.
But he did not have complete success with his struggle to enact universal health coverage. He surely moved the ball in the right direction. Isn’t it time now to move the ball forward some more, to solving the continuing problems (including our costs skyrocketing while big private corporations make a fortune in profits)? And can’t Democrats talk about this openly and honestly?
