The majority of folks in Alabama are unaware of the possibility of a double dip recession. A double dip recession is a recession which hits after a recessionary recovery has begun--a recovery begins and suddenly the recovery stalls, then another recession, generally more severe than the first, occurs. A double dip recession is a real possibility in the upcoming months. The underlying health of the world economy is still in question, and populations that can send us into a second recession are becoming fearful.
In the United States, manufacturers waited through the slow decline in inventories before beginning production again. This slow-down drove part of the first recession, especially in the housing market. Once inventories were reduced through sell-downs without replacement production, inventories then needed to be replaced. Manufacturers began a slow process of replacing inventories. The replacements, however, were manufactured with existing labor rather than employing laid-off workers and new hires.
Now, the inventories have been replaced. The purchasing of the new goods and services, however, is extremely slow. Consumers are slow to open up their wallets and return to purchasing. In these situations, the government usually intervenes through the use of stimulants to encourage consumer spending. However, that has already occurred, and the government now has less room to counter new down-turns in the economy.
What can be done in such a precarious situation? Investment in innovation and technology. Innovation is the fuel that drives the engine of technology to develop new products and services that consumers will seek to obtain and own. What appears to have happened in the present economy is that businesses stopped investing heavily in new innovation and new technologies. This has caused the economy to stagnate. President Bush and his administration recognized what was happening, but they did not seek to fundamentally correct the underlying problem, i.e., lack of investment in innovation and technology. Instead, they provided checks to individual families in an attempt to stimulate the economy. However, the funds received by the families, many of which were already in economic distress, was used to pay existing debt, such as credit card payments, not the purchase of goods which was the intention of the stimulus checks.
America and American workers need a national agenda that will provide a good shot in the arm, an agenda which will jump-start innovation and technological development--a national agenda that will eliminate the internal combustion engine by promoting the development of new technologically advanced methods of personal transportation--ones that do not depend on dirty carbon based fuels likes gasoline for fuel and refined oil for lubrication.
Special interests such as Big Oill and big business would never embrace such a national agenda. Why? Because it would undermine their own interests. The intent of Big Oil is to keep the American public tethered to their product; OIL. Since Big Oill will never embrace such a national agenda, the citizens of Alabama must take the lead at the polling booths on November 2nd and while casting their votes, send Big Oil and big business the message that -- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Since these companies have not done what needs to be done, then we, the citizens of Alabama and the Nation will! We will elect a representative who will represent our best interests in Washington, D.C. and finally take care of Alabama!
Vote on November 2nd for the candidate who truly represents the citizens of Alabama, the people's candidate, William G. Barnes, Alabama Democratic Party nominee for the United States Senate.