Rick Boettger Columns
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The comeback

We've come a long way, baby.

Just one year ago, America was clearly threatened with an absolute collapse of the banking system. First Bear Stearns and then Lehman Brothers went down. A domino effect leading to 1930s-like local bank closings and a national credit freeze was imminent.

Our auto industry was facing an "existential" crisis -- a common new buzzword, meaning your very existence is at stake -- and only Ford might have survived on its own, with a million suddenly lost jobs afflicting the whole nation. Oil was $125 a barrel, and we thought it might go to $200, with gasoline prices of $4.83 gallon going over $7, as in Europe.

America is still in a recession and unemployment is far too high, but we have averted catastrophe and are clearly on the way back. Give credit to all slices of the political spectrum.

The bank bailout was started under Bush. Both sides supported the massive intervention it took to save General Motors and Chrysler, and both have supported reforms that reduce speculative oil price spikes. Opposition to the stimulus package has died down, with that noisy minority of governors who vowed to reject funds for their states being largely overruled by their own state legislators.

The list of what we already have accomplished is long. Banks are surviving profitably. The stock market is roaring back. Housing sales are up. And GM has progressed efficiently through bankruptcy proceedings and will survive this crisis.

State stimulus money has saved vast numbers of teaching, police and other service jobs that were clearly on the chopping block. We have already been receiving tax cuts in our paychecks in the form of reduced withholding, as well as $250 checks.

Just now coming online are infrastructure projects that not only will create jobs, but improve our lives. Local examples are $19 million in wastewater funds, $1.6 million for disabled curbs in Key West and $929,000 to the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust for home energy savings through weatherization -- three of more than 30,000 such projects nationally.

Congratulations to America for having taken a massive economic blow, fending off the knockout punches and getting off the mat in good shape for the future. As tough as things may still be for many, it would have been unimaginably worse if we had done nothing, or instead given people like me even bigger tax cuts that we would have just put in the bank.

Rick Boettger was a business professor before writing his book and hosting a 25-state talk radio show on political economics. He has done tax and financial advising in Key West since retiring here in 1996. Questions, information and differing opinions are welcome at rd.boettger@gmail.com.