Those were the words that hung in Bill Clinton’s campaign office when he won in 1992 and I have a shocking surprise for everyone: it’s still the economy, stupid. The place I see it the most is at the gas pump, where I, like many other thrifty college students, have a heart attack before I fill up my gas tank. In hindsight, it is deliciously ironic: a Texas oilman tells us that invading Iraq will lower gas prices, yet oil hit $100 a barrel for a short time a few weeks ago. Our foreign policy has implications for the economy that matter to a lot of Americans and should be at the front of the entire political furor in the election.
I encourage as many people as possible to join me in worrying about the economy — especially in these uncertain times. Right now, the business and financial news reports are filled with talk of a weak dollar, a looming recession, a burst housing bubble and a depressing labor market. Yet for most of us, this economic stuff is voodoo and witchcraft.
Business jargon and acronyms like ARM, SIRV, EGTRRA, SMEREP, VEPSDF and a whole lot more mean little to even well-read individuals. In fact, aside from ARM and EGTRRA, I typed in random letters to generate a “financial” acronym. Evidently, modern finance really does need a super-secret decoder ring to understand.
What is there for the average American to see? I generally see increased prices, a rise in unemployment and more people getting evicted by foreclosure. I wonder if I’ll be able to have a job and a home in 15 years if something doesn’t change with the economy. I question if I’ll have to choose between food and routine health care. I speculate and whine about the fact that I spend so much on gas. And then I wonder why I decided to start commuting to school.
I’m not an economics major, but I have looked some of this stuff up and talked to people who are economics majors because I care about my future. Everyone should care about the economy for this exact reason.
This does not translate into dropping everything to become an economics major. Practically speaking, we all should look at this ruckus over the economy and everything that can affect it. Maybe your thoughts will go to the price of oil and lead you to question whether we should be giving huge tax breaks to an oil industry that has posted record profits that border on the obscene.
Or maybe you’ll think about how expensive health care is and wonder why the government hasn’t created a program that leaves no one to decide between food on the table or the routine doctor’s visit. And perhaps the parents out there will look at all the lead poisoning in children’s toys in the past year and ask why we don’t strictly regulate these industries.
That’s why I worry about what lies behind higher gas prices, larger product safety issues, weaker job markets and what the next President of the United States will do about it; because I forgot four simple words for so long.
It’s the economy, stupid.
Do you think the economy should be at the forefront of the presidential debates? E-mail [email protected]