Bush acknowledges the collapsing US economy
08/12/2005 14:23
The US administration aims to spend $286 billion on the development of
the American transport system
US President George W. Bush released a remarkable statement a short
time ago. The remark has not been highlighted in the world media yet,
although there is every reason to do so. Bush virtually acknowledged
that the USA was experiencing a serious economic crisis. Moreover, the
US government was taking immense efforts to avoid a massive outbreak
of social uneasiness, the American president believes.
One may come to this conclusion from the newly-signed law about the
development of the US transport system. The implementation of the law
will cost tax-payers too much money. The US government plans to spend
$286 billion on the implementation of the law during the forthcoming
six years. Furthermore, Bush had to cut the costs of the law, which
originally made up $400 billion. The US Treasury, however, will have
to spend only $12.3 billion during ten years to guarantee the energy
security and independence within the scope of the recently passed
energy policy law. NASA's annual budget makes up $16 billion.
Therefore, the sum of $400 billion makes a huge sum of money even from
the point of view of American financial standards.
Passing such highly expensive laws is usually accompanied with heated
debate, numerous changes and so on and so forth. This time, however, a
bill was transformed into a law a lot earlier than usual. As it was
supposed, 24 billion dollars were supposed to be used for governmental
subsidies to the states, which will be fulfilling the projects of the
law. Adversaries of the law said that congressmen and senators would
most likely spend the money inappropriately, trying to insinuate their
electorate. In addition, many protest against the unwillingness of the
US Congress to control the state spending at the moment, when the
budgetary shortage is to exceed the record-breaking $333 during the
current year.
The law envisages 6,300 special projects in all states: bridges,
highways, landscape accomplishment, snowmobile tracks, etc. Is it all
so bad with the US infrastructure? George W. Bush released the key
statement, which dotted all i's at this point: the law is meant to
generate more jobs and give an incentive to the economic development
of the USA.
The triumphant leader of the world's strongest superpower would never
utter such words. The above-mentioned statements from the American
president do not characterize the USA as a great empire. Quite on the
contrary, the White House is desperately looking for measures to find
employment for crowds of unemployed American citizens and hungry
migrants, which threaten to enrage the rest of the States.
There were 9.3 million unemployed American citizens registered in the
USA in 2004. The foreign trade shortage of the USA made up $617.73
billion in 2004, which became the record-breaking index for the USA.
To crown it all, the US state debt reached unimaginable $7.22 trillion
in 2004 too.
All optimistic reports about the rising US economy carry the
short-term efficiency only - they are presumably destined to save the
demising US dollar. Quarterly changes in the number of the unemployed
by 100-200 thousand people do not change the general situation.
The USA has already faced such hard periods in its history. Taking a
look back at the previous experience of the USA and estimating the new
initiative of the American government, one may thus infer that the law
about the transport system is like the last glimmer of hope for the US
administration to keep the nation under control.
When massive unemployment put the USA on the brink of survival during
the Great Depression of the thirties, the government started funding
the development of the transport infrastructure - it became the only
way out of the crisis. Highways, on which the government spent
billions and billions of dollars, rescued the entire nation. It is
worth mentioning that the value of the US dollar used to be lower
during that time.
Here is another example, which bears some similarity to the
present-day USA. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany was
suffering from massive unemployment and helpless economy. Hitler
mobilized thousands of the unemployed to build autobahns, which
Germany is proud of still. The road construction gave a very powerful
impetus to the revival of the German industry. Huge state investments
triggered the industrial development, and Germany turned into one of
the strongest European superpowers.
The White House is going along the same path now. However, there is a
certain aspect, which distinguishes the USA from the above-mentioned
examples. Both Hitler's Germany and the USA of the Great Depression
period were raising their economies up from the bottom. Nowadays, the
USA enjoys the peak of its triumphant development, which is currently
being damaged with the flaws of the American economic system. The USA
obviously has something to lose.
Sergei Malinin
Read the original in Russian:
http://www.pravda.ru/economics/2005/7/21/63/20542_.html (Translated
by: Dmitry Sudakov)
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
