Economic downturn--who benefits?

Economic downturn--who benefits?
May/June 2001

Dear editor:
Let us examine the economic downturn in this country as it affects our everyday lives. What is the purpose of a recession or depression? First, a laid off worker is more apt to accept a lower paid job when they do find work and the idea is that they will work harder when they do go back to work. Also the people still working are expected to work harder to hold on to their jobs. Then to it makes it easier to fill the low paying jobs that no one else wants to do.
Another fact is the Armed services have been having trouble recruiting people to serve in the military lately. When jobs are more plentiful young people are not going to take up a trade, as quickly, where you learn how to kill people, and then go and practice your skills on the poor people of the world who do not agree with your ideology.
Last, but not least, is the psychological effect of not finding a job on a worker who has been laid off. After a while they begin to think that maybe society does not need them or like them. That can become real depressing. After a while they may give uyp trying to find a job. Then we come to the one and six tenths trillion dollar tax cut, mostly for the rich, along with estate tax and the capital gains tax cuts.
Now back in 1981 under President Reagan and a Democrat congress they told us the big tax cut would cure the ills of the economy through the trickle down theory. All that happened was that we ended up with a four trillion dollar bigger national debt. Then after the rich get their big tax cuts and the government goes into deficit spending again, they will decide that we have to have more government revenues. Guess what? They will decide that we should have a flat tax system or a national sales tax or both. Both of which are regressive to replace the present progressive graduated income tax.
A better way to improve our economy would be to put people to work repairing our bridges all over the country and replacing the water and sewage systems in the cities which are in need of repair. A country's economy always does much better when money trickles up from the bottom rather that down from the top, at least you have something to show for it -a solid bridge, a good water system or a sanitary sewer system which would better the living conditions of everyone. In other words, let us put the government surplus and the unemployment compensation dollars to work repairing our infrastructure.

Roger S. Wilson, Director Alternative Communications, Celina, Ohio.