The Wrong Worries

Paul Krugman hit the nail on the head last week with his New York Times Op-ed “The Wrong Worries.” With the wild volatility of the markets these past days, it has become painfully obvious that the United States has not seen the end of The Great Recession. While the recession was to have officially “ended” at year-end 2009, the employment markets continue to struggle as job growth is stagnant and unemployment remains too high (nearly 10%).

Per Krugman: "The economy isn’t recovering, and Washington has been worrying about the wrong things. It’s not just that the threat of a double-dip recession has become very real. It’s now impossible to deny the obvious, which is that we are not now and have never been on the road to recovery."

With the grim prospect that many Americans are facing long-term or possibly permanent unemployment, Krugman argues that policymakers must adjust their priorities to assist the U.S. out of this ugly slide. While partisan politicians seek to cast blame on their foes, in truth, all the political leaders are to blame for the continuing failure of the economy.

Job creation proposals can no longer be rhetoric—now is the time for President Obama to move on what he should have been doing the last two years, holding the GOP accountable—and getting people back into the workforce.