Why Washington Should Pay Attention to the Economy Here and Now
After a week of non-stop Osama Bin Laden, Washington is now returning to the battle over the budget deficit and the debt ceiling.
All over Capitol Hill Republicans and Democrats are debating spending caps and automatic triggers, and whether to begin them before or after Election Day.
But if you don’t mind my asking, what about the economy? I’m not talking about the economy five or ten years from now, when projections show the federal budget wildly out of control or when foreigners might start dumping dollars.
I’m talking about the here and now economy – the one Americans are living in day to day.
The Labor Department reported today that unemployment for April was 9 percent, up from 8.8 percent in March. And of course that official figure doesn’t count the percent of Americans working part-time who’d rather have full-
