Economy Demands Laissez-faire Touch

As the holiday season approaches, Americans are expecting another year of economic depression. With a new President and a new political party in office, the ideology has changed drastically.

Last year, Americans experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression. Millions suffered and unemployment in America became rampant. California in particular has been hit hardest with millions losing their homes to foreclosure and the unemployment rate reaching 12.5 percent.

A common misconception many have is that the government can spend their way out of a recession. Yet, spending trillions of dollars only deepens the hole since American consumerism has declined because Americans have decided to save money.  This is where the problem lies – there is no longer any middle ground.

The American people have never been able to do anything in moderation. When the economy is booming, Americans' consumption is excessive. Now that the economy has been in a terrible bust for almost two years, Americans have decided that they should not spend at all. This is worse than consuming because the economy will only recover when people spend at a moderate rate. The economy can be rectified when there is both government and consumer spending.

President Obama is constantly compared to Franklin D. Roosevelt because Obama has become president at a time when America is economically weak. However, times have changed since the Great Depression when President Roosevelt was able to create millions of jobs for the American people. America has the infrastructure but not enough industries to do so. Still, this is not the 1930s; this America has lost hundreds of industries to foreign nations. The government will only hurt a damaged economy more by trying to "spend their way out of it."

Americans need the right leadership in Washington and this is why President Obama and his Administration have to be effective because if they are not, the current economy will not improve.  Yet, the lawmakers in Washington are not the only politicians who need to be proactive in these difficult times.

California in particular is in such dire straits economically that it can't get any worse. The entire state is completely broke and according to Forbes.com, the main reason for this is Governor Schwarzenegger and Californians as a whole. The state is a microcosm of America, where the political leaders have been mediocre at best and the constituents have also failed to do their part.

The government should not solve our every economic need. By allowing the government to do so we are only making matters worse. The economy will eventually regain its position. So, now that America has welcomed change to the White House, the American people need to do the same in their own house.