What part of the economy is doing fine?

That's not trickle down, you're talking about the multiplier effect. Because (locally, at least) money flows in a circular pattern and one person's spending becomes another person's income, who, in turn, spends it again, where it becomes yet another person's income, who spends it... repeat, repeat...
Provided that there is a high propensity to purchase locally produced goods and services the multiplier can be quite high.
Purchasing imported goods can drastically reduce the multiplier. When lower income people get more income, or even a new job, the tend to purchase what they perceive as high value imported goods, i.e., a Chinese made flat-screen TV.
Higher income persons have a propensity to spend a higher proportion of their income on local and domestic goods and services, and to invest any surplus. So a tax cut for higher income people does have a greater multiplier effect. I'm not talking about the hyper rich, who would just send it to a Swiss bank account.

Oh, I just couldn't resist.

Lindy

 

I think the wider problem (and perhaps one that isn't being talked about enough) it the distinct possibility that the American economy is being hampered in large part by structural unemployment (and related underemployment).

I think that people are too concerned with putting things back together the way they were. The world changes too quickly for that to happen. Advances in technology, changes in economies on a global scale, etc., make this futile. The American economy needs to be bolstered with a fundamental change in education from the ground up (i.e., give it adequate funding for a change) and a shift towards widespread retraining.

I know it's tough to watch your industry undergo irreversible changes due to technological advances and market shifts, and it must be tough to lose your job in such an environment. My own industry is going through this kind of stuff, and my job security is heading for the shitter.

Regardless, if governments want to bolster their economies, they need to do what certain European countries are doing such as many of the nordic countries and Germany. Germany is a great example. Despite the global economy, they've expanded manufacturing while including growth in high-paying jobs. They also have an aggressive green energy policy, etc., that creates jobs and boosts innovation.

The idea of free-markety invisible hands making things right is too much of a gamble, especially since there is no evidence it works.

Sound government policy in conjunction with business initiatives is a combination that makes things happen. Too many seem to argue that government should "get out of the way." Why? Government can be valuable partners in getting things done.

It happens. There's actually evidence of that.

 

redux even without the global economy there has always been economic competitiveness to attract the brightest and the best. Those things have ALWAYS been factors that should be a required investment regardless of economic times or party who is in charge of congress or white house.

 

Well, I think much of this is tied into the recent shift to the right amongst Republicans in the aftermath of the toxic uprising of Tea-Partyism and libertarianism.

Republican obstructionism of Democratic initiatives isn't a secret, neither is the sentiment of wanting little more than having Obama fail.

The current mode of Republicanism on both national and state levels is that government is bad and shouldn't be in the business of doing this or the business of doing that. Because any government is bad government (aka "big government") if it goes above and beyond (generally) infrastructure, pro-business initiatives, law and order, discipline and punishment, and militarism.

This persistent idea of deep tax and spending cuts as a panacea for America's economic crises is both short-sighted and unfounded. When in America's storied history has deep (acute, really) tax and spending cuts been employed on a national scale to the level proposed by Republican decision-makers?

They call themselves conservatives, but many current Republicans in power are actually radicals. They want to exacerbate one of the deeply rooted problems in America right now, namely, the plutocracy. They don't want to return to the bygone era of post-war American prosperity. If there is a status quo they're protecting; it's a status quo of the wealthy become more wealthy at the expense of the masses.

It's not that wealth isn't trickling down. It's that the rich are soaking it up ever faster from the country and are giving less and less in return.

The data is there.

I will quote Galbraith (yet again): "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

 

Agreed.
The problem is this though...people aren't actively calling them on their bullshit
and making them pay a price for it.

Although a significant portion of at least the Net population is stating they smell bullshit.
Media is not truly focusing on it...making it a crisis.
Most people are too busy to even pay attention too much to it.

And even when bullshit is called, no one actually acts on it...and they press forward with their rhetoric & agenda.

Bullies get away with what they do because...
Authorities aren't aware or don't pay attention...or don't make a priority.
Verbally they are intimidating, repeating their threat.
And finally, no one acts to counter their threats or actions.

Dems are going to have to show spines and coordinate...something they are not good at doing.
Obama is going to have to make a showing...and start making a connection again. Right now, he's distracted and/or worn down and off-message.
Media is going to have to make it a focus to start HIGHLIGHTING the inconsistencies. Right now, its all just pundant speculation.

If you don't shine the light on the grey area...then everything will be vague.
And things will get by in the fog.

See what you want...and say something about it. CLEARLY.
Once you see it, say it...then act on it.

Otherwise, it's just a soft shuffle.