Exit polls shows show that the Number 1 issue was the economy. Obama failed and the GOP won the election.
Specifically, 45 percent of voters said, in exit polls, that the economy was their number one issue.
Almost half say their own family’s financial situation hasn’t improved much over the past two years, and a fourth say it’s gotten worse. Those who said their finances were worse supported Republican congressional candidates by more than a 2-1 margin.
Six in 10 voters said they were dissatisfied or angry with the Obama administration, but about the same number felt that way about Republican leaders in Congress.
U.S. supply chains, and the businesses within them, employ people. Yet a series of presidential administrations have aided and abetted the loss of our manufacturing and food supply chains through dumb trade deals and the pursuit of “global supply chains”.
While supplies are shipped globally and will always be, public policy should focus upon getting the most share of those supply chains – and the firms within them – within our country. That’s what China, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and any successful producing and trading nation does. There are ways to do it. Our government needs a strategy to regain those industrial supply chains. Some existing ones and others in the future.
Our strong service sector is fine. But it tends to not spin off other jobs and wealth like manufacturing. Our service sector, especially financial services, is too large a proportion of our economy right now. I’m not against a service sector, but want balance. Similarly, I like my right arm, but I don’t want it to be a massive, disproportionately large limb on my body. I want balance.
Its hard to see how to achieve full employment and strong growth without rebuilding clusters of supply chains in many industries, rather than inventing something in order to see it made elsewhere. The Obama – Rand Paul – McConnell – Boehner – punditry – editorial board desire to collaborate on Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership shows how little we learn from seismic shifts in politics or in our economy (the Great Recession). The wrong lessons are learned.
Many rank and file Republicans and Democrats do, however, get this. The Coalition for a Prosperous America has had pretty good success educating Congress on the need for net exports. If we are to fix the economy and achieve broadly shared prosperity, CPA needs to do even better.
Leadership isn’t coming from party leadership. We have to provide the leadership. They will have to follow.
