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Introduction
The United States is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in a century and Americans have lost their sense of hope. Companies are closing, people are losing their jobs, the people are scared about the future, banks are not lending, the housing industry is collapsing; in short, it is extremely difficult to be an American these days. Could it be that the most powerful nation is collapsing? And how are Americans facing up to this reality?
First, there was the crush of the stock market which inevitably hurt the wealthy and upper-middle-class families. For a greater part, thousands of Wall Street jobs that sustained the share of income flow to top one percent earners have disappeared. No one is feeling secure and the stock market has become unpredictable. Disparate measures are being put in place; stimulus packages, bailouts, mergers.
Analysis
John Doyle, a thirty-two-year-old graduate engineer, presents a typical picture of an American who has adversely been affected by the recession. As a graduate employed by one of the most respected motor industries in the United States, Doyle had envisioned a bright future and was ultimately planning to get married to his college sweetheart. However, things changed and life began to be full of uncertainties; his company begun laying out workers. The General Motors, the company he has been working for almost seven years, was on a brink of collapse. Jobs were becoming difficult to get and he had no hope of finding another job if he were to lose his current job.
The ongoing economic crisis has put to test the confidence and optimism of the Americans. The attitudes have changed and the land of glory has been turned into a land of worry. The feelings expressed by Doyle represent that of many United States citizens. A large proportion of the American population is of the view that the government is particularly responsible for plunging the country into the recession. According to Doyle, the government has failed to protect its workers from the grave impacts of the recession. He says that things would not have gone wrong the way they have if the government had more control of the companies. He says, “The situation seems to be getting worse. The government’s decision to bail out our company (GM) is alright but the damage has nevertheless been done. I have a couple of colleagues who are out of job as we speak.”
Markson, a sociology professor, however has another way of looking at things. He is concerned about the migration trends due to the recession which is constantly threatening American jobs. “International migration responds to the ebb and flow of business cycle. Economic and demographic basics influence its trends and our young people are adversely affected,” he remarks. Beyond this, Markson also says that the American companies are mainly responsible for the loss of jobs. This, according to him, is a consequence of the decision by some companies to outsource work that can nevertheless be done by Americans.
David, a journalist, feels that the media has blown the issue of the recession out of proportion. He is of the view that the media has to some extent exaggerated the entire issue leaving the public scared. “It is not as bad as these people want to say it is. I know jobs have been lost and companies are bankrupt but there is a way that our media reports issues that are at times different from the reality on the ground. People lose jobs every day, don’t they?” he says.
The American media has played a big role in shaping the people’s perceptions and attitudes towards the recession and David’s position is not far from the truth. Probably, a good percentage of Americans knew of the recession through the media.
The recession may not be as bad as projected in the media even though the depth and magnitude of its impacts are being felt by Americans from every sector of the economy. “The fact that the country is facing an economic crisis which has steadily evolved into becoming one of the worst recessions in the history of the United States is open to all Americans, and probably to the global community,” says Doyle. This position is shared by Markson and David. Even though David is of the opinion that the media has misrepresented the magnitude and scope of the recession, he agrees that it has the capacity to be one of the worst recessions in a decade. Many Americans still feel that the economy is not doing so well especially after the massive job cuts and job insecurity that have been witnessed in the past few years.
Up to this particular moment, we cannot claim that America has been set free from the chains of the recession. Even though the Obama administration is taking calculated measures to take Americans out of the recession, the impact of the crisis is still felt in the streets of New York, homes in New Orleans, Companies in Chicago, and every corner of the American nation. Much of the information on the impact of the recession can only be derived from the public.
When I asked Markson if the public can be relied on in giving the actual impact of the recession, he answered that “the judgments of the public are both better and worse than those of the economists.” According to him, the common American citizen does not certainly employ similar standards used by the economists to analyze the economy, neither is he familiar with the far much complex formulae that the research bureau employs. He says, “Individuals possess a wealth of first-hand evidence that they do not possess in international affairs or social policy realms. They are conscious of their job security, the amount of money they pay for gas or loan, neighborhood house sale, and how huge their credit balances are growing on their credit cards.”
In other words, public perceptions are based on vital realities that characterize everyday living. These perceptions are often ignored by policymakers at their peril since the majority of individuals are likely to rely on their own impressions rather than statistics when there is a split between statistics and public impressions. Doyle believes that the actual figures of unemployment are far much greater than those that have been projected by the government. This similar sentiment is shared by Markson and David.
According to David, everyone has felt vulnerable with the state of the economy being the major subject in the media. When he first heard of the recession, he says he panicked. As a measure, he sold his stock. Many Americans might have reacted in a similar way and the consequences for banks and the entire market are obvious.
The news of the recession was not received well by retirees. Many people who had retirement money at stake panicked and sold their shares as a result (Woodland 2009:141). O’Sullivan, a government retiree who had shared with a company in Los Angeles, sold all of his shares for fear that the company may collapse in the face of the recession. “I just had to do it because everywhere, people were complaining of falling shares. I could not wait to be a victim even though I knew that the recession would sooner or later catch up with me. No one has been spared.”
This same sentiment reverberates among the American population. The result is more panic and more selling with people becoming so scared that they radically cut back on their spending. The consequences of all these are obvious; it caused panic which actually made economic crisis to be a reality.
A vast majority of Americans believe that the government’s weak regulation of financial institutions had a role in causing the financial crisis. However, the general attitude towards regulation has not changed. A good proportion of Americans still believe that their interests can be protected if the government regulated business. On the other hand, there are others who believe that government’s regulation of business will pose more harm than good.
Conclusion
Those who belong to this school of thought equate such a move to a shift to socialism. It should not be forgotten that the current president Barrack Obama was at one point during his campaign accused of embracing socialistic ideas. Quite a good number of Americans perceive the government to be wasteful and inefficient. This view has been more pronounced during this period of recession. Doyle, Markson, O’Sullivan and David all say that they are disturbed, though optimistic, about the ability of the country to overcome the recession. When asked if there is any actual limit to the growth of the United States or whether Americans should learn to cope with less, they seem to be inclined towards taking the latter position. According to Doyle, every individual must adjust to the current situation. Markson holds that it is the responsibility of Americans to find out what is wrong and use whatever is within their reach to come out of the situation. David on the other hand feels that Americans should tighten their belts.
Americans believe that things are finally going to get better and that the Obama administration is working towards restoring the hopes of the American people. On its part, the government has printed more money as part of the strategy to solve this problem. This is however a short-term solution. All that is required is an assurance that things will be alright. When confidence is restored, the market will yet again be flooded with money and values will subsequently go up.
Work Cited
Woodland, James. Attitudes on Recession: American Perspective. Economic Journal. 2(2), p. 130-149, 2009
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