I have always felt that my life rests on strong shoulders. Two of my grandparents, as well as two great grandparents, emigrated from Europe for a better life. When I met distant cousins in Lithuania and Ireland in 2001, it helped me understand that while my days are no more filled with love, they are far easier than theirs. Born in 1951, I was the start of a wave of women in non-traditional roles. Teachers who believed in my intelligence and ambition offered still other shoulders. So did a dad who wanted his daughters to have a degree to fall back on should we get divorced or widowed. Perhaps the strongest shoulders, however, are those of the people who forged our nation into the imperfect but evolving union it is today. What do I owe these people and my fellow citizens? What is…
Why we should all be depressed, not just Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama is experiencing mild depression. If she can feel depressed, I feel better about my own malaise, especially about the state of the US economy. Without additional fiscal stimulus, we will experience an economic depression, a situation where the economy lacks its own ability to recover. There are other things to feel terrible about – unnecessary deaths, inequality, school-age children falling behind, and another generation likely to incur long-term effects from sustained, high unemployment. All these painful experiences are worsened as the economy tanks further. It’s helpful to remember Macroeconomics 101. The level of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (essentially our national income) depends on the addition of four terms. Consumption of disposable goods like food, entertainment, and clothing. It is the dominant majority of our GDP, coming in at about 69% in Q2 of 2020 GDP. Government spending on things like…