The Great American Divide: How Will America Respond to the Great Political and Economic Disconnect?

Torin Dixon
Special Correspondent

AMERICANS ARE DIVIDED UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFETIME. WE HAVE “PROGRESSIVES” VERSUS THE “TEA PARTY,” THE “RICH” VERSUS THE “WORKING CLASS.” LATELY, HIGH PROFILE DEBATE, WE HAVE THE “TAX AND SPEND” ADVOCATES VERSUS THE “SMALL GOVERNMENT–FREE MARKET CAPITALISTS.”

In the political arena, Congress cannot seem to pass any meaningful legislation to improve job creation or reassure businesses to invest. President Obama has spent the past weeks trying to convince Americans that his recycled “jobs” bill will make a difference in the job market. The problem is that even democratic senators and representatives are not jumping on his bandwagon. Perhaps the President should be pushing the democrats in the senate to pass a budget, something not done for more than 890 days.

Clearly the Keynesian economic experiment has not yielded expected results. In spite of trillions of dollars (borrowed/printed money) injected into the economy through various stimulus schemes, unemployment numbers rose and businesses continue to fail. Clearly the experiment has failed, but some have argued that the meager results are because the government should have provided vastly more stimulus money. (Can you say, print more paper?)

In New York with what started as a truly grassroots protest movement by disenchanted fringe groups, Occupy Wall street has turned into a co-op of entitlement type familiar bedfellows, unions of all sorts: AFL-CIO, SEIU, and the Transit Unions. What is not clear is whether these latecomers to the party are protesting “Capitalism,” as the original protest members articulated, or are raising a solidarity protest inclined to position themselves for the looming budget cuts targeting state and federal and local governments. Is this a foreshadowing of Greek style civil servant shut downs?

Neither side has proposed a reasonable alternative to the “Capitalist monster.”

These and a myriad of other factors are paralyzing our economy. With a severe overhang of foreclosed home inventories, we have yet to see a bottoming out of the housing sector. This spells trouble for industries tied to economic growth, construction and real estate in particular.

Without a rebound in construction (of all types), we will likely see stagnation or possible declines in the need for high-end finishes like natural stone and tile. Clearly the implications for fabricators and distributors are troubling.

How can this great divide be bridged? What factors will contribute to a narrowing of these ideological extremes? Are progressive government spending types likely to compromise and give back gains made in recent years?

This is highly unlikely and the President is being pushed further left by his ideological base. Will fiscal conservatives yield on the “raising taxes on the rich” mantra? Will they move toward higher spending to inject additional stimulus? This, too, is doubtful given the promises made in the 2010 mid-term elections.

Are we forever divided as the Red state-blue state map indicates? Will the entitlement constituents overpower sound reasoning and quash efforts at balancing budgets? Or will the upcoming 2012 elections send a reverberating message throughout all government entities to “stop the spending, stupid?” This remains to be seen. It seems both sides are digging in for one hell of a fight. Will this divide be our next economic Civil War? I certainly hope not.

If American business owners and entrepreneurs don’t make their voices heard to their elected representatives, we may be marching down the road toward European style socialism. We see in the news lately how that is working out for them. Greek civil servants have shut down the transit systems and government in protest of austerity measures, of which, only further cuts to pensions and other entitlements, will save the country from flaming out in a glorious spectacle.

The prospect of European bank failures is reverberating throughout the world financial markets, further quashing any possible economic recovery. I thought the collapse of the Soviet Union was a supreme example of how communist- socialism didn’t work. Cuba being one of the few surviving models of “success.”

In talking with stone distributors in different parts of the country, it seems that most fabricators are hurting, seeing significantly lower margins on their installations. Many are laying off employees, and, sadly, many have closed their doors. Of course, there are a few markets still going strong, yet at perhaps a slightly more manageable pace. These are the exception rather than the rule.

We need another type of Hope & Change, not “I hope I can find a job” and the change of the unemployment rate from 6.7% to 9.1%. It seems that owners and employees of businesses of all types need to do two things: call or write your representatives to voice your opinions on the urgent issue of taxes, spending, debt and entitlement reform, and make sure you vote in the next election. Depending on which side of the fence you live, it will either help the country recover or nail the lid on the coffin.

We need real leadership in our state governments and in Washington D.C. to bridge the great economic and political divide. Can we wait thirteen months for real effective change? I don’t think America can wait that long. We need positive change now. Will you help?

Torin Dixon is an importer/distributor of natural stone slabs and a fabricator/installer since 1977. tdixon@montanastonegallery.com