Just about every American knows full well that this country is in sad shape economically.
Just how sad, or terrible, is subject of course to political spin during the heated campaign season.
The question of what is needed to return America to economic prosperity is the essence of this presidential election.
A new book by noted author and news reporter Bob Woodward is adding fuel to that debate. “The Price of Politics” details the behind-the-scenes efforts in Congress and by the Barack Obama administration to improve economic conditions. Liberals will either ignore or denounce the book, and conservatives will cherry-pick excerpts to make their case against Obama.
Both sides will be dead wrong to do so.
Details in the book come straight from men and women deeply involved for more than three years in trying to pass legislation to improve economic conditions. Taken as a whole, the book clearly shows the stalemate achieved and the dire consequences of the looming fiscal cliff we see before us today.
In Woodward’s view, such conditions are a government failure, not simply the failure of one political party or the other. His book spreads blame across party lines and individuals who made grave miscalculations and played political chicken with each other.
Woodward characterizes this as a federal government failure across the board. Solutions must come from effective and courageous political leaders. The absence of such leadership for years now at the federal level is the glaring message in “The Price of Politics.”
Opinion
Our View: Economic failure transcends party lines
- Opinion
-
-
Our View: ‘Why?’ has no answer
Just hours before, there was breakfast and laughter. There were pictures on the walls and memories in every room.
-
Our View: Absent from House
We can’t figure out why two Missouri legislators think they should be elected to the U.S. House when it appears they can’t seem to show up to take care of business in the Missouri House.
-
Your View: Terrorism is terrorism
In the May 13 issue of The Joplin Globe there was an Associated Press article concerning the New Orleans shooting.
-
Your View: Should we be outraged?
Were there effusive apologies following the lockdown of Boston as most of the continent indulged vicariously in the ongoing manhunt?
-
Your View: Terrible injustice
I see this Jasper County nuisance law as a terrible injustice on the rights of the residents of Jasper County.
-
Other Views: Conflicts in SEC
Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want.
-
Phill Brooks, columnist: Missouri Senate did what Founding Fathers had in mind
George Washington once described the Senate as being like a saucer in which you pour coffee or tea.
-
Our View: Fixing failure
Some 1,200 injured workers will finally get the payments they are owed. In its final week in session, Missouri’s General Assembly, through bipartisan efforts, passed a solution to address the insolvency of the state’s Second Injury Fund.
-
Herb B. Kuhn, guest columnist: Delaying Medicaid reform could hurt rural Missouri
The Missouri Legislature missed a rare opportunity in the just-ended session to transform Medicaid and make a real difference in the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors. Rural Missouri has the most to lose from the legislature’s failure to act.
-
Kevin Wilson, guest columnist: When fear wins out, so do the terrorists
I’m going to make a bold statement that’s sure to draw a lot of comments, but hear me out before reaching for the keyboard to type a rebuttal.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office
New Xbox One Entertainment Console Unveiled
