Economic calamity begets radical politics. America’s worst financial panic and recession since the 1930s gave birth to the tea party and Occupy Wall Street. Now Occupy seems to be fizzling out, but tea party Republicans are plunging America into budget crises this fall.
The GOP’s surrender to fiscal anarchism gives President Obama and his party an opportunity to seize the high ground on jobs and economic growth. For that to happen, however, Democrats will need to eschew ritual business-bashing, embrace the productive forces in U.S. society and honor companies that are investing in America’s future.
The nation’s job drought is really an investment drought. Real government spending on productive assets from highways and bridges to computer equipment (net of depreciation) is down by half compared to the average level of the 2000s. Private sector investment is doing better but still falls well short of what the country needs. Many companies are still hoarding cash — about $2 trillion — or spending it on stock buy-backs, and investment outside of housing remains 20 percent below its long-term trend.
But many companies are investing at home. For the second year running, the Progressive Policy Institute has ranked the top 25 companies that are making the biggest bets on America’s economic future. These “Investment Heroes” invested nearly $150 billion last year in new plants, buildings and equipment (figures do not include investments in research and human capital).
Continue reading at the San Jose Mercury News.
