Getting used to the new normal

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The President and Republicans are making deals, people are being arrested at TSA checkpoints in airports, WikiLeaks continues to spew its venom, we’re told unemployment will be at or near 9 percent for years to come, a barrel of oil is near $90, the Federal Reserve gave out $3.3 trillion to “save” the world from economic collapse, and California has declared a fiscal emergency. Happy Holidays!

The good news is that it seems as though President Obama and the Republicans will strike a deal on tax cuts. It looks like this can be a win-win for everyone. For Obama, unemployment benefits are crucially important as the unemployment rate continues to sit near 10 percent. For the Republicans, tax cut extensions for all, including small business owners, was a major campaign promise and demand of the TEA Party.

If a stalemate had occurred over the issue, the nation’s unemployed would have been left without assistance and small to medium sized business owners would have seen their taxes increase during a recession. As actual Americans continued to suffer, the Federal Reserve would have continued to bail out foreign banks and companies with American dollars. Something seems wrong with telling Americans that we don’t have enough money to solve our problems at home while the Federal Reserve takes Americans’ money and sends it overseas by the trillions.

The situation to watch is the state of California. California has the largest budget of the 50 states but also the largest deficit. The Governator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) just declared a fiscal emergency and is demanding over $9 billion in immediate cuts – the state has already had to issue IOUs to creditors. These cuts won’t be pleasant, easy to do, or taken kindly by the people of California. If California is bailed out then look for other states to quickly extend their hand for some federal bucks. If a bailout is refused by the incoming budget-conscious Congress, and California is allowed to default on its bonds, watch for a domino effect to begin in many more states as the prospects of getting fast cash from Uncle Sam disappear.

The new normal may last for a while. However, if Americans support local small businesses and also buy products “Made in America,” we can keep Americans employed and our money home. This would spur greater domestic investment and could possibly lead to America being a nation that makes things again instead of a nation that imports everything. Let’s make that the new normal…America making, buying and selling products made by Americans in America.

The last bite…

Last Wednesday was the national “Dine Out America for Gulf Seafood” to clean up the oil-stained reputation of the Gulf’s seafood. I went to Pier 51 Restaurant in LaPlace to get my serving of the Gulf’s finest. We started off with the crawfish ball appetizer and followed it up with a crab cake platter. This crab cake platter was huge. They served it with three large crab cakes, grilled vegetables and spicy Pier Potatoes. I was pleasantly satisfied and look forward to supporting both Gulf Seafood and Pier 51 Restaurant again. I give national Dine Out America for Gulf Seafood 4.5 Crumbs! (out of 5)

Buddy Boe, a resident of LaPlace, is a former parish administrator and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears every Wednesday in L’Observateur.