Restoring values that built US middle class

President Obama, in his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President, made reference to restoring ‘the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known’.

One of his predecessors, FDR, was instrumental in building the US economy after the disaster of the Great Depression with the New Deal and the Glass Steagall Act, which controlled financial speculation. These instruments allowed massive growth in jobs and standards of living for the US middle class, enabling the country to become an economic powerhouse.

How ironic that one of Mr Obama’s cheerleaders, Mr Clinton, facilitated the current economic mess with the repeal of Glass Steagall under his watch, allowing financial speculation to run riot.

Since the beginnings of deregulation under Mr Reagan, the gains made under the New Deal have been eradicated, and the US economy has been reduced to a consumer-based, credit-fuelled economy with no foundations.

Wage growth for the middle classes has stagnated over the last decades.

If Mr Obama really wants to restore the values that built the US middle class, then the restoration of controls over speculative finance would be a good start.

Barry Walsh

Blackrock

Cork