Maybe Congress Could Help Low and Middle-Class Families Indirectly

By Steve Moya, NewsTaco

When you learn that Congress has taken another crack at reducing Food Stamps for the needy it makes you wonder who they’re representing and what they consider a priority.

William A. Gaston in the New York Times focuses on new research that highlights the connection between “policy-based uncertainty” and the negative impact on the real economy. Citing research by Steven Davis and Nicholas Bloom he notes that between 1985-2007 uncertainty varied within a narrow range but since then has risen to historically elevated levels with peaks corresponding to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the initial defeat of TARP legislation.

When business is uncertain about critical areas like taxes, regulatory and other issues they back off and wait. This is so powerful that researchers estimate that if the “uncertainty” levels were back to 2006 levels industrial production would rise 4%, employment grow by 2.3 million jobs. While this work is always being refined it deserves serious attention.

Great Potential Implications:  We can never underestimate the impact economics has over our lives. It’s incumbent upon Latino leaders to advance knowledge in this area and the community  to push national leaders  to consider how important a strong economy is to people struggling to move up the economic ladder.

This article was first published in Great Potential: Latinos in a Changing America.

Steve Moya has a combination of entrepreneurial, consultancy and corporate experience in marketing, communications, strategy development, and public/governmental affairs with companies and entities that include Univision, the Los Angeles City Council, Moya, Villanueva and Associates and Manning, Selvage and Lee. Prior to moving into consulting he was Senior-Vice President and Chief Marketing officer for Humana, Inc. a Fortune 100 health benefits company where he was responsible for marketing, corporate communications and actively involved in corporate strategy development.

The challenge for Latinos is how to enhance their education levels and skills in order to be relevant in the information economy and meet the needs of the modern workplace at a time when federal, state, and local budgets are strained, if not declining. This book explains why an aging America needs Latinos. While it looks in-depth at the economic forces we’re facing, it focuses on strategies Latino families and communities throughout the nation can adopt to build a better future for themselves and the nation.

Interested? Click HERE to purchase Great Potential: Latinos in a Changing America.