The Real Mitt Romney

[Ibby]

We have a small business problem in this country.
The problem is that small business in this country doesn't work.

Maybe we could start with rigorous antitrust legislation and action to break up monopolizing or otherwise market-dominating multinationals that siphon money from the poor and working-class to offshore tax havens and to Chinese massive-scale industry.
Maybe we could tax the wal-marts and the apples and the fast-food conglomerates and the comcasts and the financial giants and use that money to subsidize and otherwise help local businesses fill some parts of those same economic niches across the country.
Maybe we could guarantee living wages to hourly or otherwise marginalized workers, giving them the option of shopping local instead of buying chinese crap from wal-mart.
Maybe we could fix the food deserts in our country by making sure EVERY American has access to affordable HEALTHY options, helping to close the health care gap between economic classes and slow the ridiculous rise in health care costs nationally.
Maybe we could put enough money into our cities to build the communities from the inside, with local, small, neighboorhood businesses, instead of outside businesses taking money back out of the community and to the affluent suburbs or gentrified neighborhoods.
Maybe we could work to end the highly racialized nature of our schooling system, and fund education in this country well enough to make sure every American has a REAL opportunity to learn not only job skills, and not only standardized test questions, but also civics, critical thinking, and other more broadly applicable skills that will leave them ready for the job market or for college.
Maybe while we're at it we could reform the for-profit predatory system of colleges that exist only to cash in on the guaranteed student loan program, and the banks that make the profit while the government assumes the risk, by regulating the rising costs of both private and public education, and subsidizing schools through GOVERNMENT loan programs, where the GOVERNMENT keeps the interest profits, instead of the banks.

I could keep going for an hour, if I didn't have to get dressed and ready to leave for class in fifteen minutes. Every one of those things would have broad stimulative effects on the economy, and have either a short-term or a long-term revenue-boosting effect as the tax base broadens. Keynesian economics, bitches. Shit works and always has.