Sharon Angle of Nevada: Idealisms and Wild Accusations in US House of Rep Campaign

In Nevada, Sharon Angle is running against Harry Reid in the US House elections this November.

Most of what Sharon Angle said in her campaign speech is the same as what most Republicans are saying. The statements by both Democrats and Republicans will make this election campaign the most negative election campaign in recent history.

Sharon Angle made some wild accusations against Reid without providing any evidence to support those accusations. Apparently, she doesn't consider winning the election a sure shot.

What bothered me most was when Sharon Angle accused Ried of making deals with other Representatives in Congress and insinuated that those deals constituted corruption. She, as usual, did not back up her accusations with facts. Accusations without facts equal a smear campaign.

Anyway, it made me wonder how effective Sharon Angle or any new Republican member would be in the US Congress. First of all, many of them aspire to idealisms (no pork) and believe that tax cuts and incentives are the cure-all for all economic problems (another idealism.) Second of all, if Sharon Angle is not going to make deals with other Congressmen, she will be very ineffective at promoting new bills or helping her state of Nevada.

Sharon Angle also said she would create new jobs by supporting tax cuts and incentives. The tax cuts and incentives will not result in a lower unemployment rate. This is because of the estimated 25 million people unemployed or underemployed and because of the large number of people who gave up looking for a job. Even if employment picks up, there will be people looking for better paying jobs, people looking for second jobs to improve their income, people on unemployment compensation looking for jobs and people (who gave up) re-entering the job market. This yields stiff competition for the unemployed. The result is that the unemployment level will stubbornly remain near 10%.

Sharon Angle mentioned small businesses but did not suggest any means of loosening tight credit. Bank loans to overcome a slow business period or to mend a cash flow problem are very hard to get. Hence, some small businesses may have to fold and other small businesses may not expand unless they have the capital to cover the increased cost of raw materials during expansion. The Republicans have no solution for this problem and blocked the one real solution: The Federal Reserve buying bonds comprised of business loans in order to boost bank capital and encourage banks to lend more.