Essay: "An Economic Butterfly Effect?"

Essay: "An Economic Butterfly Effect?"

According to Wikipedia, the "Butterfly Effect" is the theory that small changes in a point in time can lead to huge, unintended consequences in a future point of time. The current debt crisis could arguably be considered an economic and political 'Butterfly Effect'. If an agreement is made to cut both taxes for the wealthy and services for the poor the following might very well occur: Corporations will hoard money and refuse to hire new personnel; Ordinary people won't spend money other than on real necessities (i.e. food, clothing and shelter and the like), resulting in more layoffs and business closings. Banks won't lend money, so would-be entrepreneurs won't dare establish new small businesses (the main source of new jobs in the American economy). As a result, more people will need government services (i.e. food stamps, unemployment, low-income housing vouchers, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.), but they will be basically SOL because there will be few or no services to be had. There will likely be more hunger, homelessness, crime of every kind, alcoholism and substance abuse, widespread anger, an increase in domestic violence, stress, heart attacks and suicides. Meanwhile, the rich will get even richer and the poor will get even poorer. If things get bad enough, widespread social unrest could very well result. Perhaps all of this and more can result from the rigid, my way or the highway stubbornness of extreme right-wing ideology and the short-term thinking so typical of politicians who care more about being reelected by their base than what is best for their constituents and fellow countrymen.