Himes: Expect A Long Haul for Economic Recovery [VIDEO]

Nearly 60 members of the Greenwich business community listened to a rather gloomy outlook on the nation's economy explained by US Rep. Jim Himes.

During the half-hour discussion Himes presented to the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, the two-term Democrat from Cos Cob said the nation's housing bubble is years from rebounding. (Please see video.)

He also said "the right wing of my party boxed me around the ears" for supporting $2.5 trillion in budget cuts and arguing that even more cuts will need to be made if economic recovery and a balanced budget are to be achieved. He said believes the road to economic recovery can be paved if corporate tax loopholes are filled, forcing corporations to pay their share of what he called "the second highest corporate tax in the world."

But before any of that can happen, Himes said that the political atmophere in Washington needs to be toned down. "This is the most political atmosphere in my experience," Himes said. "There is real anger out there. There's a very angry right wing, populist group and it's called the Tea Party."

"Sixty of these people were elected by the US citizenry but it has lead to the gridlock that we have," Hime said. But Himes said this is democracy in action including discussions that don't always lead to compromise. "If there wasn't discussion, you might have seen a coup. If there wasn't discussion you might have a fascist government."

And Himes said he was optimistic that the Congressional committee whose members include Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) will develop a compromise. "They are protecting their (legislative) legacy and will try to do something big ... and we're going to hate it," Himes predicted.