There’s a reason why Americans who don’t happen to work for the government or directly benefit from its largesse are not sensing an economic recovery. For them, it’s mostly not happening. ADP’s January employment report showing 22,000 private-sector jobs lost, the last available jobs-related information available when this column was written, only confirms that feeling.
A look at what has happened to the nation’s inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods and services produced in the economy, during the last six quarters is sadly instructive. Comparing the fourth quarter of 2009 with the second quarter of 2008, we see that:
* Even after six months of “recovery,” the economy as a whole has shrunk by almost 2%.
* Uncle Sam’s level of annualized consumption and “investment” has grown by 8.5%.
* Despite the incessant pleadings of poverty by most state and local governments, their consumption and “investment” have hardly changed.
* What remains, i.e., the private sector, is over 3% smaller.(emphasis added)
Its all smoke and mirrors – Uncle Sam, via the Fed, magically created money out of thin air and has used it to “invest” in the economy resulting in GDP numbers which appear to be growing…but the real economy, where wealth is created, continues to shrink. And this means we are net poorer than we were before Obama’s spendulus was enacted.
We must balance the budget. We must cut taxes. We must remove the regulations which prevent wealth creation via making, mining and growing things. If we don’t do this, then we’ll just flop around – increasingly impoverished and ultimately heading for a crash which might result in a default on our sovereign debt.
If we follow Obama and his Democrats then we are just following them off a cliff…
Blogs For Victory 