Yesterday we learned that the economy shrank during the last quarter of 2012; according to the latest figures from the federal government, the GDP declined at a rate of 0.1% during that quarter. In a struggle that would be humorous if the subject were less important, the White House, the Democrats and the media have been struggling to "explain" why the GDP report was actually good news. We are being told about changes in consumer spending, inventory and defense spending. We are being told about future projections and the like. What we are not being told, however, is how anyone can actually celebrate a shrinking economy as an achievement. Indeed, when one recalls that during the third quarter the economy grew at a rate of 3.1%, the shift to a decline is made even worse. There was a dramatic slowdown, and no amount of spin from Obama or the media can change that reality.
On top of last quarter's decline, we now must face the demons of the current quarter. The vast majority of working folks across America got hit with higher payroll taxes beginning January 1st, as the temporary reduction in social security taxes expired. Higher taxes on a great many folks also kicked in with the effective date for many Obamacare tax increases. Then you also have the tax increases passed by Congress at the insistence of Obama in order to stave off the fiscal cliff. None of these measures will help grow the economy; just the reverse is true. Each one will reduce the prospects for growth. Indeed, if we have one more quarter of decline, we will officially be in the dreaded double dip recession.
The problem right now though is something else. Americans deserve to have a leader who tries to fix our economic problems, but we do not have one. Just today, president Obama let his Jobs Council disband. Apparently, he does not care enough about creating jobs to have these folks stick around to give him advice. Obama has also failed even to send his budget proposal to Congress as required by law. I guess he is just too busy campaigning for gun control to consider the economy. There is no proposed economic plan from Obama. No one knows what course Obama thinks the country ought to follow to get the economy back on track. Now let me be clear: I am not talking about the need for more political talking points from Obama or his administration. Those things are never in short supply; Obama is always ready to blame someone else for every problem. Instead, I am talking about the need for a plan of action for the country. It seems widely accepted that some sort of tax reform for business taxes needs to be undertaken. Obama, however, never deals with this issue, and he certainly never puts forth a proposal as to what changes he would like. Similarly, Obama never tells us just how he would like to promote job growth. Early in the first term, we heard that green energy jobs were going to be the job engines of the future, but after scandals like Solyndra where hundreds of millions of billions were shoveled to Obama's cronies only to see the companies go under once federal support was removed, Obama has basically stopped talking about this industry.
I realize that economics is not the president's strong suit. Okay, he is not an economist. But he still is president. He needs to pay attention to the economy. It is not fair to the American people for the economy to be left to drift for four years without anyone attempting to steer it towards growth.
I guess that the best I can say about all this is just that Obama's term is 0.8% over. Just 99.2% left to go. Hopefully, the economy will survive.
On top of last quarter's decline, we now must face the demons of the current quarter. The vast majority of working folks across America got hit with higher payroll taxes beginning January 1st, as the temporary reduction in social security taxes expired. Higher taxes on a great many folks also kicked in with the effective date for many Obamacare tax increases. Then you also have the tax increases passed by Congress at the insistence of Obama in order to stave off the fiscal cliff. None of these measures will help grow the economy; just the reverse is true. Each one will reduce the prospects for growth. Indeed, if we have one more quarter of decline, we will officially be in the dreaded double dip recession.
The problem right now though is something else. Americans deserve to have a leader who tries to fix our economic problems, but we do not have one. Just today, president Obama let his Jobs Council disband. Apparently, he does not care enough about creating jobs to have these folks stick around to give him advice. Obama has also failed even to send his budget proposal to Congress as required by law. I guess he is just too busy campaigning for gun control to consider the economy. There is no proposed economic plan from Obama. No one knows what course Obama thinks the country ought to follow to get the economy back on track. Now let me be clear: I am not talking about the need for more political talking points from Obama or his administration. Those things are never in short supply; Obama is always ready to blame someone else for every problem. Instead, I am talking about the need for a plan of action for the country. It seems widely accepted that some sort of tax reform for business taxes needs to be undertaken. Obama, however, never deals with this issue, and he certainly never puts forth a proposal as to what changes he would like. Similarly, Obama never tells us just how he would like to promote job growth. Early in the first term, we heard that green energy jobs were going to be the job engines of the future, but after scandals like Solyndra where hundreds of millions of billions were shoveled to Obama's cronies only to see the companies go under once federal support was removed, Obama has basically stopped talking about this industry.
I realize that economics is not the president's strong suit. Okay, he is not an economist. But he still is president. He needs to pay attention to the economy. It is not fair to the American people for the economy to be left to drift for four years without anyone attempting to steer it towards growth.
I guess that the best I can say about all this is just that Obama's term is 0.8% over. Just 99.2% left to go. Hopefully, the economy will survive.
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