Obama's vuvuzela economy
You're no economist so you're not sure; But your common sense is shrieking warnings that the Obama regime's business expropriations, contrived central planning, massive deficit spending, and bloated government are killing our economy. You compare how you must budget to get by and it suddenly hits you: "America is going down the drain."
Cue the trumpet fanfare, strike up Ruffles and Flourishes, let loose the unicorns and flying pigs: America is now officially into "Recovery Summer." Say what? That's right - you read it correctly - Recovery Summer.
Yup. Why, in no time at all, Americans will be swimming in a tidal surge of new "green" jobs from stimulus-funded projects masterfully planned to improve highways, parks, drinking water, and [Insert Favorite Fantasy Here].
At least that's what Clueless Joe and Dear Leader recently decreed amidst a predictable accompaniment of State-run Media hoopla. But a funny thing happened on the way to the rhetoric: Most Americans are no longer swallowing the swill.
And as it always does, reality sooner or later stuffs socks in the horns. Obama's recovery fanfare has been realistically examined and found wanting. It is nothing more than just words -- as Teh One is condescendingly fond of saying -- nothing more than debilitating noise.
Spending kills
As everyone knows, any attempt at cutting congressional spending and implementing austerity measures are politically unpopular. What to do? Well, the Democrat Congress recently passed rules to prevent itself from spending money it doesn't have. But those same Democrats who voted for Pay-Go simply override their own rules whenever the urge strikes to pass another massive, pork-laden, tax-increasing spending bill.
Radio talkmeister Neal Boortz offered his own take on the regime's recovery fantasy:
The government cannot fix our economy. I mean, that is a pretty simple statement ... the government cannot fix our economy. It can't. Because as of right now, the idea of "economic stimulus," according to the government, is adding more employees to the government dole. But who ultimately pays for those government employees? The taxpayers. Eventually, the taxpayers will not be able to foot the bill for all of these employees. So there are two options. First, you fire some employees. Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen. The second option is that you create more jobs. Eventually the only way this will be able to happen is by the government essentially taking over more and more of the private sector.
But our economic meltdown is even grimmer than Boortz's portrayal.
We need the private sector
America's economy will never recover by increasing the public-sector payroll. Increasing government, taxpayer-funded jobs only take us so far before it begins to drastically diminish economic recovery. A detailed, sobering study from Carmen Reinhart (University of Maryland) and Kenneth Rogoff (Harvard University) compared the relationships among rising debt, inflation, and economic growth for 44 developed and developing countries. In it they contend:
The United States will need to add 8 million private-sector jobs just to get back to its December 2007 pre-recession economic peak. This means that private-sector employers need to average nearly 300,000 new jobs a month for the next two and one-half years just to get to the pre-recession peak by the end of 2012. If that doesn't happen, there is no telling how long the current economic downturn will run.
Despite regime rhetoric to the contrary, many economic analysts agree on two key points: 1. Today's dismal jobs slump, already at 29 months, could last five to ten years or more; and 2. Employers are understandably expected to stay cautious amidst a nearly nonexistent economic recovery. And these are optimistic projections.
Put down the vuvuzelas
Many private-sector jobs that were lost are gone for good. We continue to export employment in the form of outsourcing, and the regime's current modus continues to erode what manufacturing jobs are left to us. Until we level the playing field for our businesses, it will get worse.
That is why it is unclear how out-of-control government spending, out-of-control government borrowing and debt, a moratorium on oil drilling and energy exploration, corporate tax increases, allowing the Bush tax cuts to lapse, subsidizing failed businesses, value-added taxes, increasing energy costs, and increasing the tax burden by growing government bureaucracies, increasing public-sector payrolls, and subsidizing unions with taxpayer funding will stimulate private-sector growth and job creation.
So set the feigned celebratory horns down. Funny ... the Obama regime is doing just the opposite required for economic resurgence. It almost makes you believe that economic recovery is not their primary goal, doesn't it? If so, you must ask yourself: What is?
Hype and Chains for 132 more days.