Posted on 01/31/2015 9:51:19 AM PST by Kaslin
In 2014, GDP growth bounced back in the spring and summer from a tough winter but in the fourth quarter, fell off to 2.6 percent. History indicates the country should be doing a lot better—simply, too many prime working age Americans are despondent and have permanently dropped out of the workforce.
After a deep recession, Ronald Reagan posted 4.7 percent annual growth over 22 quarters and employment jumped 13 percent, whereas President Obama’s recovery has accomplished half that progress.
Were the economy firing on all cylinders as it did in Reagan’s time, it would create more than 500,000 jobs a month, instead of the 225,000 expected going forward.
That would surely inspire many of the one in eight men 25 to 54, who are neither employed nor looking for work, to get up off their couches and do something useful with their lives.
Oil prices falling to $60 a barrel was a blessing but at $45, many U.S. producers can’t earn a profit and are cutting back on drilling. That negates much of the gains in consumer spending from lower gas prices.
Along with continuing legal woes and cumbersome regulations holding back the financial sector, layoffs in the oil patch are a big negative for the economy—and prices are not likely to recover significantly any time soon.
Small business investment and startups are not picking up fast enough. Tougher lending standards at banks, higher capital gains taxes that discourage wealthy Americans from risking cash on new ventures, and the much abused personal and corporate tax codes, together, make raising capital tough.
Republicans won control of Congress, in significant measure, on a platform of smarter regulation and tax reform—closing loopholes to lower tax rates, enable investment and create jobs.
Supporters of tighter business oversight and a more aggressive tax agenda are distributed among swing states in the Electoral College so as to make Obama’s intransigence on business regulation and insistence that loopholes be closed to finance new government spending and redistribute income a potentially winning formula for Democrats in the 2016 presidential election.
Those competing agenda block meaningful progress on regulatory and tax reform until Democrats nominate a moderate, pro-business candidate or Republicans find a standard bearer more appealing to Hispanic and moderate women voters than most of its aspirants.
Economic weakness, dysfunctional governments and central banks printing too much money to paper over messes in the Eurozone, China and elsewhere in Asia are pushing down the exchange rates for foreign currencies against the greenback.
It’s great to be an American tourist in Paris these days, but the strong dollar is making U.S.-made machinery, chemicals and other products too pricey. This encourages a new wave of offshoring and automation that kills thousands of jobs. Also, taking a beating are the overseas earnings of U.S. giants like Caterpillar, DuPont, Microsoft, and Proctor and Gamble.
President Reagan, when confronted with similar harm to American economic interests, negotiated the 1985 Plaza accord with Japan and the major European economies—China was not yet a force—to lower the value of the dollar and ensure a fair deal for American businesses and workers. And he was all for producing more energy in America.
These days, policy is going the wrong direction. The president continues to block most offshore oil development that could do much to boost U.S. investment in infrastructure, manufacturing and R&D.
He seems bent on obtaining authority from Congress to negotiate new free trade deals in Europe and Asia without strong safeguards against beggar-thy-neighbor currency policies that destroy American jobs.
Regardless of whom the Democrats and Republicans nominate in 2016, the country needs a leader who can articulate to voters the imperative for pro-business regulatory, tax and foreign trade policies that support making stuff and creating jobs in America.
Workers sorely need an advocate—sadly, they don’t have one now.
Obama’s trade policies work for his basic interest.
And that is, non-Whites should be preferred for employment everywhere.
Since “Free Trade” has mostly benefited non-White countries - China, India, Mexico - he’s OK with it. In fact, he prefers it.
Once you understand that his entire persona is driven by Race hatred, then it all makes sense.
Dude’s a Stone Racist. That’s all.
Restore the fambly.
The wimmin will denigrate and nag the menfolk to the point where a boring, mind numbing, soul searing jobs look like steps up.
Something "useful" like what?
Pay taxes to fuel out of control government?
Prop up a society which has determined to recreate itself in enmity to God?
“Getting the Couch Potatoes Back to Work”
Not sure who they are referring to as “couch potatoes.” If they mean people that collect over 80% of what they would make at a job, just by sitting at home and collecting welfare - I’d say good luck!
There can be jobs begging on ever street corner. Until those nice benefits of being lazy go away, I wouldn’t count on anything to change.
Well, I take that back - a recovery WILL cause even more illegal immigration. But the lazy ones here already being taken care of - nah.
As Reagan said, women are the foundation of civilization.
I guess they should be volunteering at a nearby soup kitchen or community garden; I always hear about these things where people refuse to work.
If they want people to get off the couch, pay them more than just enough to keep them going for work; many people realize their lots in life are little better than livestock (fed enough to work, for only as long as they can work), and have simply “dropped out”. Politically (and probably militarily) the government has no choice but to keep them housed, fed, and sedated; it was worthwhile for the government to do it in our cities for half a century, now everyone else knows the deal...
Not all of the discouraged workers are on the dole. Many older guys took early retirement rather than continue to feed the monster — or put up with bullstt political correctness in the workplace
I suspect most men would never bathe if it weren’t for wooing wimmin...
Or were crowded out by a tsunami of H1-Bs.
...and “dreamers”.
I didn’t think people taking early retirement were considered “discouraged workers”.
One problem many companies and municipalities have is that there are few takers for early retirement; government workers in particular know they have no value in the private sector, and they’ll never get paid so much for doing so little anywhere else.
There are probably plenty of older unemployed folks who want to work but whom no one will hire.
Well said.
Some couch potatoes are more equal than others. Some will gladly get off the couch and go to a job, even if they have to pay 40% of their earnings to keep certain other people on the couch clicking the remote.
“That would surely inspire many of the one in eight men 25 to 54, who are neither employed nor looking for work, to get up off their couches and do something useful with their lives.”
The author is assuming they aren’t doing something useful already. I wouldn’t be surprised if a significant chunk of those men are working in the shadow economy.
Throw the illegals out, halt ALL immigration to this country, and put an end to most government welfare, then watch what happens to the American economy.
It would astound the world.
That's all he's got, except for a few Marxist theories to guide him. The rest of his head is empty space.
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