Private sector jobs are up. They're off-setting the public sector layoffs. Many companies made some very good profits this year. Compared to most of the world the USA is still one of the best options for one's money. The economy is just as much emotional as it is rational. If people think they'll do worse they constrain their spending and the economy shrinks.
That is because people are now awakening to the fact that we have been slowing being boiled to death, one degree at a time. It wasn't bad when unemployment was around 5%, national debt was under $10T (around 70% GDP), deflation was in effect, and the budget was still well below $3T yet the very poor and seniors were taken care of.
Fast forward it three years, we have massive unemployment (10% in my state), inflation (old CPI rating would put it at 10% but Washington didn't like looking bad so they changed it decades ago to exclude food and energy costs that the little people pay), national debt over $15T and heading to the 20s within 8 years, if not sooner and budgets heading to $4T via baseline budgeting increase of 7.5% annually. That's before Obamacare taxes hit in 2013. US loses it's AAA rating, China and Japan won't buy any more debt, we have had Quantum Easing I, II, and most likely III devaluing the dollar even more and the end of the road is now clearly in sight as is the enslavement of those in school and their children for centuries. Feds are talking about Regressive Economic policy once no one stupid enough to buy US debt (I can't believe the Europeans are buying T-Bills, I though they were smarter then that) which is when the Feds force FDIC banks and funds to buy US debt in order to be receive federal benefit of participating in such programs as FDIC and borrowing from the Fed.
Though I agree we should get tough on the deficit. Obama has the public support now ~72% to raise taxes. Do it.
Well, 71% of
DEMOCRATS want to heavily raise taxes. Rest of us know it's the kiss of death to do so in a recession if not entering into a full blown depression. Or do you want me to dig up a video of Obama stating it would be stupid to raise taxes in bad economic times, I think it was just right before Congress voted on keeping the Bush tax cuts in place for another two years? Obama said it less then a year ago.
http://thepartyofknow.com/2011/04/1...era-americans-to-favor-redistributing-wealth/
Use the money wisely to make wise investments such as schools and roads. The one real big area to fix is the housing sector. Cut the military spending, reduce US bases within foreign nations, and use some savings to reduce the deficit and some to encourage home buying.
You don't get it. Yes, we can reduce the number of offshore military bases, there is cross party support for that. No, schools and roads have just had massive spending done to them, remember "shovel ready jobs" bull that was pitched in 09? We got two million people out of work after spending nearly a trillion dollars extra EACH YEAR because it became apart of the baseline budget that is getting 7.5% automatic increase. Let us not double down on stupidity, Keynesian economics is a failure now, it was a failure in the 70s and it was a failure in the 30s. Hasn't worked, not working now, and it won't work in the future. It's time to stop demonizing those with capital and it's time to stop polluting the business environment with regulation and taxation that is making capital and jobs flee to over seas.
In short, Big Government is a FAILURE. There are those who are pushing Big Government because they
WANT THE U.S. TO FAIL so they can pick up the pieces and keep a strangle hold on the U.S. for the next century or two while creating the next economic (and probably military) super powers in Asia. Remember Summer of '10 when it was touted as the Summer of Recovery when we were supposed to see 500,000 new jobs created each month? It failed for a reason, government can not create jobs nor wealth, it can only take wealth and redistribute it, typically in a grossly inefficient manner to boot.
Yes we need the housing industry back on it's feet, and the only way to do that is with
JOBS! Only way to create jobs is to have business invest and grow the economy. Government can not do it and be successful as we have now pissed away $5T (and counting) in failed economic dogma of Keynesianism with a horrific economy on the brink of total destruction. Good job Obama, I'm sure Soros will reward you well for your highly effective manner of the destruction of America.
But seriously, I think the "simple" answer is that the US has serious systemic problems far out of the control of any single person. In other words, there's no simple solution.
