It’s The Economy, Stupid

Paying People Not To Work

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 1.4 million people have been out of work for 99 weeks or more, and have now exhausted their unemployment “benefits.”

Long term unemployment is at record levels.  It now takes more than 6 months for an average worker to find new employment.  Our unemployment rate has exceeded 9% for the second year in a row under the Obama Administration.

Not since the Great Depression has this country had an unemployment rate above 9% for two years in a row.  Over the last 18 months, the average unemployment rate has been 9.5%. 

Obama’s economic policies (TARP, “Stimulus”, Government seizure of Automobile companies, Banks, Health Care) drove the unemployment rate all the way up to 10.2% in February – April of this year alone.

So how’s that “hope and change” working out for the country?

By the looks of it, not well at all.  Like me, you’re probably pining for the good old days of 2005. 

Remember 2005, when the Democrats claimed that George W. Bush had “wrecked” the economy?  Remember Nancy Pelosi saying we were all living in the “worst economy since the Great Depression?”

As we all now know, 2005 was a banner year for our economy with a record low 4.5% unemployment which by all economic measures meant that everyone who wanted a job, had a job.  Job creation peaked in 2005 with an average of 200,000 net, new jobs being created month over month for more than three and a half years beginning in 2002.

Since then what happened?  Well, in 2006 the Democrats seized Congress and began their anti-business agenda.  The chart above doesn’t lie as it shows unemployment levels creeping up along with jobless “benefits” that have been paying people not to work.  The average unemployment duration and payout of benefits has more than quadrupled since Democrats took over Congress and the White House and increasingly American’s are waking up to this fact.  That truth is reflected in Obama’s and Congress’ record high disapproval ratings and America’s pessimism about the direction the country is headed.

So while others opine about the ethics scandals of Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters, Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill, his desire to instantly nationalize more than 15 million illegal immigrants bypassing Congress to do so and Obama’s foreign policy failures, the fact is the economy is the number one issue on the minds of average American’s.  They recognize that the path this country is on is unsustainable and the federal government’s penchant for destroying job creation while simultaneously seeking to control every aspect of our daily lives is not the answer. 

Hell, we could lower the minimum wage to $1.50 per hour and it’s still not going to fix this economic disaster Obama’s policies has created!

The path forward as we right thinking American’s all know and understand is to neuter the Democrats in November, stopping the Federal Government’s job destroying, out of control spending ways and restoring responsible fiscal sanity in the halls of Congress.

In short, it’s the economy stupid.