Headwinds: Sky-High Taxation, Regulation And Scofflaw Executive Orders Aren’t Helping America’s Anemic Economy

Once upon a time, in a country now barely recognizable, a certain errand boy sent by grocery clerks uttered the words, "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal …"

In that same lofty speech, a warning was given that 52% of the electorate unwisely ignored at their peril:  “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Those five days passed and in early 2009, the regime of the errand boy boldly predicted that if Congress passed his $800 billion stimulus plan that by this time the nation’s unemployment rate would be around 5.6%.

Fast forward three-and-a-half years.  Today’s weak job market is affected by things such as the threat of higher taxes in 2013 (when the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are scheduled to expire), the costly impact of Obamacare, and the harsh regulatory environment.

This country’s jobless rate has remained perched at above 8% for 41 straight months.  The average length of unemployment rose to 39.9 weeks in June.  Companies continue to be cautious in their hiring making it harder for those without jobs to find work.

It will take 219,000 net new jobs a month for the unemployment rate to be below 8% on Election Day if the current participation rate holds steady.

James Pethokoukis, writing for American Enterprise Institute, reminds us that, “Job growth during the three-year Obama recovery has averaged just 75,000 a month for a total of 2.7 million. During the first three years of the Reagan Recovery, job growth averaged 273,000 a month for a total of 9.8 million. If you adjust for the larger U.S. population today, the Reagan Recovery averaged 360,000 jobs a month for a three-year total of 13 million jobs.”

Hmmmm…it is reasonable to conclude that the sooner the errand boy sent by grocery clerks is removed from the levers of power the better.  Hurry up November.