Cross-Posted: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Cross-Posted: TobyToons.com (Conservative Political Cartoons)

Almost two and a half years since the recession officially ended, we are finally observing a modest recovery in the job market.  Even if we discount the 42,000 new holiday season jobs for “couriers and messengers,” there is clearly some jobs growth in key sectors of the economy.  Unfortunately, aside for the fact that the recovery is languid and underwhelming by historical standards, it is also unwholesome.  Our economic recovery is similar to a computer that is repaired from a serious virus; it functions adequately but is never the same.  In other words, we are reaping the benefits of a government-managed Keynesian recovery.

During 2008-2009, instead of letting the economy settle and enjoy a robust recovery through the perennial business cycle, the Bush and Obama administrations engaged in fiscal stimulus, monetary stimulus, housing stimulus, bailouts, and takeovers of major industries.  Perforce, our economy, as much is it will inevitably recover, will be fundamentally weaker than it was prior to the recession.  Historically, we have always come out of recessions in a stronger position than prior to the economic downturn, but not this time.

Nothing is more emblematic of our permanently damaged economy than the interminable shrinkage of our labor force.  Our labor force is roughly 850,000 smaller than it was when the recession ended in middle of 2009, even though the civilian population of working age people has increased by roughly 4 million.  At this point in the Reagan recovery, the labor force had expanded by 4 million.

The labor force participation rate has steadily declined from 65.7% in mid-2009 to 64.0%, even as unemployment has eased.  During that same period, almost another 200,000 people gave up looking for work.  If the participation rate were back to its recent average, the U3 unemployment rate would be well over 11%.  This is not even accounting for the U6 number of underemployed and part-time workers, which is still astronomically high (15.2%).  Overall, 23.7 million are either out of work or underemployed.

Oh, and what about the fact that the Black unemployment rate has climbed another 0.8% to 15.8% over the past three months?  Is this good news?  Or is it more soft bigotry of low expectations?

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Almost two and a half years since the recession officially ended, we are finally observing a modest recovery in the job market.  Even if we discount the 42,000 new holiday season jobs for “couriers and messengers,” there is clearly some jobs growth in key sectors of the economy.  Unfortunately, aside for the fact that the recovery is languid and underwhelming by historical standards, it is also unwholesome.  Our economic recovery is similar to a computer that is repaired from a serious virus; it functions adequately but is never the same.  In other words, we are reaping the benefits of a government-managed Keynesian recovery.

During 2008-2009, instead of letting the economy settle and enjoy a robust recovery through the perennial business cycle, the Bush and Obama administrations engaged in fiscal stimulus, monetary stimulus, housing stimulus, bailouts, and takeovers of major industries.  Perforce, our economy, as much is it will inevitably recover, will be fundamentally weaker than it was prior to the recession.  Historically, we have always come out of recessions in a stronger position than prior to the economic downturn, but not this time.

Nothing is more emblematic of our permanently damaged economy than the interminable shrinkage of our labor force.  Our labor force is roughly 850,000 smaller than it was when the recession ended in middle of 2009, even though the civilian population of working age people has increased by roughly 4 million.  At this point in the Reagan recovery, the labor force had expanded by 4 million.

The labor force participation rate has steadily declined from 65.7% in mid-2009 to 64.0%, even as unemployment has eased.  During that same period, almost another 200,000 people gave up looking for work.  If the participation rate were back to its recent average, the U3 unemployment rate would be well over 11%.  This is not even accounting for the U6 number of underemployed and part-time workers, which is still astronomically high (15.2%).  Overall, 23.7 million are either out of work or underemployed.

Oh, and what about the fact that the Black unemployment rate has climbed another 0.8% to 15.8% over the past three months?  Is this good news?  Or is it more soft bigotry of low expectations?

Read More →

The good folks at the RNC took a look  at what Obama promised in Iowa four years ago …. and the record of failure that followed. The result is the following video, “Failed Promises: Iowa Edition” along with a little research to demonstrate Obama’s failure:

In Des Moines, Iowa, four years ago Obama promised that when “We’ve made the changes we believe in,” we’d be “Able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began.”

“[Y]ears from now, when we’ve made the changes we believe in, when more families can afford to see a doctor, when our children — when Malia and Sasha and your children inherit a planet that’s a little cleaner and safer, when the world sees America differently, and America sees itself as a nation less divided and more united, you’ll be able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Des Moines, IA, 1/3/08)

Four years later, a look back at Obama’s record reveals a litany of failure — not only to Iowa, but to the entire country:

Read More →

The good folks at the RNC took a look  at what Obama promised in Iowa four years ago …. and the record of failure that followed. The result is the following video, “Failed Promises: Iowa Edition” along with a little research to demonstrate Obama’s failure:

In Des Moines, Iowa, four years ago Obama promised that when “We’ve made the changes we believe in,” we’d be “Able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began.”

“[Y]ears from now, when we’ve made the changes we believe in, when more families can afford to see a doctor, when our children — when Malia and Sasha and your children inherit a planet that’s a little cleaner and safer, when the world sees America differently, and America sees itself as a nation less divided and more united, you’ll be able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Des Moines, IA, 1/3/08)

Four years later, a look back at Obama’s record reveals a litany of failure — not only to Iowa, but to the entire country:

Read More →

Not a site endorsement; this is the view of the undersigned RedState Contributors.

If this website has a purpose – if any conservative website or publication has a purpose – it must begin with electing conservatives to significant public offices. We have the chance to nominate a conservative for president and win the White House in 2012. We can fumble that chance away by settling for a nominee we can’t trust to pursue conservative policies in office, or we can make a stand for the best, most conservative potential president in the field. That’s Rick Perry, and we enthusiastically endorse him to be the 45th President of the United States.

2012 is a year of enormous opportunity for conservatives. The sitting president is deeply unpopular and discredited, the economy is mired in the doldrums, and the public’s trust in Washington and its traditional ways is at an all-time low. Tea Party-backed conservative successes in 2010 show that the public is willing to embrace candidates who dissent from the bipartisan consensus – a consensus that gives us an ever-growing federal government in general and too much federal interference and favoritism in the economy in particular. President Obama’s deep unpopularity with independents, together with the growth of left-wing populist protest movements, shows that dissatisfaction with the status quo reaches far beyond the conservative base. But the failure of some Tea Party conservatives in 2010 is also a reminder that to win, we need candidates who are serious, experienced, and battle-tested. That’s Rick Perry.

Read More →

Not a site endorsement; this is the view of the undersigned RedState Contributors.

If this website has a purpose – if any conservative website or publication has a purpose – it must begin with electing conservatives to significant public offices. We have the chance to nominate a conservative for president and win the White House in 2012. We can fumble that chance away by settling for a nominee we can’t trust to pursue conservative policies in office, or we can make a stand for the best, most conservative potential president in the field. That’s Rick Perry, and we enthusiastically endorse him to be the 45th President of the United States.

2012 is a year of enormous opportunity for conservatives. The sitting president is deeply unpopular and discredited, the economy is mired in the doldrums, and the public’s trust in Washington and its traditional ways is at an all-time low. Tea Party-backed conservative successes in 2010 show that the public is willing to embrace candidates who dissent from the bipartisan consensus – a consensus that gives us an ever-growing federal government in general and too much federal interference and favoritism in the economy in particular. President Obama’s deep unpopularity with independents, together with the growth of left-wing populist protest movements, shows that dissatisfaction with the status quo reaches far beyond the conservative base. But the failure of some Tea Party conservatives in 2010 is also a reminder that to win, we need candidates who are serious, experienced, and battle-tested. That’s Rick Perry.

Read More →

Obama on Jobs

Barack Obama has a plan and here it is plain and simple.

He waited until September to present his “jobs plan” for several strategic reasons. And ALL of them are political and about his reelection campaign.

For the first six weeks or so nobody will see any difference and Obama can say the plan is working. The September unemployment numbers will come out in early October and he can say they were “preplan” no matter what the numbers say. Then in November the retail stores will begin to hire seasonal help and no matter what the October unemployment numbers are Obama will try to leverage the holiday hiring and say his plan is working.

When January rolls around and the unemployment number dip, Obama will say that is due to the end of the seasonal hires but more Americans are working and his plan is working. Flat unemployment numbers for the first quarter and the GOP pounding Obama on the economy and government spending will have Obama crying foul that the GOP and Tea Party are trying to make him look bad during an election year. Maxine Waters will come out and say it’s because he is black and the Tea Party racist are out to get Obama by spreading incorrect unemployment and economic numbers and that the US is well on the way to recovery.

By April, when the unemployment rate is still over 9%, Obama will then turn to the “name-blame-game” touting the GOP, Tea Party, Hurricane what’s-its-name, European countries, China, Greece, Italy, the problems with Syria, middle east and the UN failed sanctions on Iran/Iraq/Isomebody. By then Obama will be in full campaign mode and his speeches will target blacks, Hispanics, middle class, liberals, and anyone else who will listen stating that the county was in a deep hole from George W. Bush and that America is coming out of it now but we are only half way there. He will state the “hope and change” plan was an 8 year program and now is not the time to change horses.

The July unemployment numbers will be released in early August and somehow they will come in at 8.8% down a full 3/10^th of 1 point. Obama will claim victory and state once again, America is on the way back don’t stop this momentum now.

August will also see the GOP elect their nomination for President and as the summer winds down, the rhetoric, media, spin, and Obama love affair will be back in full swing touting that the GOP has no answers so keep Barack in there to “finish the job”

November will come around and Obama and the liberal media will be singing praises for the great recovery America is headed into and now is not the time to stop giving hope and change.

So there it is all laid out for everyone to see. But somehow people won’t see it this way, they will drink the Obama socialist liberal kool-aid and think yeah I guess we need to give Obama another shot. If the Americans do that, well say good bye to the America we know and love. It will be like what the terrorist did to America on 9/11 only this time the destruction will continue to come from within.

Throughout the entire debt ceiling imbroglio, Democrats incessantly regurgitated the talking point about the need for “a balanced approach.”  They were so uniform and synchronized that they sounded like the sheep in Animal Farm.  Ironically, their idea of a balanced approach was singularly focused upon Oil Company and corporate tax deductions, which are negligible compared to the crushing debt.  The targeted oil tax deductions would have brought in $2 billion in annual revenue, while the cancellation of the corporate jet depreciation deduction would have saved only $3 billion over 10 years!

Well, it turns out that illegal aliens, most of which pay zero in net taxes, enjoyed $4.2 billion from the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) last year.  That’s more than the annual revenue from the selected oil tax deductions and corporate jet deductions combined!

Yesterday, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Collection released a shocking report detailing how illegal aliens are able to utilize a filing loophole to obtain billions in ACTC funds.  The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and ACTC (unlike the base child tax credit) are totally refundable and can award the recipient with a negative tax balance.  Appropriations for the EITC in FY 2010 were $54.7 billion and $28.3 billion for the ACTC.  While EITC appropriations are protected from illegals (those who don’t engage in identity theft) because they are only awarded to those who provide a valid Social Security number, the same cannot be said for the ACTC.

Here is the punchline of the Inspector’s report:

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