Saturday, August 24, 2013

Recovery!! You Call This a Recovery?

Every time Obama or someone in the administration opens their mouth to speak about the economy, they remind us of how robust this recovery is.  These supposedly highly educated people have no idea what constitutes an economic recovery.  They may be highly educated in book knowledge and theory, but when it comes to street knowledge and how things really work for people in their everyday lives, they don’t have a clue. 

Last night my wife and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  One of the things we went to pick up was a 5-pound sack of potatoes costing $3.29.  Not too long ago the price of the same sack of potatoes was $1.99 and they were often on sale for $.99 at the same store.  If you have visited a fast food restaurant lately you may have discovered that it is next to impossible to get a burger fries and a drink for under $5.  The price of gas of course is something we deal with every time we visit the pump.  How many of us remember the days during the Clinton Administration when gas was under $2 per gallon.  Those days seem like ancient history don’t they? 

These price increases would be bearable if wages were keeping pace with the price increases but according to new estimates from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, wages are not increasing but are actually decreasing twice as much as they were during the recession.  (1)  Perhaps some of the reason for this is the moving of employees from full-time to part-time.  Just this week in a leaked memo it was discovered that yet another company, forever 21, intents to move several employees from full-time status to part-time.  (2)  Forever 21 is not an isolated case for many companies have announced their intention to do the same thing to avoid Obamacare. 

Forever 21 did come back and announce that the move was not related to Obamacare (3)  claiming instead that their staffing decisions are based on the volume of business in their stores.  Even if this is the only reason for their decision, it still illustrates that Forever 21 is not having the same volume of business as it previously did.  In other words, Forever 21 does not seem to be experiencing any economic recovery and neither are their employees who face a reduction in hours from 40 to 29.5 hours. 

Using street knowledge and common sense, we must ask the simple question.  How are people facing a cut in their hours and increasing prices at the restaurant, grocery store, and higher gas prices supposed to survive on a 25 percent cut in their pay?  It would be interesting to see how some Harvard educated professor would attempt to answer that question.  Perhaps he or she would tell that person that they need to learn to get by on less.  Perhaps he or she would tell them that they are caught up in greed. 

Come on, I don’t know for sure but I suspect the people working at forever 21 make just over minimum wage so how can anyone claim that they are somehow greedy.  I suspect that many of these employees may be among the many recent college graduates who are experiencing difficulty finding employment where they can utilize their education.  I suspect that many of these employees are working there until they can find work where they can use their new skills. 

This is not a recovery in any stretch of the imagination.  For this administration to claim this is a recovery is a slap in the face of Americans that go to work every day trying to provide for their families who are finding that difficult when the prices of their basic necessities are increasing while their hours and wages are being cut. 

Every American has dreams of a better life.  Recent college graduates did not just go to college to fill time, they went there and graduated dreaming of a better life.  They did not go there dreaming of a minimum wage job of less than 30 hours.  They dreamed of becoming doctors, lawyers, accountants, IT professionals, and leaders in business and community.  However, upon graduation they discovered that they were entering an economy that according to Forbes magazine is marked by

  • Real economic growth during the recovery – now three years old – has averaged 2.2%, less than half of the historic average for post-recession rebounds.
  • There are 1.1 million fewer people on non-farm payrolls today than when President Obama took office.
  • The unemployment rate has been above 8% for 42 consecutive months, the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression.  (4)

Granted the numbers from Forbes are a year old but there has not been much improvement since then.  In fact, in numbers released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis the average economic growth under Obama is only averaging 1 percent.  (5)  Is it any wonder there is so much economic pessimism? 

What our nation needs is leaders that will promise to get government out of the way and allow people to pursue their individual dreams.  Consider this a call for the dreamers out there, and I’m not talking about only those born here of immigrant parents, but those seeking a better life, to step up and begin speaking out.  Both political parties are seeking to reach out to a greater percentage of voters in each election.  I want to advise prospective candidates in the next elections to promise less government intrusion into the lives of individuals so they are free to pursue their dreams.  I believe this is what people want and not the promise of free healthcare and government handouts. 

This is especially true of the Republican Party that has lost its winning ways in presidential elections.  I propose we try running a candidate that appeals to the dreams of each individual in our nation by promising them more freedom to pursue their dreams.  I believe this is a winning formula and will cross party and generational lines and cause our country to experience real economic growth where people see their incomes increasing and prices going down.  It will cause the pessimism we are currently experiencing to change to optimism.  So join me in supporting candidates for office that promise to empower each of us to pursue and achieve our dreams.    

1. Anderson, Jeffery H. Incomes Have Dropped Twice as Much During the 'Recovery' as During the Recession. m.weeklystandard.com. [Online] The Weekly Standard, August 23, 2013. [Cited: August 24, 2013.] http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/incomes-have-dropped-twice-much-during-recovery-during-recession_750068.html.

2. McGregor, Jena. Forever 21′s leaked memo: Faith at work? www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, August 19, 2013. [Cited: August 24, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2013/08/19/forever-21s-leaked-memo-faith-at-work/.

3. CBS Los Angeles. Forever 21 Denies Cutting Employees’ Hours Due To Obamacare. losangeles.cbslocal.com. [Online] KNX10.70 Newradio, August 19, 2013. [Cited: August 24, 2013.] http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/08/19/forever-21-denies-cutting-employees-hours-due-to-obamacare/.

4. Kadlec, Charles. President Obama's Smashing Success Story: Greatly Increasing The Power Of Government. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes , August 13, 2012. [Cited: August 24, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/charleskadlec/2012/08/13/president-obamas-smashing-success-story-greatly-increasing-the-power-of-government/.


5. Jeffrey, Terence P. 1%: Average Annual Economic Growth Under Obama. chsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, July 31, 2013. [Cited: August 24, 2013.] http://cnsnews.com/news/article/1-average-annual-economic-growth-under-obama.

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