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.
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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