Faltering Economy Needs More than Political Games

[Divernan]

Get Serious: Faltering economy needs more than political games
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial

The U.S. employment figures for the month of June released by the Department of Labor last week constitute an unmitigated, continued disaster for Americans and for the federal government in the form of President Barack Obama's administration and Congress.

The gasping U.S. economy created a feeble 18,000 new jobs, as opposed to the 150,000 needed to be created just to keep pace with new entries into the job market. The unemployment rate rose from an already high 9.1 percent to 9.2 percent, representing some 14.1 million unemployed Americans.

What this means is that the various stimuli that Mr. Obama's administration has applied to the economy -- perceived by many Americans mostly as undeserved favors to Wall Street investment houses and bankers -- have not worked to create jobs. What it also means is that more economic trouble lies ahead as people without jobs don't consume, and the U.S. economy depends on an estimated 70 percent on consumer spending to run.

Thus, the downward spiral continues: High unemployment leads to lower consumption, which leads to worsened economic conditions, which include high unemployment.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11194/1159959-192.stm#ixzz1RzNE8XhY

[Kurmudgeon]

1. 2010 midterm had consequences, let's correct that in 2012.

Or you can set home and let the right wing and the tea baggers take it all away....again.