Economy Weak Thanks To Obama’s Policies

World food prices are on the rise. Here in the US, corn has nearly doubled in price in the last year. Wheat is up 57%, soybeans are up 39%. These are staple grains that affect the price of nearly everything we buy. Over the last year, meat and milk are up 25%. Everyone knows gas has doubled in price since Obama took office. Inflation is killing the middle class, while job creation is at best slow. The dollar continues to slide, creating more inflation and more difficulties for the middle class.

Meanwhile 1 in 7 Americans are on food stamps, which is an absurdly high number. By subsidizing food for that many Americans, the government is artificially driving food prices up. This of course only makes it more difficult the lower middle class to afford food, which drives more people to food stamps. The Federal and state governments are facing massive deficits, taxpayers can no longer afford to subsidize food for so many people. Worse, food stamp fraud has become a serious problem in many parts of the nation. Food stamp welfare has grown so much that the government is having trouble keeping track of where all the money is going.

Unemployment numbers come out tomorrow, though government declared unemployment is usually much lower than real unemployment. Gallup shows unemployment down to 9.4% while underemployment sits at 19.3%. Official government unemployment is “seasonally adjusted” meaning they don’t count real unemployment. There were allegedly 179,000 jobs created in April, far less than the over 200,000 they expected.

It’s been pretty clear that the job market isn’t all that great for some time. Last week jobless claims rose by 43,000.  There are far more people looking for work than jobs available. McDonald’s hired 62,000 people in April, meaning that the rest of the economy barely created 100,000 jobs. Over 1,000,000 people applied for those 62,000 jobs, which says a lot about how poor the economy is right now. In Detroit, hundreds of unemployed and underemployed people showed up for a fake jobs fair.

It is clear that the Obama administration’s policies have failed. Obama’s stimulus bill did nothing to stimulate the economy. Billions in bank and company bailouts have left the nation with massive debt and not much to show for the expenditure. Obamacare has stunted job growth by creating absurd paperwork requirements and adding massive costs to hiring new workers. Obama’s regulations have cost jobs and the threat of more regulations have created market uncertainty which has stunted job growth. Obama is threatening to write Cap & Trade into regulatory law, bypassing Congress. This threat has stunted job growth because employers are faced with uncertainty. This administration wants to regulate carbon dioxide as a dangerous toxin and we sit around wondering why the economy doesn’t pick up.

The solution to this mess is simple. First, the Fed has to stop printing money. This will ease inflation. Second, Obamacare needs to be repealed. This will aid small businesses in hiring more workers. Third, regulations need to be slashed so that businesses can start creating jobs again. Fourth, corn ethanol needs to be cut from the Federal budget. We should not be subsidising this product, which has only increased the cost of food and been a massive waste of money.

The key is that government needs to step back and stop trying to control the economy. Obama wants a centrally planned economy, which should come as no surprise considering that he is a socialist. So long as Obama wants to control the economy from DC, the economy isn’t going to get any better. FDR pulled the same stunt during the 30′s and unemployment was higher in April 1939 than it was when FDR took office in 1933. But for new markets opening up in Europe for war goods and our eventual entry into WWII, the depression wouldn’t have ended with FDR in office. Obama is much the same as FDR. His policies are creating a prolonged recession and no recovery.