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While the job picture is improving little by little in the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area that includes El Dorado County, nationally it is not a pretty picture. Friday the U.S. Commerce Department reported that though it revised the first quarter GDP growth from 1.9 to 2 percent, the second quarter Gross Domestic Product grew at only 1.5 percent.
Add that pathetic gain to 8.2 percent unemployment and it totals up to federal malaise.
The annual GDP is $15.6 million about the same amount as the national debt.
And economists tell us the recession ended in June 2009. That year the economy shrank 3.1 percent. In 2010 it grew 2.4 percent. In 2011 it grew 1.8 percent, according to revised figures from the Commerce Department.
Meanwhile the Democratic Senate is about to enter its 40th month without a budget. What’s the Democratic Senate’s latest plan? Shut down the government if the House Republican majority doesn’t agree to raise taxes. That’s all the Democrats can seem to offer — more spending and higher taxes.
Businesses big and small are frozen in their tracks as they worry about the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of this year and the already planned big hike in taxes on dividends and capital gains that are plugged into Obamacare.
While the president has spent the last three years insulting bankers and passing the bizarre Dodd-Frank regulatory strangulation act, used the EPA to try to stop oil and gas drilling in shale, he has compounded it by telling business entrepreneurs, “You didn’t build that.”
The 8.2 percent official unemployment rate is just part of the story.
“But if you add to that the number of discouraged workers who have dropped out of the labor market since the recession began in early 2008 — approximately 8 million – the rate would be 12 percent,” wrote Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman and editor in chief of U.S. News and World Report in the July 24 Wall Street Journal. “Fifty percent of the jobs created since the recession hit have been part-time, with no benefits and a wage that’s inadequate to enter the middle class. If you add the number of part-time workers into the mix, the unemployment rate climbs to 14.9 percent.”
By the way, under President George W. Bush the jobless rate averaged 5.3 percent and rose to 6.8 peercent when his party lost the election and we got a majority of Democrats in both houses for two years. Obama is still trying to blame Bush for the economy. But Bush also inherited a recession when he won the presidency. He solved that by cutting taxes, which also led to more revenue.
During Obama’s presidency unemployment has averaged 8.8 percent.
“Job seekers are only one-third as likely to find a job as before Obama was elected,” Zuckerman wrote.
So far $5 trillion in deficit spending and handing out billions to solar manufacturers that do nothing but go bankrupt only proves that Obama “didn’t build that.” All he has built is federal malaise.
The Mountain Democrat does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy
R J CarterJuly 27, 2012 - 12:37 pm
Dear Mountain Democrat......The liberal Left will be here momentary.....Deciding on who to blame (besides Obama) might take a little more time.....
R J CarterJuly 27, 2012 - 12:39 pm
meant to say momentarily...Oops...
Philip DeuidesJuly 27, 2012 - 1:03 pm
Please substantiate the assertion that "billions of dollars" were handed to solar manufacturers who went bankrupt. This appears to be another MD inflammatory falsehood.
Evelyn VeerkampJuly 27, 2012 - 1:27 pm
Mr Deuides, "billions of dollars" doesn't appear to be a misrepresentation. On April 2nd Reuters reported that Solar Trust of America LLC had filed bankruptcy. A year ago it had received $2.1 billion of conditional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. Bright Source declared bankruptcy, having received a $1.6 billion U.S. loan guarantee. OTHER FAILURES: Solyndra, LSP Energy, Energy Conversion Devices, Aboud Solar, SunPower, Beacon Power, Ecotality, A123 Solar, UniSolar, Azure Dynamics, Evergreen Solar & Ener1.
Philip DeuidesJuly 27, 2012 - 2:45 pm
As usual, Ms. Veerkamp, you are a fountain of misinformation. Solar Trust withdrew from the DOE program in August of 2011, and did not take the loan guarantee. Brightsource is alive and well, and buying up other projects, such as the one Solar Trust walked away from. Since you do not cite any specifics in you "other failures", I won't take the time to refute it. However, I work with Sunpower, and am happy to report that they pay their bills, as they continue to complete installations of some of the largest solar projects in the world. They and their stockholders would be surprised to hear that they have gone bankrupt. Solar is a very tough business right now. There will be bankruptcies and consolidations. This is expected and normal for developing technology.
Evelyn VeerkampJuly 27, 2012 - 3:40 pm
Mr Deuides: (Reuters - Apr 2, 2012) SOLAR TRUST OF AMERICA FILES BANKRUPTCY - "The Oakland-based company has held rights for the 1,000-megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project in the Southern California desert, which last April won $2.1 billion of conditional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy." @ http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/us-solartrust-bankruptcy-idUSBRE8310ZV20120402
Evelyn VeerkampJuly 27, 2012 - 3:53 pm
LIST OF FAILED GREEN ENERGY JOBS & COMPANIES @ http://www.dividedstates.com/list-of-failed-obama-green-energy-solar-companies/ ********** Mr Deuides: I'm prepared to accept that you may be right - and that the sources I've proved are inaccurate. Thanks for setting the record straight with better referenced sources.
Evelyn VeerkampJuly 27, 2012 - 4:11 pm
Mr. Deiudes apparently is correct to state that Solar Trust withdrew from the Loan Guarantee Program. My bad! @ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120405006087/en/Solar-Trust-America-Statement-Bankruptcy-Filing
Evelyn VeerkampJuly 27, 2012 - 5:07 pm
On the matter of "billions to solar manufacturers", today's Wall Street Journal reports "A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee voted this week ... to cut off funding for the Energy Department's ill-fated $34 billion loan guarantee program." @ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443343704577552862880200418.html ********** Separate to the WSJ article, some of the federal monies dispensed to failed solar companies: Solyndra - $534 M; Amonix Solar - $20M; Abound Solar - $400M; Beacon Power - $43M; Ecotality - $115 M; A123 Solar - $279M; Evergreen Solar - $527M; Ener1 - $100M, TOTALING $2.018 Billion.