There are BIG problems though. I don't doubt your observations, but in a mid sized midwest city where I live, the economy is struggling. Mostly new part time jobs, no business growth. I'm a business owner and as a member of NFIB, the National Federation of Independent Business, I also regularly meet with other small business owners. Almost everyone is pulling back and hording cash to weather another economic storm. For instance, the low gas prices you and the rest of the county enjoy are caused by the very low crude prices which has caused oil producing regions in our country to be hit hard economically with thousands of jobs wiped out and investment losses in the billions.
The link is to a new CitiBank analysis that is very troubling on the economic front. Of course then there is the REAL indication of economic health, the Labor Participation Rate (see link from the US Labor Dept) the actual participation rate is near the lowest level in almost 40 years at 62.7% and that is NOT good news. Think of this, 37.3% of those in the civilian workforce are not working. That number does not include retired folks.
Our hold on any recovery we have experienced since 2009 is tenuous, imo, but the partisans on both sides have made a real discussion about these issues impossible as we see on this board. We teeter on the edge of another crash, oh yes, the possibility is quite real but the forces at work are not just Obama's fault, there's plenty of blame to spread around.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/citi-world-economy-trapped-in-death-spiral.html
Posted By: mattradd
Just do a Google search using those words if you don't believe me!
Here's and example:
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/obamas-inside-job-destroying-america/ Having heard this refrain for the past several years, I began to take notice, while driving around, the cost of gas, the many new medical and office buildings, condos and apartment going up in my area, and wondered why all this is happening if things were so bad! In fact, there hasn't been this level of construction going on in my city, since I've lived here, which is over 30 years. I'm confused!
-- Modified on 2/5/2016 9:26:31 PM
Our recovery is tenuous. And, uneven, which is often the case. My father was a carpenter, and we moved quite often, going where the jobs were. It could be the Midwest for awhile, then Southern California, and then back. It's much the same now. But, the shrill cries of "Obama Is Destroying America," and even at times claiming that is his true intent, does not aid in providing any remedies to improve our condition. Nor, does it address three realities. The first is the depth of the record recession, and dept he inherited from G.W. Second, the Republicans, in Congress, have done little to improve the situation, or even work with him to do so. Damaging our credit rating certainly didn't help. When Santorum was asked why he threw his support to Rubio, and what had he accomplished while in the Senate, he could not answer. His defense was that the Senate itself had accomplished very little. Third, it's unreasonable to believe our ship of state can ride significantly higher than all the other ships of state. Though ours is riding higher than most.
Let's just pray that some pragmatist start showing up to the bargaining table, and muscle out the idealists, who are not going to feel much of anything pain or discomfort if our country, as a whole, suffers.
Who denies that?
It's the middle class taking it in the ass.
All you need to do is take a look at the right track/wrong track numbers for Obama. They are fkin abysmal.
If people in general were doing well, as your post would imply, people wouldn't want a change in direction now would they?
Look at the country as a whole rather than just looking at the rich people that live near you and you won't be so confused in the future.
-- Modified on 2/6/2016 10:39:25 PM
