Jobs and the Economy: The Status Quo is not Praise Worthy-We Can Do Better

Issues: Economy and Jobs

 

                    The Status Quo is not Praise Worthy. We Can Do Better.

                   
Key Points:

  • GDP Growth Revised Down, Trending Down: On May 31 the Bureau Of Economic Analysis announced that the economy grew at a 1.9 percent pace in the first quarter of this year, slower than the 2.2 percent rate initially reported. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2012 was down from the 3 percent growth in fourth quarter of 2011. On an annualized basis, GDP growth in 2011 was 1.7 percent, down from 3 percent in 2010.
  • 1 in 2 People are Now Poor or Low-Income: According to a December Census Bureau report, nearly half of all Americans are now classified as poor or low-income as a result of the Obama Economy. The 97.3 million Americans who fall into the low-income category combined with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line now equal 146.4 million people or 48 percent of the U.S. population.
  •  Record Number of Americans on Food Stamps: The number of Americans receiving food stamps as of February 2012 was 46.3 million. Today, 15 percent of Americans receive food stamps, an increase of 44 percent since President Obama took office.
  •   Half of Recent College Graduates Are Jobless: More than 50 percent of recent college graduates are unemployed. About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed.
  • Ease of Starting a Business in the U.S. Fell from 4th to 13th: According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report, the U.S. now ranks 13th in the world in the ease of starting a new business and has been steadily declining since President Obama took office. In 2011, the U.S. was 8th. In 2009, the U.S. was ranked 6th. It was 4th in 2008 and 3rd in 2007.

The government needs to remove onerous regulations on small businesses and entrepreneurs. We need to restore confidence in our economy. The Senate has hindered this process by stalling 27 bipartisan House jobs bills: http://www.gop.gov/indepth/jobs