Government, 1% Only Winners in
"Recovery"
Economic news report continues to defy facts.
Today, Monday, the left-wing mouthpiece CNBC put out an article detailing
the four main reasons the U.S. is in an economic recovery. To offset that
optimistic report on Friday the Daily Ticker described the trouble the U.S. is
having hanging onto major companies and two hours after the CNBC report came
out, Analyst/Consultant Howard Davidowitz explained the problem with retail
sales is because 80 percent of America--the middle class--is in a deepening
recession.
The CNBC report was widely accepted and repeated by other news outlets. The
two downbeat items received almost no mention. The question is how did CNBC come
up with their report if they used real facts and not biased emotion.
According to CNBC "signs of modestly higher inflation and a robust jobs
market in the U.S. have many economists cheering the recovery." The "modestly
higher inflation" is not due to any increase in the economy but a reflection of
the Fed's printing press policy. As for the robust jobs market, the left
continues to compare apples and oranges because the high-paying, living wage,
full-time jobs that went away are being replaced by part-time, non-living wage
jobs. How is that going to work out?
What is of special interest was the acknowledgement by the CNBC that
"consumer spending is likely to be more lackluster." Thus the report places all
its optimism on 1) a weaker dollar, 2) shale gas development (fracking) which
allows the U.S. a big competitive edge via less expensive gas and electrical
prices, 3) trade financing because the U.S. companies found it impossible to
complete international trade deals abroad after 2008 and thus had to turn to
domestic sources, and 4) Apple is going to lead a tech charge.
Those are CNBC's reasons the economy is set to turn dramatically better
this summer. Let's explore the reasons a bit deeper.
1) While a weaker dollar normally means an upside for consumers, the
dollar's weakness at this time aids nobody. In fact the dollar's weakness abroad
just allows for more assaults on removing the greenback as the benchmark
currency because, as Davidowitz so aptly points out, the American consumer is
still in decline trying to stem the inertia of an economy that is still seeking
a true bottom but has been hindered by a control-mad government.
2) Any fossil fuel development is being attacked by the tree-huggers as a
bad thing but fracking has been a very sore point. Done correctly it is a
perfectly harmless way to extract more BTU's from an already completed well or
field system. But the Lefties want to ban all fracking and have a willing ally
in the EPA. How then can this one step forward-two step back process be
considered an asset for the future? Could it be the left wing is finally
acknowledging the additional costs and economic non-competitiveness of the green
technology is a hindrance to the recovery? If so, this might be a real positive
step forward for the future...all the government has to do is remove the EPA's
inane regulations. But no liberal candidate would ever get nominated destroying
the base of the tree-hugger agenda.
3) Trade financing done from local sourcing might have been a boon but for
the fact the institutes involved were not only the cause of the recession but
also the sole beneficiaries of the bailouts and stimulus packages. All one is
doing relying on them is concentrating even more of the wealth into the hands of
the dreaded 1 Percenters while the 99% sink deeper.
4) Apple is going to lead a technology surge. That helps very few workers
and, again, concentrates a vast amount of money into the hands of a very few
people. As many economists point out, the gauge of the economy was many people
doing well over an extended period of time. Tech companies have been the exact
opposite of that premise for the most part.
Now turn to the opposing views. The fact big companies are leaving the U.S.
is not a shock anymore and therefor not newsworthy. The environmental concerns
alone have forced hundreds to seek pastures where emission standards are not a
concern--which again shows the idiocy of allowing the EPA to run wild with
economy-killing rules. But the larger problem is our unwieldy tax system and its
spiraling rates makes even places like Britain more attractive than ever. Pfizer
announced plans to move its headquarters to the UK to take advantage of the
lower rates there.
Inane government policies like the obsession with "hidden U.S. wealth
abroad" brings to mind the statement by Leia to the Imperial Commander in Star
Wars, "The tighter you squeeze to hold worlds in your grasp, the more they will
slip through your fingers." The insatiable maw of mandatory spending on
entitlements demands more and more sustenance through a rising tax base by
Congress. This policy puts the U.S. at a distinct disadvantage in the world
market.
The last nail in CNBC's report comes from Davidowitz. He argues "One in six
Americans are living in poverty (compared to but 1 in 18 when the War on Poverty
started in LBJ's Great Society more than 50 years ago). Forty-Nine million alone
are on food stamps." Then Davidowitz hits the nail directly. "The reason retail
sales are slipping is Americans don't have any money."
Davidowitz blasts the notion cold weather kept people home this winter.
"It's the other way around. The weak economy is keeping people home, the weather
provided an excuse. People can't even afford to shop at Walmart anymore."
Recovering or not, the fact remains more Americans report they feel a
financial strain unlike anything they've previously felt which is bad news for
the economy and blows the myth the recession is over. The middle class, the
backbone of America for two centuries, is in decline and anyone who pretends
otherwise is deluding themselves. That equates to the recession's demise as a
figment of liberal emotion.
Government has to be reined in or the economic situation will get worse.
Financially, this republic is in danger not because of outside threats but those
emanating from a corrupt government the alleged watchdog media. The economy is
ripe for an implosion.
"I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility
to every form of tyranny over the mind of man."--Thomas
Jefferson
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