As the White House and its friends in the liberal media crowed about the unemployment rate moving ever so slightly down to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent in April, the real story was how the American labor force shrunk to 63.6 percent. This means that 88,419,000 Americans are sitting on the sidelines, not even looking for a job. To put that into perspective, that totals about the combined population of France, Greece, and Cuba, which is where we’re heading.
Nate Beeler / Washington Examiner (click to view more cartoons by Beeler)
The policies of President Obama have perpetuated the mindset that it’s alright to stay dependent on the government for as long as you want. That might sound swell if we were in newly Socialist France but in America there has to be a better way. President Obama said the new jobs report was “good news” as he stumped in the swing state of Virginia. Good news? When nearly 37 percent of the American workforce has given up looking for a job – the most since 1981 – that is terrible news. President Obama does not want to talk about the decreasing employment pool because it takes away from the narrative that the economy is getting better. I have been traveling around states like Ohio and Florida recently and I can tell you it is not getting better out there.
Over seven million Americans are underemployed and those who do have a job often have to work up to three jobs just to keep up with the bills. On top of the bad economy, the rise of regulation and energy prices is essentially a tax hike on all Americans. America needs solutions that will not only create jobs but also limit the size and scope of government. There are currently 27 job-creating pieces of legislation that have passed the Republican-led House of Representatives but stalled in the Democrat-led Senate. Harry Reid’s Senate is a roadblock to recovery. It is a shame that the Senate, will not do the people’s business because they are clinging to a failed liberal ideology.
Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ), along with many members of The Republican Study Committee, has introduced the Jobs Through Growth Act (H.R. 3400). This pro-growth piece of legislation will reform the U.S. tax code by making it simpler and flatter. By taking a hacksaw to the current tax code, jobs will be created by putting more money into the pockets of entrepreneurs who will then reinvest in their companies, make them grow, and hire more workers.
The second part of this vital piece of legislation deals with the overregulation by Big Government. Small businesses under President Obama have been shackled by overbearing government regulators. This needs to stop or small businesses will continue to relocate overseas and bring their jobs with them. Small businesses are the economic engines that make America prosper. They should not be held hostage by a system that does not want to see them flourish.
Finally, the Jobs Through Growth Act tackles energy production. By yielding to the environmental fringe of his party and not green lighting the Keystone pipeline, President Obama has cost Americans thousands of jobs and many vital resources. This legislation will open up ANWR to drilling as well as remove built-in delays to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Jobs Through Growth Act will also strip burdensome regulations on energy companies that have hampered exploration.
With almost 88.5 million Americans out of the labor force, the Obama Administration should be doing everything it can to lower that obscene number. We are not France or Greece yet, although with President Obama’s Big Government policies, America is moving in that direction and beyond.
