With a budget showdown looming in September, perhaps this is the moment for President Obama to act big and get a deal done with Congress.Everyone's talking about the paralysis in Washington. Feeding this view is that, admittedly, both sides are thinking about scoring political points ahead of next year's congressional elections.
Meanwhile, the country founders. Economic growth has been stalled. The latest numbers show the GDP rose a paltry 1.7 percent in the second quarter, and the first quarter's GDP growth has been revised downward from 1.8 percent to just 1.1 percent.
We need 4 percent GDP growth to cure unemployment!
Worse, a flurry of retail sales reports show the economy is in deep trouble. JCPenny reported a second quarter loss of $568 million, Sears lost $194 million, and Macy's revenue slipped 0.8 percent in the quarter. Even Wal-Mart reported disappointing U.S. sales, down 0.3 percent in the quarter for stores open at least one year.
The economy was supposed to be at full throttle, with the recovery well underway. It should have been, with mortgage rates having hit historic lows in the past year.
But Obamacare and new fiscal cliff taxes, including an increase in the payroll tax this year, has added close to $275 billion in new taxes this year alone. And then there’s dramatically increasing private health insurance premiums, and oil is surging over $100 a barrel.
Cash is being sucked out of the economy to plug a digital deficit, with consumers having less money to spend. Less money in consumers' pockets yields less spending. This isn't rocket science, folks.
Via: Newsmax
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