The New American Bondage

The New American Bondage

Hope and change?

We certainly got the change, but it wasn’t at all what we’d hoped for. The Obama economy has led Americans to an economic despair so severe, it makes one long for the days of Jimmy Carter and his “national malaise,” of the 1970s.

While it is true that, until recently, gasoline prices declined for a short time, that was not a reflection of increased energy production, but rather that many Americans, owing to the lack of a job, have been forced to reduce their demand for gas. And many who are still working have had to tighten their belts on everything from food to fuel.

And, what about inflation and unemployment?

Conservative blogger, writer, and internet talk show host, Ed Morrissey, recently pointed out that actual inflation is closer to 8% (per year), rather than the government’s smoke and mirrors Consumer Price Index figure of 3%. That’s because the CPI doesn’t reflect the cost of food and fuel, using the price of cars, housing and other items to calculate inflation. However, what two items do you, personally, buy most often? If you’re like most people, you probably said, “food and fuel.

The job outlook has improved recently but what does that really mean? How hard is it to improve unemployment when some estimates were that actual levels have not been seen since the Great Depression? The last improvement in government unemployment statistics was not because more jobs were created, but because people gave up and stopped looking.

With all the fraud perpetrated by those taking advantage of the stimulus package, ala “take the money and run,” each new job created has come at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And green energy intiatives have created companies that grab government cash, only to close their doors soon after doing so.

Between the stimulus package and the big bailout for banks and car manufacturers, the Obama Administration’s solution has been to spend money like Brittany Spears on a bipolar shopping spree. It has been pointed out that our national debt, which has increased several trillion dollars on Obama’s watch, has grown almost as much during the last three years as it has during the governance of every other President in American history, which is about 220 years.

This brings me to my final question. In this “land of the free and home of the brave,” how free are you and how courageous do you feel? More Americans are struggling than at any other time in history since the 1930s. They are working harder and barely getting by, or they are not working, and having to decide which bills actually get paid this month – assuming they can pay any at all.

The irony is that Americans who once hungered for Obama’s “hope and change” are now financially starving to death. We now need hope and change for real. But one thing is certain. Obama can’t deliver.