Tomorrow, November 2 is Election Day in the USA. Take your pick of bad news: unemployment, mortgage mess, ongoing war , tax increases, it looks like we will see the public embrace the "throw the bums out" approach in the voting booth. That probably isn't all together bad because there sure are a lot bums up on Capitol Hill and we really do need fresh blood and fresh ideas. What bothers me is that I just don't see any fresh ideas on the horizon.
The chart at the top of this post deserves a close look. The pundits have frequently offered the opinion that Obama is anti-business and that his business antipathy is a major factor behind our "jobless recovery". The truth is though private sector job growth has been plunging over the past 10 years to become non-existent. As far as jobs are concerned, the only real growth since 2000 has come through government jobs. Sure, that is no recipe for real sustainable growth, but the point is this economic environment wasn't hatched overnight. In some ways it is amazing that it has taken this long for Joe Q Public to get "mad as hell". I guess that is the magic of stimulus scams, pull-forward demand programs and various bubbles stoked by Greenspan/Bernanke and cronies . Yes, the public is pissed now and there will be a new roster come Wednesday morning.
What does this new crew think they are going to do? Let's see how serious Americans are about adopting an austerity program. My gut tells me, not very.
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