Venango County Tea Party Patriots

A non-partisan, non-profit, non-member, association dedicated to educating the public and promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free market economics, and all other lawful activities.

economic recovery

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Americans Quit Seeking Jobs

Roughly 347,000 Americans gave up looking for work in December, allowing progressives to claim a sharp drop in the formal unemployment rate during the month.

The formal unemployment rate fell from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent even though only about 74,000 extra people got jobs during the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Standards.

That 74,000 number is actually less than the monthly influx of additional American adults and immigrants, which adds up to roughly 90,000.

Over the last year, the BLS data showed that the percentage of people who have jobs stayed flat, indicating the average American is seeing little or no economic recovery in President Barack Obama’s economy.

Nationally, Americans’ jobs’ also had slightly shorter hours in December, compared to November. “The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours in December,” the BLS reported.

The BLS’ December survey of companies’ data showed an employment increase of only 74,000, in an economy with 150 million jobs.

Read more.

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11 Nasty Trends That Will Test America’s Resilience

Still, five years into the Obama presidency, the economy is grossly underperforming. Contrary to the dominant media narrative, it’s not bad luck or the financial crisis to blame, but bad policies — from the $860 billion “stimulus” that didn’t stimulate to the Dodd-Frank financial reform that killed lending.

Last year was a challenging one for entrepreneurs and other productive Americans. No fewer than 13 new taxes were put into place. Big government now consumes one of every four dollars of our GDP and is getting bigger.

Entering 2014, we face problems, including taxes and spending, that neither the White House nor Congress is addressing. In the following charts, we look at a few of the more alarming and intractable ones.

Read More At Investor’s Business Daily.

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Renewed Worry Over Europe

A stock sell-off driven by renewed worry over Europe made clear Monday that the continent’s debt crisis remains a threat to the U.S. recovery and President Obama’s reelection chances.

Markets were spooked Monday morning by the news that multiple regions of Spain, and not just the nation’s banking system, might need a bailout. Adding to the gloom was a report that Greece could lose its bailout lifeline if it fails to effect certain reforms, an outcome that could shatter the eurozone.

The quick reaction in the markets indicates Europe will continue to be dead weight on the U.S. recovery and a problem for Obama, whose bid for a second term could hinge on how voters feel about the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed roughly 200 points in the first moments of Monday’s trading before recovering to close the day down about 100 points. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 experienced similar drops as officials in Spain and Italy issued bans on short selling to try and tamp down the frenzy.

The political strife fueling Europe’s debt crisis is showing few signs of abating, with most expecting it to remain a dark cloud over financial markets at least through the November election, if not longer.

Read more.