Betting on America….with whose money?

It is campaign season and so with every bit of financial news both contenders for the highest office in the land use the numbers to their advantage. This past Friday the Employment Situation Report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a major report that comes out usually the first Friday of every month and can affect the stock market in a huge way! This is mostly because the news is very timely as its data consist of the previous month. Furthermore, the report itself is rich with details about the job market and household earnings, so many believe that this report can give a glimpse into the future. It’s quite elementary to see that if this report shows wages and salaries are lower, or fewer people are working, spending will drop off and businesses will suffer.

President Obama’s economy has not taken off as he said it would. He has had nearly 4 years to propel us toward an economy of hope and change, but in the end I personally believe he is over his skis. When questioned about the jobs report Obama said, “That’s a step in the right direction.” I can’t help but disagree and here is why. In June the working population grew by more than 180,000 people, so in order to just break even we would have needed to create 100,000 more new jobs than the 80K reported by the BLS this month.

Luckily for the Obama administration many workers are falling out of the workforce and that helps the overall picture of unemployment. You see according to the BLS you must be actively looking for work in order to be considered unemployed. So if someone gives up looking, they are no longer considered unemployed, and Obama rejoices! The unemployment rate would be much higher if workers were not falling out of the workforce. Consider the following fact from this recent report, there are now 1.82 million more people not in the labor force than there was just 12 months ago. Instead of getting new jobs many people are evidently either giving up or signing up for disability. As more workers joined the federal government’s disability program in June than obtained new jobs according to the Social Security Administration.

Whose future is at stake?

So as Barack Obama rides across the county on the tax payer dime in a bus made in Canada, his bus tour slogan, “Betting on America” has me wondering just whose money is he betting with? As a Young Republican I can’t help but worry that it’s my daughters’ future he is gambling with. It upsets me to see these job reports and to know that the main cause is an out of control Federal Government who makes it far too difficult to be in business. I long for a return to smaller and smarter government just like we see the state of Tennessee doing under the leadership of Gov. Bill Haslam. This November’s election has so many important issues, but one of the most important is making sure we get America back to work. I know that the Young Republicans of Rutherford County will be working hard to ensure our future is brighter by getting Mitt Romney elected president and I encourage all people to join us in this endeavor.

The above opinion is of Gabriel Fancher's alone and does not necessarily represent others associated with the RCYRC or the club itself.

Check out the data yourself here:

www.stats.bls.gov/

www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_monthly/index.html

(Cross posted on Gabriel Fancher’s Personal Blog http://gabrielfancher.blogspot.com/)

You can follow Gabriel on Twitter @InMurfreesboro