Stagnation by Choice

("Slowdown in Economy Could Reshape Fight for Presidency")

Quick. What image comes to mind of Romney, Boehner and those on the wrong/right when the depressing employment numbers were announced yesterday? Go ahead, you can say it. Yes, a smile. No, more like a wide-mouthed, tooth exposing grin. Such is the state of disrepair in the political arena.

While our workforce screams for expansion, there was a diminution in the government employment roles of about 22,000 per month throughout 2011 and another 5,000 per month so far this year, according to the most recent report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the field of education employment by both the state and federal government fell over 3% last month.

This country, this presidency, this economic revitalization has been hamstrung by the inability to create the jobs that W. and Clinton were able to generate with the support of both parties. Looking back further, if the hiring policies of this administration had duplicated those enacted  under Ronald Reagan, then, it has been suggested that  1.3 million more people would now be in the workforce and unemployment would be at 7% or even less (Paul Krugman, New York Times, March 4, 2012).

There is, and has always been, a solution, or at the very least, a lifeline. But all we will hear from those on the wrong/right between now and November is that the government is the problem, not the answer. And the truth is that the government, judging by the grins you and I are now envisioning, is indeed the problem. It is a sad state when so much pain is intentionally inflicted, when economic stagnation is a reason for some among us to be happy. When stimulus is a four letter word to those who want to reclaim the office of the President, the recovery doesn't stand a chance.