Economic Recovery: Plight of the Fundamentals

From the David Ratowitz for Congress campaign…

The following is U.S. House Candidate David Ratowitz’s response to President Obama’s January 8 address on the U.S. economy and December job losses. Material can be reprinted verbatim or in part as needed.

Two months ago, the Democrat-controlled Congress told us that the recession was over. For 30 glorious days, the stimulated economy produced more than one new job for every 54,000 unemployed Americans. Then came December, when Americans, in a holiday spending frenzy fueled by low interest rates and a 48.6 percent surge in monthly Social Security and unemployment payments, created a better than expected shopping season. The result: 85,000 more jobs lost.

Democrats in the White House and Congress are excusing this as a “jobless recovery.” Now, President Obama has no better explanation than, “Recoveries occur in fits and starts.” The Democrats are committed to doing whatever it takes to restore America to prosperity – except look to history or examine their own failed policies.

Other recessions caused by bursting speculative bubbles that led to massive bank failures, such as the recession of the early 1990s or the post-World War I recession of the early 1920s, lasted months, not years as this one has. Those recessions were followed by long periods of growth and prosperity, not the “jobless recovery” our Democrat leaders brag about.

The fact is that recession and recovery are no longer mysteries. We have nearly a century of data on the American economy. We know that 80 percent of job creation occurs in the small business sector. We know that when government responds to recession by reducing taxes, individuals and businesses reinvest that money into job-creating activities that lead to a robust recovery followed by prolonged growth and prosperity. We also know that increased government spending during a recession leads to double-digit unemployment and long periods of economic stagnation.

Late last week, President Obama announced a new initiative that, if successful, will create 17,000 new jobs. After the largest single increase to America’s budget deficit in our nation’s history and nearly a year of failed Obamanomics, the Democrats now have lowered their sights on merely restoring one job for every 3,200 lost. America does not need another gimmick, another new big government program or another spending bill to bleed our children dry. America needs to get back to fundamentals. We need a federal government that balances the budget and lowers taxes. What we require is total course correction in Washington, D.C.

David Ratowitz is running for the IL-5 Republican nomination in the February 2 Illinois Primary Election. For more information, visit www.ratowitzforcongress.com.


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