The Shrinking US Labour Force: Legacy of Obama?

When people are not working, they cannot build families, buy houses, invest, indulge in tourism and consumerism, and all the other things that help drive modern consumer-oriented economies. Economic policies which discourage business startups and new jobs formation will lead to long term unemployment and a shrinking labour force.

If the same percentage of adults were in the workforce today as when Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 11.1 percent. If the percentage was where it was when George W. Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 13.1 percent. _Incredible Shrinking Labor Force

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If the US economy is shot down by its own president's policies, who is going to rescue the world from global recession this time?

The Labor Force Participation Rate decreased to 63.6% in April (blue line). This is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force and the participation rate is at a new post bubble low. The participation rate is well below the 66% to 67% rate that was normal over the last 20 years _April Employment

Shrinking Labour Force

Mr. Obama has suppressed the private sector economy via energy starvation, strangulating regulation, and a devastating climate of economic uncertainty. At the same time, he has pumped $trillions into the pockets of cronies, favoured activist groups, political pals and hangers on, in the name of economic stimulus, among other misnomers.

Mr. Obama's approach is the equivalent of a physician strangling a patient, while at the same time defibrillating and administering heroic life support to the same patient. Such a love-hate approach to governance could only be tolerated in the context of a cheerleading media that refuses to point out the horrific inconsistencies, weaknesses, and destructiveness of Mr. Obama's agenda.

Mr. Obama did not originate all the things which were misguided and self-destructive about US government policy. He merely made them incalculably worse, and set them on irrevocable autopilot.

Whether Mr. Obama is re-elected or not, he has obtained his golden parachute for life. He will be able to avoid the worst fallout from his own policies -- by either moving away from the worst affected areas, or by using money, privilege, and payback power to insulate himself from the pain he will have caused.

For everyone else: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.