"the percentage of the working-age population that is actually working has declined since the start of the recovery”

WSJ:

Some blame the weak recovery on special factors such as high personal saving rates as households repair their balance sheets. But people are consuming a larger fraction of their income now than they were in the 1983-84 recovery: The personal savings rate is 5.6% now compared with 9.4% then. Others blame certain sectors such as weak housing. But the weak housing sector is much less of a negative factor today than declining net exports were in the 1983-84 recovery, and the problem isn’t confined to any particular sector. The broad categories of investment and consumption are both contributing less to growth. Real GDP growth is 60%-70% less than in the early-’80s recovery, as is growth in consumption and investment. In my view, the best way to understand the problems confronting the American economy is to go back to the basic principles upon which the country was founded—economic freedom and political freedom. With lessons learned from the century’s tougher decades, including the Great Depression of the ’30s and the Great Inflation of the ’70s, America entered a period of unprecedented economic stability and growth in the ’80s and ’90s. Not only was job growth amazingly strong—44 million jobs were created during those expansions—it was a more stable and sustained growth period than ever before in American history.

Economic policy in the ’80s and ’90s was decidedly noninterventionist, especially in comparison with the damaging wage and price controls of the ’70s. Attention was paid to the principles of economic and political liberty: limited government, incentives, private markets, and a predictable rule of law. Monetary policy focused on price stability. Tax reform led to lower marginal tax rates. Regulatory reform encouraged competition and innovation. Welfare reform devolved decisions to the states. And with strong economic growth and spending restraint, the federal budget moved into balance.

As the 21st century began, many hoped that applying these same limited-government and market-based policy principles to Social Security, education and health care would create greater opportunities and better lives for all Americans.

But policy veered in a different direction. Public officials from both parties apparently found the limited government approach to be a disadvantage, some simply because they wanted to do more—whether to tame the business cycle, increase homeownership, or provide the elderly with better drug coverage.

FIX THE GROWTH, FIX THE DEBT

Just ask President Clinton

President Clinton announced Wednesday that the federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2000 amounted to at least $230 billion, making it the largest in U.S. history and topping last year’s record surplus of $122.7 billion.”This represents the largest one-year debt reduction in the history of the United States,” Clinton said Wednesday morning

We can argue about the internet bubble, but you cannot argue the facts. Clinton PROPERLY assessed american strength, (You know, the 1st sentence of the second para., 7/4/76) was based on growth, and LET IT HAPPEN.

This present horrific group of ideologues is more interested in fundamentally transforming the USA, than seeing it’s citizens be able to define, and achieve their personal ” unalienable Rights,- Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This group of self activated, self righteous and self entitled preaching hypocrits is far more interested in something else.

Telling us they know what is right, and seeing that what they know becomes COMPULSORY

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If `Thou shalt not covet’ and `Thou shalt not steal’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.”

— John Adams (A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787)

The present govt DOES NOT WANT THIS.

Related articles

• The Disintegrating U.S. Economic Recovery(xkorpion.wordpress.com)
• John Taylor: The End of the Growth Consensus (online.wsj.com)
• Can Obama Pull a Clinton on the GOP? (businessinsider.com)