The Numbers Don't Add Up, Mr. President

     During the current race for the White House, President Obama's entire campaign, other than attacking Mitt Romney, has been to say that the economy is improving. The President's hopes for re-election seem dependent on the one statement he has made countless times, i.e. "We are headed in the right direction and shouldn't change course." And considering that he has not articulated any policy he would implement in his second term that differs from what he has done in his first term, we have only his first term record on which to judge his worthiness for re-election. Two data points were released this week, that when added to the existing dismal economic statistics, should make the choice of President obvious to any sane person who wishes to see this country prosper.
     Towards the beginning of this week, it was reported that welfare spending had increased by 32% in the last year. When one considers that the food stamp rolls in this country have swelled by almost 16 million people since Barrack Obama was inaugurated, I can't understand how anyone could interpret these two data items with anything other than dire concern for our nation's fiscal health. I would like someone in the media to ask the President directly if he thinks having more people dependent on government for their daily basic needs, is a sign of a recovering economy. Not only are more taxpayer dollars being used to provide support for the victims of the Obama economy, but those people are not able to pay taxes or provide any real stimulus to the economy that a good job would allow.
     Yesterday was Thursday, which is the day that the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the initial jobless claims numbers. You may remember that last week the administration was doing back flips because this number had dropped by 30 thousand from the previous week. Then we learned that California did not report their numbers on time and they were not included in the national statistic. This week, the initial jobless claims rose almost 40 thousand. As I have watched this key data point about job loss, I have noticed that for at least the last 7 to 8 months it has been stuck in the high 300 thousands. So every week there are almost 400 thousand people who have lost their jobs, these are real people, with real families and lives that have been shattered by a President who, through incompetence or design, has kept this economy from growing and the nation from prospering. The Democrats' complete disconnect from the realities with which the average American lives, is best summed up by a statement made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in May, 2010. When the initial jobless claims fell to 360 thousand, Harry Reid said, "It is a good day because only 360 thousand people lost their jobs." This statement shows a disconnect from the reality of the real flesh and blood behind the numbers and treats the numbers as just mathematical statistics.
     When one considers the dismal economic numbers in light of President Obama swelling the national debt by almost 6 trillion dollars in his first term, the question is obvious, "What did we get for all this new debt with which our children and grandchildren will be saddled." It reminds me of something I heard author and commentator, Mark Steyn say, "There is no compassion in spending money that hasn't been made yet by people who haven't been born yet." But this kind of fiscal malpractice is the bread and butter of the modern Democrat party, and soon, if they are are allowed to continue holding the reins of power,  bread and butter may be all we are able to afford.