I always hate it when a perfectly good discussion ends up with name-calling. It only divides and serves no purpose.
"Real" unemployment is around 13%....still too high, and it's a record number of people that have given up looking for work. Decent paying manufacturing jobs that have gone overseas will not return. Corporations have learned to run much leaner, and have replaced people with machines. Uncertainty in our nation's long-range economic health has slowed new investments in expanding current businesses and start-ups.
Small businesses are faced with ever-increasing regulations, taxes, and fees.....that are discouraging new business start-ups and expansions. My business has decreased by almost 50% over the past four years, and one of the reasons I'm growing weed to supplement the loss of income.
The rose-colored federal economic indicators are a best-case scenario full of wishful thinking and smoke and mirrors. At the current rate of deficit spending, by the year 2020 a trillion dollars a year will be spent on just the interest on the federal debt. To give you some perspective, our government's entire discretionary spending is about $1 trillion...that covers building road, bridges, federal retiree's pensions, the VA, etc. etc....for which we'll either have to raise taxes by a shitload....and/or cut medicare and medicaid drastically. Speaking of Medicare, part B will be out of money by 2017, and the rest of Medicare will be under-funded by 2022. The only reason it's not happening now is that we're borrowing a ton to keep it going now. Keep in mind that baby-boomers will instead contributing to the federal revenues and become a draw once they hit 65 years old.
There you have it.....reality.