BloggeRhythms 4/28/2012

An item on almost all news outlets yesterday concerned the GDP, which most analysts expected to grow at a 2.6% rate or more in the January-March period. However, the result was only 2.2% attributed to a slowdown in business investments and a smaller inventory buildup.
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I mention it because although I should be used to it by now, I still can't figure out how folks in government can't seem to figure out how damaging their policies are to the economy, or worse, don't care. Yet, everything they desire, which is predominantly the feathering of their own financial nests, depends on the financial success of the nation. And that means that either they have no understanding of the most basic economic premises whatsoever or are intellectually denser than sludge.

Whichever of the preceding cases is true though, and despite the fact that the situation is far from amusing, I still have to laugh at their actions, because no matter how fast they try to react and how creatively they try to rein in the business sector, they come up miserably short due to ineptitude.

The evidence of government's failure to improve the nation's economy can best be seen by the quarterly results of the largest employers. Because most of them are not only doing quite well, they're hiring at much higher levels. However, the personnel expansion's taking place overseas where labor's cheaper and taxes are lower. As far as U.S. growth is concerned, these same businesses are investing in technology and automation to avoid governmental strangulation via taxes and regulation while lowering payrolls.

As far as small businesses are concerned, which are the economic backbone of the U.S., they too are scrambling for loopholes in regulation, fees and charges which in turn harm private sector employees. Instead of bringing folks on full-time, for example, they reduce individuals work-weeks, thereby eliminating payment for benefits and perks. The same goes for health care insurance. And in that way, they'd rather grow at a slower pace, if at all, rather than having business income increases taken right out of their pockets to support worthless bureaucrats.

So, what we have here is a growing government that is working at a huge disadvantage. Because by trying to fleece American businesspeople, they're attempting to corner folks who are much smarter than they are, and that might work in the short run. But over time, as we can see in the lackluster reported results of the last quarter, the businesses themselves are seemingly doing quite well but government can't figure out where the money is nor get their hands on it.

That's it for today folks. 

Adios.