Income loss, foreclosures, job growth, SBA

I’ve heard a lot of commentary about the economy lately. While running for president, Mr. Obama said that he was going to bring change. I believe he has kept his word. The recession that started with the Bush administration and the banking crisis has changed for the worse under Mr. Obama’s leadership. For me personally, things have certainly changed for the worse since Mr. Obama became president.

Although my mortgage is not in foreclosure, many Americans cannot make that claim. The mortgage foreclosure problem is still with us and there is greater difficulty obtaining a new mortgage. As incomes decline, mortgages foreclosures continue.

Additionally, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the number of small business loans made by the SBA declined by 40 billion dollars over the amount loaned two years ago under President Bush. Bernanke also indicated that only 40% of the small businesses that applied for loans in 2009 had their needs met.

Okay, if small businesses can’t get loans, where are the jobs going to come from? Mr. Obama’s administration is acting slowly in this respect. The jobs he has added have been aimed at providing Mrs. Obama with more secretarial help than any previous first lady, misreporting job gains by manipulating the number of census jobs, and providing federal funds for improvements to be made last year and this year (what will happen to those jobs when the two years are up).

Mr. Obama doesn’t seem to understand the seriousness of the recession and the fact that many people are under employed, working reduced hours, or have exceeded the maximum number of weeks that they can draw unemployment benefits. With the last increase in minimum wage and little money available for businesses to expand, there are fewer jobs. People who are making slightly more than minimum wage or living on fixed incomes are really hurting. Most Americans have suffered a loss of purchasing power as the cost of basic needs has risen.

When the current two year stimulus package is up, we are likely to be worse off than we were before it was passed. There was little in the stimulus package that was aimed at long term sustainable economic growth. Now, we are looking toward what is called a double dip recession unless we do something that promotes private sector business growth.

I would like to suggest that the Small Business Administration temporarily loosen
the lending policies for small businesses. This is one way to jump start new business and create real jobs. Another possibility is that the federal government could increase tax credits for hiring and training unemployed workers and for creating and/or using non-petroleum based energy.