I’ve Obtained a Secret Pre-Release Copy of Obama’s Budget

The President is supposed to release his FY2014 budget tomorrow, more than two months later than required by law.

Based on what it’s rumored to contain, I’ve already explained that nobody should be tricked into thinking that Obama is moving to the center. Though he may not be as far to the left as Senate Democrats.

Not that it would be easy to get to the left of that plan, as cartoonists have ably illustrated.

Anyhow, much of Washington is buzzing about what might be in the President’s proposal.

Well, time to sate your curiosity. I have a leaked copy of the budget for your enjoyment.

We won’t see actual numbers until tomorrow, but I’m guessing that I’ll be sharing something very similar to the analysis I provided last year and the year before.

P.S. If you enjoy political humor, the Glenn McCoy cartoon in this post is a pretty good summary of what Obama will say in his budget message.

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The Overlooked Jobs Tragedy

When the monthly job numbers are released, most people focus on the unemployment rate.

On many occasions, I’ve cited that number, usually to point out that the unemployment rate is far higher than the Obama Administration promised it would be if the so-called stimulus was enacted.

That episode should be additional proof that Keynesian economics is misguided.

But that’s not the issue we should be worrying about now. Instead, our concern should be what appears to be a permanent reduction in the share of the working-age population that is employed.

As I explain in this interview for Blaze TV, our ability to produce is governed by the quality and quantity of labor and capital in the economy. Unfortunately, it appears that the Bush-Obama policies of bigger government have had a negative impact.

To build upon that interview, here are the very latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To be fair, the drop you see on the chart started before Obama took office. But he can be fairly blamed for the fact that there’s been no recovery.

The moral of the story is that bigger government is not a recipe for prosperity.

The burden of government spending is too high, the tax code is too punitive, red tape is hindering entrepreneurship, and various handouts are creating a dependency culture that discourages work.

Should we be surprised that the employment-population ratio is grim?

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