President Obama and the Democratic Congress have ignored the issue most important to Young Americans. During the last few months Democrats have spent substantial time and effort on issues like climate change, illegal immigration, and financial reform. These issues are not even within the top three for Young Americans. There is one issue that has been the greatest concern for nearly two years now. It is not difficult to guess what it is. Jobs.

Democrats have tried very hard to convince us that the economy is recovering and we are well on our way back to prosperity. We are bombarded with labor statistics, different economic indicators, consumer spending reports, and other stories in the news but the only one that truly matters is the unemployment rate. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is meaningless to people trying to find a job, earn enough to pay bills, or perhaps advance their career. They believe that if they spout out enough numbers and say it enough times, perhaps they will convince Americans that it is really not that bad. They are wrong.

Young Americans only care about two economic facts: employment and income. We need jobs and we need to start earning income before we can start thinking about buying a home, investing or saving up for retirement. There is no statistic that will convince an unemployed young worker that the economy is improving if he still can’t find a job. A statistic will not convince someone who has had their hours cut at work. There are millions of unemployed and underemployed Young Americans and they are not impressed with numbers.

When it comes to the top two interests of Young Americans, President Obama and the Democratic Congress have compiled a horrible record. The lack of new jobs combined with the loss of millions of existing jobs leaves those of us at the bottom of the career ladder in a hopeless position. Two years after the financial downturn, the situation is still not improving. The number of Americans ages 18-34 with jobs has not increased in recent months. In particular, Americans ages 18-24 have an unemployment rate exceeding 17% – nearly double the national unemployment rate. Meanwhile the Obama Administration has focused its efforts on filing a lawsuit against Arizona, issuing a new drilling moratorium in the Gulf and blaming BP for their own incompetent clean up operation. It is becoming apparent that President Obama and the Democratic Congress have no idea what to do about the economy and unemployment.

President Obama is tremendously gifted when it comes to making excuses. He tries to persuade Americans that he actually saved millions of jobs and that we would have become a third world country without his wisdom and leadership. But facts can be very stubborn. There is no credible evidence that his policies saved a significant number of jobs, let alone millions. There is also considerable doubt that the recession could have been worse than it has been. The question is why the current recession has dragged on for so long.

President Bush also inherited an economy that was in recession. The stock market dropped 20% after September 11th, employers laid off millions of workers and the country was struggling with dramatic interruptions in international travel. In fact, during the first two years of the Bush recession, the United States lost 3.1 million MORE jobs than what was lost in the first part of the current recession. Yet, the unemployment level during the 2001-2003 recession never exceeded 7%. The reason is simple. While many employers laid off workers, some employers were hiring. Employers added 8.6 million more jobs during the Bush recession than the current recession.

President Bush and the Republican Congress knew that the federal government cannot create jobs and that they would have to work to restore confidence and certainty in the American economy. President Bush cut taxes, kept government regulation in check, and did not spend outrageous sums of money on wasteful government programs. His efforts kept unemployment low and led to a steady recovery in late 2003 and 2004.

President Obama and the Democratic Congress have enacted policies that are almost the exact opposite of Bush’s response. They wasted $1 trillion of taxpayer money on the ridiculous belief that the federal government could create jobs. The new Healthcare Reform Law will increase payroll taxes while the climate control bill will enact a new carbon tax on businesses. They have also added over four thousand pages of new regulations on business with Healthcare and Financial Reform alone. Two and a half years later, we are still struggling with 9.5% unemployment and millions leaving the labor force.

Recent developments have done little to create optimism. About 1 million people have left the labor force since April because they have given up trying to find a job. About 6.7 million people have been unemployed for six months or longer. Over 60% of unemployed workers have been out of work for 15 weeks or longer. As usual, Young Americans have been hit worse than any other age group. Young Americans need strong job growth and they need it now.

Until the United States begins implementing economic policies similar to those implemented in 2001-2002, this “recovery” will continue as it has for the foreseeable future. Young Americans will continue to see their future fade. The economy is the most important issue to Young Americans, and it will be very much on their minds when they vote in November. President Obama and the Democratic Congress have failed in their stewardship of the economy with policies that have discouraged job creation and caused considerable uncertainty. We must turn to the solutions that have worked in the past. The U.S. Government must cut taxes and stop adding to the already burdensome federal regulation on American businesses. The U.S. Government must also restore confidence among employers and investors by ending the out of control spending. Until then, many Young Americans will have to wait a while longer before they can begin their pursuit of the American Dream.

Author Bio: J. Wesley Fox is the Chairman of Restore America’s Legacy PAC. He is a recent graduate of DePaul University College of Law and has been active in local and national politics for several years. He currently lives in New Jersey after growing up in the Chicago suburbs.www.restoreamericaslegacy.com

Category: Politics
Keywords: Young Americans,jobs,unemployment,job growth,recession,Bush tax cuts,Stimulus Bill,regulation taxes