Northern Illinois Patriots

 In a rare departure from spouting the administration’s company message, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testified before Congress and warned about a fiscal cliff that our nation faces if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire and automatic spending cuts are initiated January 1.

He warned that if the tax cuts and spending cuts are implemented it will slow job growth and weaken an already fragile economy. Our economy would probably contract and lead to a recession. The fiscal hit could be as large as $720 billion dollars. Businesses have put expansion plans on hold, fearing the worst. The implementation of the Health Care Reform Bill also weighs heavily on business uncertainty.

Our economic recovery if there is one, is a collage of phony numbers and statistics. Our real unemployment rate is closer to 11% not 8.2%. There has been a net loss of jobs since our President took office not a creation of 4 million jobs. Most of the jobs that have been created are low paying, part time, or temporary jobs with no benefits. The stock market has risen largely on a massive infusion of capital from the infamous “quantitative easing” and a Federal interest rate that brings microscopic returns on CD’s and money market funds.

The economy is growing at an anemic 1.9%, nothing to write home about. Not only have all the arrows in our President’s quiver been shot but he sold the quiver and the bow. The economy languishes while our President is focused and his reelection and fund raising. As our nation is about to go over a financial cliff our President would be better served by studying his Economics 101 Cliff Notes.