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Costly Government

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A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal wondered out loud why the low prices at the gas pump weren’t translating into economic growth. This should make economists scratch their heads. After all, people are filling their gas tanks these days and only paying about $2 a gallon when it was often over $3.50 just a little over a year ago. Most people should be saving at least an extra $100 a month.

Economists predicted that savings would act like a giant tax cut and push up sluggish economic growth. Instead, says the article “the economy remains mired in the slow-growth trajectory that has marked the economic expansion over the past 6-1/2 years.” That last statement caught the attention of Robert Knight.

He reminds us what happened six and a half years ago. Democrats pushed through Obamacare along with the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. Once Obamacare was implemented, many people saw their health care policies vanish only to be replaced with more expensive ones with less coverage. The Dodd-Frank bill seems to be one reason small banks are going out of business.

Consumer confidence is down, and the citizen’s confidence in Washington, D.C. is at an all-time low. That might be due to a Supreme Court that found a way to make the unconstitutional provisions of Obamacare constitutional while redefining marriage by making same-sex marriage constitutional. And any hope that Congress would do the right thing was dashed when leaders of both parties were able to pass a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that funds everything from sanctuary cities to Planned Parenthood.

The only way any of this will turn around is for us to elect the right leaders in this coming election. Otherwise, we can expect more of the same.

Viewpoints by Kerby Anderson

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