President Barack Obama: The Modern Day Franklin Roosevelt And Why It Is Bad For America

As we are now in the new year of 2014, the economy of the United States continues to face uncertainty. Increased taxes, new regulations, and wasteful government spending have all been the top contributors to the sluggish recovery from the burst of the government-inflated housing bubble in 2008. As a matter of fact, there are now 92 million Americans that are out of work, and the labor force participation rate is at it's lowest point since the Carter Administration. To make matters even worse, this continues to be the slowest recovery from a recession since the Presidency of Socialist Franklin Roosevelt. 

There is a similarity between the economic policies of Barack Obama and Franklin Roosevelt: they are both Keynesian. Those who follow the Keynesian school of thought believe that more government spending will stimulate the economy. The radical policies of Roosevelt, in short, prolonged the Great Depression for roughly 8 years. Fast forward to the present time, and the current President is maneuvering a very similar agenda as FDR: more ridiculous stimulus spending that has proved to do nothing but skyrocket the deficit. 

Is it a coincidence that the two Presidents with the most Liberal agendas have had the two slowest economic recoveries in history? The simple answer is no. The reality is also simple: Liberalism has proved time and time again that it does not work.

Increasing taxes on working class Americans, imposing unnecessary regulations on small businesses, and expanding entitlement programs for those who don't need them hurt the economy because when taxes are raised, citizens think twice about using their money and investing it back into the market. When thousands of ridiculous regulations are implemented on small businesses, citizens may find it too difficult to open and be able to maintain a small-business that will earn them a comfortable living. When entitlement programs are expanded to citizens that don't need them, not only does employment reduce, but reckless spending towards these programs increase. 

Almost every policy enacted or proposed by the Democratic Party is a key ingredient to creating a slow, and poor economy. 

However, on the flip side, when Conservatism prevails, America prospers. 

Unlike Liberals who believe government intervention solves all the nations problems, Conservatives take a step back and allow the gracious free market to correct itself, by simply reducing taxes and regulations to establish a pro-business environment. 

This was strongly evident during the recession of 1920-21, which had the capabilities of becoming as bad as the Great Depression. Since President Harding and Coolidge advocated free market principles and reduced tax rates, the recession ended in 18 months, compared to 132 months during the Great Depression.

If Roosevelt and Obama advocated and implemented the same free market policies as Coolidge, and more recently Ronald Reagan, could the devastating effects from the Great Depression and the Great Recession have been avoided or at least shortened? We may never know, but we do know this: the Keynesian system has never worked and it never will, but when free market principles are established, America becomes prosperous. 

Perhaps President Obama will learn from history and give reality a try? Unfortunately in the end it's just politics as usual, so I wouldn't hold my breath.