So, despite all the money spent on stimulus, the economy continues to lose jobs and unemployment remains at a staggering 10 percent. That grim news appeared to catch the Obama administration by surprise last week -- but it shouldn't have.
The number-crunchers at the Treasury Department have been celebrating what appears to be the end of the Great Recession as told through rising GDP, higher business profits and a buoyant stock market. But owners of small businesses -- the usual engines of economic growth -- are still refusing to hire back workers as they normally do when the economy turns up from a sharp decline.
Talk to them, and they'll gladly tell you why: Having weathered the recession, they now fear the administration will choke off the nascent recovery and increase their costs through higher taxes to pay for the myriad of programs President Obama has in store for us, including the hyperexpensive health-care overhaul.
If the president wasn't so busy looking to score cheap political points when he met with the heads of the big banks last month, he'd have listened to their warnings on this very issue. At one point, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon politely interrupted Obama's monologue on how the banks should be lending more to small businesses to explain that many businesses simply don't want to borrow to expand their operations and hire more workers.
"Jamie basically said the demand for loans is way down because businesses, particularly those that are making money and can qualify for loans, simply don't want to borrow," said one person with direct knowledge of the conversation.
And they're not borrowing because they don't know just how high their tax bills will be when the president gets done implementing all his "hope" and "change." - RCP Story
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