Regular readers know about Mitchell’s Golden Rule, which is the simple – but essential – notion that the burden of government spending shouldn’t grow faster than the private sector.
Well, after reading this utterly depressing news about how the number of people riding in the wagon is growing faster than the number of people pulling the wagon, I think we need to develop something called “Obama’s Golden Rule.”
I’m not sure what it should be, but I’m thinking of something like “Nirvana Is When Tax Consumers Outnumber Taxpayers,” but I welcome your suggestions.
To see why I’m in such a dour mood, here’s what John Merline wrote for Investor’s Business Daily.
More workers joined the federal government’s disability program in June than got new jobs, according to two new government reports, a clear indicator of how bleak the nation’s jobs picture is after three full years of economic recovery. The economy created just 80,000 jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. But that same month, 85,000 workers left the workforce entirely to enroll in the Social Security Disability Insurance program, according to the Social Security Administration. The disability ranks have outpaced job growth throughout President Obama’s economic recovery. While the economy has created 2.6 million jobs since June 2009, fully 3.1 million workers signed up for disability benefits.
This is about the grimmest indicator of American decline I can possibly imagine.
