The Obama recession could get much worse

Despite the spin from the Obama media about the U.S. has "turned the corner" on the current recession, there are ominous signs that the failed Obama economic policies of the past nine months could set the stage for even worse times ahead.

"The dollar is weakening, gold is hitting new highs and some foreign officials now want an alternative to the U.S. currency," writes Investor's Business Daily. "If you're looking for a market verdict on U.S. economic policy, look no further."

From the editorial:

As Heritage Foundation economist Brian Riedl notes, Washington is set to spend $30,958 per household this year — taking $17,576 in taxes and borrowing the rest from our kids.

If this were a temporary thing, it might not be so bad. But we're boosting federal spending from the 18%-to-22%-of-GDP range that has prevailed since World War II to 26% this year. And if Congress and the White House get their way, spending will stay at least that high forever — in effect, a 30% rise in real spending and taxes.

Investors worry about surging U.S. government debt, conservatively expected to grow by nearly $10 trillion over the next decade. Since every dollar the government spends comes from the private sector, that won't leave much for private investment here.

And this doesn't even count our exploding entitlements problem. We owe $51 trillion to Social Security and Medicare over the next 50 years or so — about $205,000 per person alive today.

By our foolish fiscal choices, we're in effect opting for stagnation and inflation over growth and prosperity. New regulations and government control of the auto, banking and financial services industries will lower corporate profits. So will higher taxes on individuals to pay for it all.

Read the full editorial, "Repeating History," at the newspaper's Web site.