As the above link illustrates, we have seen private sector job growth throughout Obama’s term in office. The drag on the economy is continued unemployment that’s exacerbated by the decline in public sector jobs. Obama’s biggest economic screwup has been to buy into the “austerity” rhetoric and the “deficit reduction above all” meme. Don’t get me wrong — deficits are significant, and we do need to eliminate our budget deficit, ONCE THE ECONOMY GETS BACK ON TRACK. Aside from the Bush tax cuts, a huge factor in why the deficit is so large is that so many people are out of work and are (a) therefore not bringing in any income tax revenue, and (b) utilizing public safety net funds such as Medicaid (for basic healthcare) and food stamps (to eat), because of their straitened financial status.The biggest factor in private sector business hiring now is demand, or lack thereof. When times are tight, people don’t have money to spend, and without money coming in, businesses have no incentive to hire. The infuriating thing about the current situation is that the stock market’s mostly recovered, and investors are doing fairly okay — and are getting a huge tax boon on investment income, which is taxed at a much lower rate than most income. Hence Mitt Romney having an effective tax rate of less than 15%. That is wealth flowing to a decreasingly small percentage of the population, where it’s not getting spent and pumped back into the economy, increasing demand and thereby employment.

A tax policy that taxes corporations and investment income at a fair amount would help enable us to make up the lost public sector jobs (and repair our country’s falling-apart infrastructure, from bridges to water mains, in addition to investing in our future by hiring more and better teachers for our kids), thereby pumping money back into the economy and increasing demand for various private sector goods and services, spurring more growth in the private sector. The decline public sector jobs is a huge drag on private sector growth, and on our economic recovery.

A healthy economy means fewer folks on government assistance, fewer foreclosures, and more revenue. That, coupled with letting the Bush tax cuts expire and the increased drawdown of our military with Iraq and Afghanistan in the rear-view mirror, will go far towards eliminating the budget deficit.