The Wheels Come Off the Obama Economy

The national GDP is anemic.

The U.S. economy grew less than forecast in the second quarter, after almost coming to a halt at the start of the year, as consumers retrenched.

Gross domestic product climbed at a 1.3 percent annual rate following a 0.4 percent gain in the prior quarter that was less than earlier estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 1.8 percent increase. Household purchases, about 70 percent of the economy, rose 0.1 percent.

US consumer confidence took another hit.

Consumer confidence dropped last week as Americans’ views of the economy plunged to the lowest level since the recession.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 46.8 in the period to July 24, the lowest since May, compared with minus 43.3 the prior week. Six percent of those surveyed said the economy was in good shape, the fewest since April 2009.

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Seniors and the unemployed were among those showing the most negative readings, a sign that partisan wrangling over the nation’s budget deficit was jarring those likely to be affected by cuts in spending. Unemployment above 9 percent, falling home prices and a rebound in gasoline costs may be weighing on sentiment overall, posing a risk for consumer spending.

No one is hiring, and it’s no mystery as to why: The Obama government has shackled business and is threatening or actively punishing business across the board. It is agitating for higher taxes on job creators and entrepreneurs in the teeth of a trashed economy. It emptied the Treasury and created massive uncertainty via ObamaCare and the regulatory state. The Obama government is killing the American dream by strangling the economy. The president’s ongoing campaign of economic sabotage — sorry, “fundamental transformation” — is taking its toll.