No administration in recorded history has averaged a higher summer youth unemployment rate than the Obama administration.
Since the President took office, youth unemployment (ages 16-24, seasonally adjusted) has exceeded 16 percent—almost consistently double the overall unemployment rate. No President, since the Department of Labor started keeping track in 1948, has had more than two summers above 16 percent.
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The Obama administration has had four, assuming no surprises in August.
Young Americans, despite what the President says, have every reason to be frustrated. The hiring climate hasn’t been this bad for young people since the Great Depression.
Thanks to laws such as ObamaCare, it now costs businesses more than $10,000 in federal regulations just to hire a new employee. The Obama administration continues to propose tax hikes on small businesses which hire young people, while hiking federal spending to more than $32,000 per taxpayer.
Yet last month, President Obama told young people that their own laziness is to blame.
In a “you didn’t built that” moment, President Obama said, “You’re competing against young people in Beijing and Bangalore. They’re not hanging out. . . . They’re not playing video games. They’re not watching ‘Real Housewives.’ I’m just saying. It’s a two-way street. You’ve got to earn success.”
This administration couldn’t be more insulting to today’s young people. My peers aren’t all sitting on the couch watching terrible TV. It’s disingenuous to pretend that—all of a sudden during this administration—young Americans got more lazy.
Young Americans like entertainment but not more than we hate being poor and unemployed.
The fact is, this administration’s policies have been nothing short of anti-youth. High government spending has always led to lingering youth unemployment. The New Deal, the Carter policies, and the current administration’s policies have left young people devastated.
In contrast, across-the-board tax cuts have always lowered youth unemployment. The Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush tax cuts all led to youth employment booms. During the Reagan administration, youth unemployment dropped from 18.8 to 10.7 percent—a 43 percent drop.
A McClatchy-Marist poll showed 69 percent of young Americans favor these types of across-the-board tax cuts—even for successful employers.
