Policies to get America back on track after recession aren't working

Data released by the Federal Reserve proved what each of you has known: While the recession has ended on paper, your wealth and purchasing power are not the same, with no apparent sign of bouncing back soon.

The Federal Reserve has published its study that offers a snapshot of income, pension and household wealth. Net worth "fell dramatically for families living in all regions of the country," the study found. The decline was stunning at 40 percent during the 3-year window.

The years studied by the Federal Reserve were 2007-2010, with the decline in income "most pronounced among more highly educated families, families headed by persons aged less than 55, and families living in the South and West regions."

Plummeting home and real estate values serve as the key driver with an "unemployment rate that rose from 5.0 percent to 9.5 percent, the highest since 1983. Recovery ... has also been particularly slow." The Survey of Consumer Finances continued, "Across the income distribution between 2007 and 2010, only the lowest quintile did not experience a substantial reduction in median income; the median for that group rose $500."

The Washington Post, no conservative publication, made this assessment of the Fed's survey data: "The median net worth of families plunged from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. That puts Americans roughly on par with where they were in 1992."

This data demonstrates that the middle class has been hit by legislative goals to target the "wealthy" and the "rich" that are the basis of the tax-borrow-print-and-spend Democratic agenda and message during our nation's financial crisis. This agenda to move America "forward" was put into place subsequent to the 2008 election, while both the U.S. House and Senate were led by significant Democratic majorities serving as a funnel to Barack Obama's ineffective economics.

America is not working, because the failed policies of the Democrats are not working. Rejecting and obstructing a pro-growth legislative environment and reforms, Democrats have, instead, placed America in an economic slog while choosing to manage decline rather than reverse course.

In 2008, it was "Time for Change." In 2012, it's time for growth and going to work.

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