It has been another long year of discontent on the economic front and Radio, to my disappointment, has yet to recover along with the rest of the country.
With two years to encourage renewed economic growth, the current administration has been able to barely make the needle quiver. While Radio station operation is a far cry from managing the fate of any nation — let alone the United States — any manager with a modicum of effort can effect a turnaround of an ailing station within two years. Yet here we are, two years after the arrival of “change”, mired in near-10% unemployment, with no sign of any improvement on the horizon.
Instead of taking steps to boost employment and encourage the growth of business, the government has taken almost every step possible to slow the economy. Uncertainty on taxes (then extending the current rates for only two years), new regulations that serve to restrict bank loans, extending unfunded jobless benefits (for which businesses bear the burden), and talk of increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour — a definite job-killer.
It will require a truly pro-business administration and congress to get the country back on track to prosperity. And I don’t see that happening until possibly 2013, or beyond.
So, goodbye 2010. You’ve been a lackluster year, and I hope you won’t be joined by 2011 and 2012. But I wouldn’t bet my Radio station on it.