The American economy isn’t improving; in fact it seems to be getting worse. Millions of American’s are being affected by this crisis and are desperately searching for ways to support themselves and their families. With unemployment numbers rising, these opportunities are scarce- causing people to question the government’s ability to rectify this situation. President Obama recently confronted the American public on this topic. In the speech, he affirmed, “The economic challenges that we face weren’t created overnight and they are not going to be solved overnight.” Apparently they aren’t going to be solved in his four years term as President either.

Although the President declared “More than 2 million private sector jobs have been created over the past 16 months,” he also admitted “The recession cost us more than 8 million jobs and that means we still have a big hole to fill.” This news is not comforting and it seems the road to recovery will be very long indeed. Fox news reported, “The jobless rate rose from 9.1% to 9.2% in June; increasing now for a third month in a row. Also, United States employment statistics show the unemployment rate has averaged 9.3% over the past year. It doesn’t seem Obama is helping us out here. Fox news agrees and stated, “Two and a half million jobs have been lost since President Obama took office. The unemployment rate has been stuck above 9% for 24 of the last 26 months.” Others are also criticizing the President’s efforts. Texas congressman, Republican Jeb Hensarling pointed out, “If the President’s stimulus programs, tax increases, and class-warfare rhetoric created jobs in America; we’d be the most highly employed society in the history of civilization. Clearly we are not.”

Unemployment is not the only issue in America. Not only are people out of work; prices of basic necessities are increasing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed the food index rose 0.5% in May and found the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased the most.

Tired of hearing what “experts” had to say about our economy, I decided to question someone personally affected by this hardship. Tracy Mazzitelli, a food service employee in the Greenville County School District, was eager to voice her opinions. Mazzitelli was forced to move from of her home state to a less expensive area due to financial hardship. When asked her feelings concerning the move, she replied, “I feel sad. I had to uproot my children and move away from my family; but I did what I had to do to survive- to have a chance at a better life for myself and my children.” Mazzitelli went on to exclaim, “The President, the media, they all want you to believe the economy is getting better, but I don’t see it.”

Many people share her sentiment. America seems to be moving in the wrong direction, backwards. The cost of living is high, jobs are down, and people are outraged. Hard-working Americans are failing to reap the benefits of their efforts- in turn becoming jaded. The government needs to do its job and help the people; rather than spending the country into oblivion. If this predicament doesn’t turn around soon our beautiful American dream could turn into a very horrible nightmare.