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OBAMANOMICS: In case you thought the economy was doing better, Friday's report on gross domestic product likely disabused you of that notion. It shows the last two years of economic

policymaking have been an utter failure. New data show that the economy has been expanding far less robustly over the past two and a half years than initially claimed. According to the

Commerce Department, first-quarter GDP growth was 0.4%, not 1.9% as first reported. In the second quarter, it grew at a tepid 1.3% pace. A recent problem? Hardly. Fourth-quarter 2010 growth

was also revised down, from 3.1% to 2.3%. In fact, all told, from the end of 2008 to this year, the government estimates U.S. GDP was $314 billion less than first estimated, not including

this year's revisions. Digging down into the data shows an even gloomier picture. Per capita GDP, the ultimate measure of both well-being and productivity for a nation, today remains

lower in real terms than it was in 2007. In the second quarter of this year, average annual real output per person stood at $42,499 — still 3.3% below its peak of $43,956 in the fourth

quarter of 2007. Looked at yet another way, the Commerce Department also estimates "potential" GDP — the size the economy would be with all resources used efficiently. In the

second quarter of this year, real GDP stood at a real annual rate of $13.33 trillion. But our potential, the government says, is $14.25 trillion. So we're missing $920 billion in GDP,

and Obama's first term isn't over. Call this lost potential the Obamanomics tax. That pretty much explains why unemployment remains stuck at more than 9%, with an estimated 27

million Americans unable to find full-time employment. Our growth is insufficient. At best, we are in a growth recession — an economy whose slow expansion can't create enough jobs to

hire everyone who wants one. As U.S. Chamber of Commerce economist Martin Regalia warned Friday, Obama's increased regulation and uncertainty for small businesses "have made it

extremely difficult for the economy to grow and create jobs." Tough to disagree with that. Yet under Obamanomics, these aren't bugs in the system — they're features.

Businesses have $2 trillion in cash to invest, but are so frightened and intimidated by the Democrats' bullying, threats and demonization of wealth they're sitting on it. As

President Obama entered office in early 2009, his top economic advisers promised stimulus would deliver fast growth. Unemployment, they said, would top out at 8% — and 3.5 million new jobs

would be created. After spending $830 billion on stimulus, $700 billion on TARP, with unknown trillions more to be spent on ObamaCare and welfare, the nation's not better off. The

Keynesian stimulus put in place by the Democrats two years ago has been an economic disaster. Sadly, these latest data prove it. Our budget deficit is bad enough. But our growth deficit is

devastating.