Read the following three articles and you will quickly realize what it means to live in Obama’s America – one of permanent stagnation and socialism.

U.S. Regulatory Costs Are World’s No. 10 Economy [IBD]
After years of rapid growth during the Obama administration, the cost of federal regulations is now bigger than the entire economies of all but nine countries in the world.

That’s according to the latest annual report on the regulatory state issued by the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute, titled “Ten Thousand Commandments.”

Compiling reports of compliance costs from various government agencies and outside sources, author Clyde Wayne Crews found that the “regulation tax” imposed on the economy now tops $1.86 trillion.

By comparison, Canada’s entire GDP is $1.82 trillion. India’s is $1.84 trillion. […]

On a per-household basis, federal regulatory costs average $14,974, which is more than the typical household spends on just about anything else.

This is something Republicans must point out on a regular basis.  Even for those who pay little or no federal taxes, they are saddled with almost $15,000 in annual hidden taxes in the form of highers costs on vital goods and services thanks to regulations.

Now take a look at this:

Health care spending spikes at fastest rate since 1980 in first quarter of Obamacare [Washington Examiner]

With millions of Americans gaining coverage through President Obama‘s health care law, health care spending spiked by a staggering 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014 — the fastest rate since 1980 — according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

With the former two articles in mind, is it any surprise that five years after a recession we are still seeing headlines like this?

GDP Slows to Crawl in 1st Quarter, Up 0.1% [WSJ]