And as Washington economist Bruce Bartlett has written, Obama’s $800 billion fiscal-stimulus package has yet to stimulate. Bartlett notes that 60 percent of the stimulus package goes to transfer payments and tax credits with no incentive effects. Meanwhile, the rest of the package, aimed at public works that might produce growth, is spending out at a snail’s pace.

As an old-fashioned supply-side guy who is out of date with contemporary Washington policies, I would add that Obama’s biggest mistake was not cutting marginal tax rates for individuals, businesses, and investors. Instead of the fiscal profligacy that is driving spending and borrowing sky-high, lower tax rates with true incentive-reward effects would have reignited the animal spirits that are sagging so badly.

But Obama’s temporary tax credits and social spending offer no growth effects. At the same time, the government’s fiscal nymphomania has scared everyone into thinking the U.S. is going bankrupt. The president himself has said there’s no money left. It’s scary enough to keep your savings under the mattress.

And if you add all the talk of nationalizing health care and energy (cap-and-trade) to the rest of Bailout Nation, it’s not hard to understand why people are shying from risk.

Stocks are the single-best barometer of our nation’s future economic health, and the stock market began to rise in early March. But over the past month, with all these new big-government tax-and-regulatory threats, the stock rally has stalled. And the June jobs report caused an immediate 2 percent sell-off for equities.

I do the best I can to be optimistic about our nation’s future. But realistically, the current picture is not particularly good.