“[M]ost Americans say they aren't better off than they were when” President Obama took office, reports USA Today. “Among those who say they aren't better off than they were four years ago, six in 10 blame Obama.” And the president’s small business tax hike would make things even worse.

An independent study by Ernst & Young says a tax hike on small businesses would destroy more than 700,000 jobs and – for those who have a job – would lead to lower wages. This would all happen as –

• Health care costs are increasing, driven by ObamaCare, which cut more than $700 billion from Medicare and is making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers;
• The high price of gasoline is setting records, as Democrats block Republican efforts to expand production and the president rejects popular projects like Keystone XL; and
• More Americans are unemployed for a longer period of time than at any point since the Great Depression, and Senate Democrats are sitting on more than 30 House-passed jobs bills.

Many economists say all of the president’s tax hikes must be stopped to prevent more damage to our economy. Others say the threat of higher taxes is already hurting investment and job creation. Writing in the New York Post, Jim Pethokoukis cites “the Obama guarantee of more tax hikes” as one of several reasons so many are still jobless in “the Obama recovery.”

Middle class families and small businesses can’t afford higher taxes, or the president’s ‘sequester’ defense cuts that threaten our troops and veterans. The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill to stop all of the tax hikes, and voted to protect our troops by replacing the ‘sequester’ with common-sense savings and reforms. As Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) said in the Weekly Republican Address, “Focusing on jobs and acting on better solutions remains Republicans’ pledge to you.”