Something You Might Like: Economic Achievements of Barack Obama

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Economic Achievements of Barack Obama

President and would-be Marxist/Fascist Dictator Barack Obama has made some progress in his agenda of “transforming America,” if he wants to transform it into a banana-republic type of third world country, abounding in government-dependent and docile citizens. Like Big Brother, he always has some super villain to blame for his failures, e.g., George W. Bush. It is obvious that Obama’s efforts have completely failed if the goal was to promote prosperity, but it’s hard to believe that prosperity has ever been his goal. His objective is government control of everything possible.

When he had Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress, just waiting to rubber-stamp whatever he wanted, what did he use that for? To implement his socialist agenda, not to help the economy. The economy was strictly a back-burner issue except for some self-serving PR efforts. He claims to be trying to help the middle class, but when he’s finished, he will have gone a long way toward eliminating the middle class.

He promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term, but so far, we’ve seen trillion-dollar deficits each year. He has added more to the national debt than all previous presidents combined. And what have we gotten for all this spending and debt?

Unemployment

We have had depression-level unemployment rates for well over 40 months.

We now have record numbers of unemployed and under-employed people. This represents many suffering families who just want an opportunity to earn a living.

Poverty

We are heading toward the highest poverty rate since the 1960’s. According to an Associated Press article,

Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections.

The Associated Press surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks and academics, both nonpartisan and those with known liberal or conservative leanings, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent. Several predicted a more modest gain, but even a 0.1 percentage point increase would put poverty at the highest level since 1965.

(Via GOPUSA)

Out-of-Control Welfare Programs

We have the most Americans on food stamps ever. Over 100 million people in the U.S., including citizens and non-citizens, belong to a household in which at least one person receives federal benefits – largely food stamps and Medicaid – means-tested programs, not including Social Security or Medicare.

(See chart at top of this article. Chart was provided by Republican Senate Budget Committee staff. Via The Weekly Standard).

Green Failures

We have seen numerous green-energy fiascoes costing the taxpayers many millions of dollars, documented by The Heritage Foundation.

Kate Adams, a member of Heritage’s Young Leaders Program, and Heritage’s Rachael Slobodien compiled a list of the 12 members of the Green Graveyard—companies that received taxpayer money for green initiatives yet have filed for bankruptcy.

Abound Solar (Loveland, Colorado), manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic modules.

Beacon Power (Tyngsborough, Massachusetts), designed and developed advanced products and services to support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation.

Ener1 (Indianapolis, Indiana), built compact lithium-ion-powered battery solutions for hybrid and electric cars.

Energy Conversion Devices (Rochester Hills, Michigan/Auburn Hills, Michigan), manufacturer of flexible thin film photovoltaic (PV) technology and a producer of batteries and other renewable energy-related products.

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Marlborough, Massachusetts), manufactured and installed solar panels.

Mountain Plaza, Inc. (Dandridge, Tennessee), designed and implemented “truck-stop elec QUOT trification” technology…..

[Plus six more, including Solyndra]

Government Takeovers

We have seen takeovers and bailouts of auto manufacturers, and Obama wants to do the same in all manufacturing industries. An editorial in TheWashington Times points out that

At a campaign stop in Pueblo, Colo., on Wednesday, Mr. Obama touted the alleged success of his government-backed takeover of two-thirds of the domestic car business. “The American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.”

The article also mentions that every GM job “saved” cost taxpayers $780,000. GM stock is down significantly since its IPO.

Over-Regulation

There has been the most massive increase in regulations in history, choking out entire industries, with more on the way from such as the worse-than-worthless EPA and other useless agencies.

We have seen a company robbed of millions of dollars by federal authorities in such an episode as the Gibson Guitar raids.

The Administration has continued the disturbing trend of criminalizing more activities and figuring out ways to go after people who have done nothing wrong, simply on someone’s complaint. Obama is ready to take away freedom in the name of copyright protection for his Hollywood and media cronies. There are several efforts underway to take control of the internet.

The Administration has blamed businesses for the bad economic climate, when in fact it is government that has created such an atmosphere of uncertainty that many businesses are unwilling to expand or hire until they know what the rules are going to end up being.

The president appointed a debt commission in order to appear to be interested in dealing with the out-of-control deficits, then promptly ignored their advice.

By the way, commission co-chairman Erskine Bowles, a Democrat and former Clinton chief of staff praised Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), now GOP Vice-Presidential candidate, in 2011:

(Via Start Thinking Right)

President Obama has submitted budgets which no one in the Senate would vote for; yet the Senate itself has failed to produce a budget in three years, despite a constitutional mandate to do so.

Oh, and gas prices are up again, approaching that $4.00 level – about $3.60 per gallon as of now.

Obama has deeply undermined the rule of law in many ways through selective non-enforcement (Defense of Marriage Act, immigration laws, etc.), waivers (Obamacare, No Child Left Behind, for example), and executive orders that undercut statutes. He does not see any need for Congress or the Constitution. He and his little Communist gang members want to rule without interference.

How can unemployed people vote for Obama, knowing that under his presidency, high unemployment is a permanent feature of the economy? He appointed a jobs commission, but never meets with them, since they are only a PR gimmick. His dog and pony shows have accomplished nothing for the economy.

It is time to honestly attempt to evaluate Obama’s intentions in light of his record. In an Obama Administration, there will never be significant deficit reduction. There will always be calls for more taxes, bigger government, and more spending. He will always be OK with the Fed creating any amount of dollars that it pleases. When the inevitable collapse comes, he and his cronies may become even more powerful since people may lack the ability to resist.

The upcoming presidential election is America’s last chance to maintain its position as a world leader, restore freedom and prosperity, and even retain sovereignty. We cannot afford to get this one wrong. A Romney victory will bring some good changes quickly, but it will take time to solve the underlying problems. But with Obama in power, there is no chance short of divine intervention.