Put an end to Obama's false promises
As the next presidential election approaches, voters would be well served to read President Barack Obama’s four-page Inaugural Address of Jan. 20, 2009. It is a great speech by any measure except one: virtually none of the “hope and change” he promised has materialized today.
He promised new jobs and a new foundation for growth. Today, there are still 4.3 million fewer people employed in the private sector than in January 2008, when employment peaked. His administration forecast 6 percent unemployment by the end of his first term.
It has been hovering above 8 percent this year and is again rising. When one includes people who have taken Social Security, stopped looking for work or are under-employed, the true unemployment figure today is around 15 percent.
As for laying a new foundation for growth, Obama’s relentless regulatory attack on our free enterprise system, plus reduced availability of capital (Dodd-Frank, anyone?), plus an unpredictable tax environment, has slowed growth.
Historically, it takes about a 2 percent annualized growth rate to maintain current employment levels. Obama, our own Sen. Claire McCaskill, and their fellow Democrats in Congress have laid a new foundation for stagnation, not growth.
Under Obamanomics — ballooning government spending and entitlements sucking the lifeblood out of the economy — America’s slow growth and depressed job opportunities will not end soon. In fact, the International Monetary Fund estimates that China’s gross domestic product will surpass America’s by 2017. America is in decline. Yet in an interview earlier this year, Obama said that the private sector was “doing fine.”
At his inauguration, Obama promised to end the “petty grievances” … “false promises”… and “worn out dogmas” that have strangled our politics. Yet he and Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have presided over the most divisive and dishonest administration in generations, including that of President George W. Bush.
If Obama, Reid and Pelosi ran a large U.S. corporation the way they run government, they might all be in prison.
Obama’s ineffective stimulus programs and other wasteful spending have added $5 trillion to the national debt, with little benefit. Despite massive waste, overlap and corruption throughout our government, there has been no serious effort to end fraud-plagued or duplicative programs.
Instead, Obama wants to raise taxes on the rich, cynically knowing that the cost of his mismanagement will ultimately raise taxes for the middle class.
Finally, Obama rejects the “false choice” between “our safety” and “our ideals” when it comes to national defense. Our military budget is expected to be gutted to pay for Obama’s entitlement programs.
The military reductions would add to the unemployment rolls. Our naval capabilities are at their lowest ebb since World War II. Meanwhile, real and potential enemies around the world are steadily expanding their military capabilities.
The critical choice in November is not about people or parties or, lately, abortion. It is between visions of the way forward for America.
If you like the current nanny-state vision then rock on.
If you think we are better off with a smaller government and greater economic freedom — a formula that made our country the wealthiest in the world — then there’s an app for that.
November’s results will be interesting.
As Winston Churchill observed: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else.”
*Stephen Brewer operates his own business providing marketing research and marketing consulting to law firms in the U.S. and Canada. Reach him by email at oped@kcstar.com or write to Midwest Voices, c/o Editorial Page, The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108. *
Mark Hastert
9 months agoIt’s hard to make progress when half of the government is bent on regressing into the 19th century. You can take every one of your talking points, Stephen, and show how Republican obstructionism has scuttled the initiative. Remember the 2010 election was about jobs, jobs, jobs? Instead it’s been about nearly defaulting on our debt,cutting the programs that benefit citizens, and maintaining low, low, low taxes for the Romneys of the country. How much less than 13% do they need to be before these job creators create some jobs? It’s been about abortion, gay marriage, and illegal aliens. It’s been about anything that will distract the country from noticing that this is a do-nothing, know-nothing party.
While it’s true that job creation has not been as robust as hoped for there has been continuous growth in the private sector for going on 30 months. It’s also worth noting that the Bush tax breaks marked a period of the slowest job growth since WWII culminating in economic disaster.
Mark Hastert
9 months ago“The private sector is doing fine.” …and confirmed in a speech by Governor Romney just yesterday.
Mark Hastert
9 months agoAw Buzz…..too easy
Washington post 8/25 “Mitt Romney stepped in it last night when he said at a fundraiser that, “Big business is doing fine in many places.”
George Hunsucker
Northland
9 months agoBuzz, mark is one of these anti-business libs… of course he wants to tax and regulate them and then bitch about their not creating jobs..
Typical of those who have never ran a business, but “know” so much about them—not
Mark Hastert
9 months ago“He didn’t say the private sector, Mark, he said big business.”
Gosh Buzzer, I didn’t know that big business wasn’t private sector. Somebody better warn the Kochs that they’re socialists. Too easy….
As a person with his own small business for 27 years I think I have the frame of reference to make an objective opinion. You see, GH, Buzz, in objectivist (Randian)terms, I’m a producer, retirees are moochers.
Chris Huff
9 months agoYears from now, people will look back and be thankful we had a moderate left of center president who bent over backwards to build consensus and try and recover from the machinations of the GW, the worst president in US history.
Years from now, people will look back and remember how obstructionist and self serving the Republican party acted in Obama’s first years, and be thankful Obama was re-elected to continue to fight the good fight.
Mark Hastert
9 months ago“Romney was talking about 6% of the private sector, big business.”
I’m glad to see you recant on your private sector claim Buzz.
It fact we indeed do have 29 consecutive months of private sector job growth. Considering the resistance/obstructionism from your party it’s a testament to Obama’s strategy.
There is no evidence anywhere that the Republican economic philosophy is effective. TEN+ years of tax cuts have not produced the promised results and all the writer can talk about is Obama’s false promises? It’s a joke right? Maybe, but there is nothing funny about a strategy that envisions America as a nation of sharecroppers. There is nothing funny about the voters foolish enough to buy into it.
Kevin A Evans
8 months, 4 weeks agoPresident Obama’s “false promises”?
I’ll take those;
http://obamaachievements.org/list
Not that you’ll read anything from this rather long list, mind you, but there it is, regardless.
Mo Rage the blog http://moravings.blogspot.com