Thanks Obama – 24 Stats That Show How You’ve Messed Up Our Economy
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Under Barack Obama, the U.S. economy has performed worse than it did under any other president since the end of the Great Depression. After every other recession since World War II, the U.S. economy always regained what was lost and got even stronger before the next recession began. During this “economic recovery”, we have not even come close to getting back to where we were in 2008. In fact, the number of Americans living in poverty and the number of Americans that are dependent on the government both continue to explode even as Barack Obama runs up trillions of dollars of new debt. Anyone that believes that Barack Obama is going to “fix the economy” if he is given another four years in the White House has taken way too many sips of the Obama kool-aid. The truth is that Barack Obama is not going to save you. Barack Obama has royally messed up our economy (along with a lot of other things) and that is not something we should be thanking him for.
Yes, Barack Obama is not solely responsible for the economy. In fact, he does not even have the most influence over the direction of the economy.
However, if he had been willing or able to actually do what was necessary to fix the economy, he certainly had ample opportunity.
For example, the Democrats had full control of Congress during Obama’s first two years in office.
They were in a position to push through just about anything that they wanted to.
But just about everything that did get through Congress during those two years was full of really, really bad ideas.
More importantly, Barack Obama has done absolutely nothing to stand in the way of the nightmarish policies of the Federal Reserve.
Yes, the Federal Reserve does have more power over the U.S. economy than Barack Obama does.
But Barack Obama has made no moves to reign in the Fed or to stop their idiotic policies.
In fact, Obama has had nothing but good things to say about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and he nominated Bernanke for another term.
Talk about stupid.
If you were the owner of a pro football team and your coach had lost every game for several years in a row would you give him a new contract?
Of course not.
But even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a track record of failure that would make the Washington Generals blush, Obama has given Bernanke his unquestioning support.
Obama insists that it would be a really bad idea to ever question the “independence” of the Fed. Obama believes that it is a good thing that U.S. monetary policy is determined by a panel of “experts” that work for a secretive organization that has no direct accountability to the American people whatsoever.
Yet their decisions have a huge impact on all our lives every single day.
So since Barack Obama has steadfastly refused to stand up to the Federal Reserve and has had nothing but wonderful things to say about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, it is fair to hold Obama at least partially responsible for the nightmarish economic conditions that Fed policies have helped create.
In the final analysis, basically every single decision that Barack Obama has made regarding the economy has been wrong. He has added trillions to our debt while flushing our economic future down the toilet at the same time.
Thanks Obama – you really have been awful.
The following are 24 stats that show just how much Obama has royally messed up our economy….
#1 Under Bill Clinton, the average unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. Under George W. Bush, the average unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. Under Barack Obama, things have been much worse. The month after he took office the unemployment rate rose above 8 percent and it has stayed there ever since.
#2 Under Barack Obama, the velocity of money (a very important indicator of economic health) has plunged to a post-World War II low.
#3 Real median household income has decreased by more than 4000 dollars since Barack Obama entered the White House.
#4 The United States has plenty of oil and we should not have to import it from the Middle East. Unfortunately, Barack Obama has an absolutely nightmarish energy policy. Under Bill Clinton, the number of drilling permits approved rose by 58 percent. Under George W. Bush, the number of drilling permits approved rose by 116 percent. Under Barack Obama, the number of drilling permits approved decreased by 36 percent.
#5 When Barack Obama took office, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.85. Today, the average price of a gallon of gasoline is $3.71.
#6 Under Barack Obama, the United States has lost more than 300,000 education jobs.
#7 Since Barack Obama became president, the number of long-term unemployed Americans has risen from 2.7 million to 5.2 million.
#8 For the first time in the post-World War II era, the employment-population ratio has not bounced back after a recession. The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been below 59 percent for 35 months in a row.
#9 While Barack Obama has been president, U.S. home values have fallen by another 12 percent.
#10 More than three times as many new homes were sold in the United States in 2005 as will be sold in 2012.
#11 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row. Thanks Obama.
#12 When Barack Obama first entered the White House, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today, the price of gold is over $1630 an ounce.
#13 Since 2008, our economy has lost 1.3 million jobs while at the same time 3.6 million more Americans have been added to Social Security’s disability insurance program.
#14 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 31.9 million when Barack Obama took office to 46.4 million today. How much more “hope and change” are we going to be able to endure?
#15 As I wrote about the other day, it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
#16 If you can believe it (and this really is hard to believe), more than half of all Americans are now at least partially financially dependent on the government.
#17 The total amount of money that the federal government gives directly to the American people has grown by 32 percent since Barack Obama became president.
#18 Under Barack Obama, federal spending as a percentage of GDP (25 percent) is the highest that it has been since World War II.
#19 The Obama administration has been spending money on some of the most insane things imaginable. For example, in 2011 the Obama administration spent $592,527 on a study that sought to figure out once and for all why chimpanzees throw poop.
#20 The U.S. government has run a budget deficit of well over a trillion dollars every single year under Barack Obama.
#21 Under Barack Obama, U.S. debt was downgraded from AAA status for the first time ever.
#22 Since Barack Obama took office, the U.S. national debt has increased by 50 percent.
#23 Since Barack Obama became president, the U.S. national debt has increased by an average of more than $64,000 per taxpayer.
#24 During the Obama administration, the U.S. national debt has grown more than it did from the time that George Washington became president to the beginning of Bill Clinton’s second term as president.
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12:48 pm
You are truly hateful. TRADERS and the Wall Street crowd should have been held complicit in many of the economy's woes but instead although 'Barack Obama is not solely responsible for the economy' not one freakin' word about the Republicans in Congress who voted against anything would help and voted FOR these 'ideas' by the President. HEALTH CARE is not necessary and the Dems 'should have used their time in power' to help YOU. The stock market is UP and that is where you make YOUR money but OBAMA IS ALL WRONG. Despicable.
1:01 pm
Ya, Obama's record sucks, but how much worse would it be if the GOP would have won?
Clinton ended his term with a huge surplus. Bush ended his term with a huge deficit, two wars that were totally bungled and one was nothing more than to restore credibility for his dad not finishing the first war with Iraq. Bush started his own Gestapo, the TSA, that has done nothing but increase taxes and the cost of air travel. Bush started wiretapping of our phone calls and email.
1:03 pm
Fat chance
9:42 pm
Clinto surplus? No, was a on paper accounting trick
9:12 am
WOW another KNOW NOTHING retard!
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007,the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this:
January 3rd, 2007, the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!
Remember that day…
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.
The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?
BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! THANK YOU DEMOCRATS (especially Barney ) for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment…
to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
BTW:
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). Barneyblocked it and called it a "Chicken Little Philosophy" (and the sky did fall!)
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA
And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie?
OBAMA and the Democrat Congress, especiallyBARNEY!!!!
So when someone tries to blame Bush… REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal and steering wheel they were driving the economy into the ditch.
Budgets do not come from the White House..
They come from Congress
And the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.
9:55 am
OUCH!!! Well stated. Franklin Raines (Dem)then head of Fannie Mae testifying at a congressional hearing was questioned by an auditor about the small amount of $$$ the fund held. He replied, "These loans are riskless." Franks and Dodd circled the wagons to protect him. As the fund collapsed, Raines recieved a bonus. Dodd obtained a sweetheart mortgage under the fund..
HYPOCRISY – The Democratic Way
1:09 pm
That's his hope and change.
1:26 pm
We know less about Obama than any President we've had. He has spent millions sealing all of his records. The birth crtificate he finally presented has been proven fraudelent. He claims to be a Christain but has told Egyption officials he is still a muslim. Certainly every decision he has made which involved Muslims has favored Muslims or extreme Islamists. He cancelled "Prayer day" then was videotaped praying in a Mosque with other Muslims that same day. Muslims think dogs are dirty so poor Bo, the Whitehouse dog has never been with him in the Whitehouse Limo nor Air Force One. With the help of the liberal media,unions,socialists, and young idiots we have a totally INEPT socialist Muslim President.
1:33 pm
Yep, that's why the majority of Americans prefer Obama over Romney as the next president; and that's why most Americans blame the previous admin and congress for the slow recovery than they bame Obama. but don't let the facts stand in your way.
5:57 pm
If the media held obama responsible for his lies and distorsions like they do with republicans even you would not vote for him!!!
7:52 pm
I don't think so ssamore. I think your wrong! Where in God's name do you get this info???? MSNBC!! Get a book out and find the facts before you spout gargage sir!!! Left wing Media is not going to tell you the truth.
2:25 pm
I am sorry but both republican and democrats are responsible. You all need to stop this nonsense and realize both parties are bad fro America. We need fresh ideas and approaches.
3:23 pm
If you can't even distinguish between the concepts of "rein in" and reign in" (which, in this setting, is meaningless anyway), how can we assume that anything else you might say is anything but nonsense? Hint: much of what you said above is absurd.
9:58 am
The new definition of absurd = FACTUAL
3:31 pm
What an idiotic list. One that rightfully belongs to GWB. I know you righties hate to blame someone when they cause something but really??? How come no mention of the dow or how much Obamacare cuts the deficit??
5:54 pm
Obamacare cuts the defcit? You are clueless. There are 21 new taxes in Obamacare and all the new mandtes to the health nsurers wil cause premums to skyrocket. this will bankrupt our country!!!!!
9:37 pm
So who do you think is president? Bush?
11:16 pm
How long does Obama have to be in office before he is responsible? Bush may he guilty of many of our current problems, but the American public voted for Obama because they though he could fix things. A good leader grabs issues by the bootsrap, tries to fix them and TAKES responsibility for the issues regardless of whose fault it is. Obama has not tried to fix anything, has been unwilling to work with the Republican leadership and continues to blame his predecessor, in other words not being an inspiring leader. It is more than three years into an Obama presidency. Three years may not be enough time to fix it, but it is enough time to set the direction and show real leadership.
8:55 am
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007,the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this:
January 3rd, 2007, the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!
Remember that day…
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.
The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?
BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! THANK YOU DEMOCRATS (especially Barney ) for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment…
to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
BTW:
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). Barneyblocked it and called it a "Chicken Little Philosophy" (and the sky did fall!)
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA
And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie?
OBAMA and the Democrat Congress, especiallyBARNEY!!!!
So when someone tries to blame Bush… REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal and steering wheel they were driving the economy into the ditch.
Budgets do not come from the White House..
They come from Congress
And the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.
3:34 pm
Your article is full of misinformation and fussy math, that completely negates its message . Obama has made lots of bad mistakes but they were forced on him by the red tide and blue dog democrats ( republicans ) . If you really want to see who the problem is , you should look in the mirror and the culprit will be looking you right in the eye. Dumping Obama and voting for republican destroyers is a ludicrous idea . Just like the ideas that got us in to this mess in the first place . Anyone wity the IQ of a fifth grader could figure out that Obama had no vote on any of your complaints , and he no support from the public so crying in your beer may make you feel good , but your idea of going red is an absolute DOA. Anyone who votes republican in any race , hates America.
6:02 pm
You must not have been around when Ronald Reagan was POTUS.
9:40 pm
Great redition of classic demonrat talking points.
3:55 pm
The last time I posted, I didn't see it yet 12 or more hours later.
I think electricity went up because utilities are being forced to waste resources on inefficient wind or solar. Taxpayer subsidies are an extra hidden cost of this. Bush 43 unfortunately signed that one. Also, Obama is putting excessive regulations on coal plants. His anti-real energy policies have probably hurt electricity prices in other ways. Higher electricity costs have probably hurt businesses and increased unemployment.
Obama's anti-oil policies have hurt businesses and employment even more.
I think a lot of people have gone onto disability because they couldn't find a job. Some of them should probably be considered unemployed. I would guess that people who were working with some kind of disability and lost jobs went onto disability. Since there are so many, maybe a lot of people aren't disabled all that much.
I'd guess that a lot of people have gone onto welfare because they couldn't find a job.
8:09 pm
It looks like someone actually did some research. Thank you for having a brain unlike the other idiots on here.
5:09 pm
Do you honestly think one man has that much power? What roie has Congress (who said they would focus on joib creation jobs as part of their 2010 Congressional platform) plyaed? What about tehe unfunded wars and the fact that, first the first time in US history, a huge tax cut was initiated along with 2 unfunded wars. Dah?
Puttngn information in context is essential as part of thiniking process and thsi piece shows no thinking.
Yes, there are major problems, but to think that one man can solve them or cause them is immature thinking.
9:01 am
Sorry DUDE! But he had a SUPER MAJORITY in the Congress(both houses) for 4 years.
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007,the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.
The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
5:34 pm
I voted — NO. It is worse now. However, when it went out, it suddenly registered "It is the same". This is not true. It is the worse ever.
Thanks.
Tess
5:35 pm
The economy is worse now. The people are suffering.
6:27 pm
You state facts which do not look at economic reality in relationship to time.
1. When President Obama assumed the office of the presidency this country
was losing jobs 800, 000 / month. Most of the job lost was due to the trade policies
which award corporations to send jobs overseas. The number of lost jobs has
slowed and the trend has been reversed. Even though the trend has reversed
it is not fast enough and admittedly too many Americans still need a job.
The president is earnestly trying to improve this reality but do to lack of
congress cooperation his attempts have been deliberately foiled in order to
make sure the president's term is deemed as a failure. We did not elect a dictator.
The down grading of our status was not due to action of the President but to what the Repubilcans
in the House did which was to hold our status hostage in order to discredit the president.
His failure is more important to the Republicans than the welfare of this country.
It took approximately 7 years for Bush to place this country into such a economic mess. This
country has been financially raped by mega-corporations which do not pay taxes sending thousands
of jobs overseas, by bankers who use casino type investments and politicians who have sold their
souls for their personal gains. Corporations are making record profits yet refuse to invest in this
country. Why? We are the most productive employees in the world yet we do not receive decent raises.
In fact their standard of living has decreased. Why? Example : Apple has been named the most
valuable in dollars company in the world yet it has very few if any factories in this country. Why?
Do you think that Romney is the only wealthy American placing his wealth into offshore banks instead of
investing in American banks? When you add all these factors together creates a great reduction of
revenue going into the U. S. treasury thus our debt is increased.
The reality is that the economic mess will take more that 4yrs , 8 yrs, or even 10yrs to correct.
President Obama did not cause this mess . Greed, Greed. and more Greed caused this mess.
The solutions are not the hands of one party or one man. Until we come to the conclusion that this
country greatness was not achieved because of wealth, but by the earnest belief that all her citizens
are valuable.
9:06 am
Hey RETARDO BOY get it right!
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007,the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this:
January 3rd, 2007, the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!
Remember that day…
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.
The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?
BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! THANK YOU DEMOCRATS (especially Barney ) for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment…
to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
BTW:
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie -starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy). Barneyblocked it and called it a "Chicken Little Philosophy" (and the sky did fall!)
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA
And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie?
OBAMA and the Democrat Congress, especiallyBARNEY!!!!
So when someone tries to blame Bush… REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Bush may have been in the car but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal and steering wheel they were driving the economy into the ditch.
Budgets do not come from the White House..
They come from Congress
And the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.
6:50 pm
The reason why some people think its worse is bc nearly 100% of the time the republicans voted for everything that the democrats put up. The right actually planned this and acted it out just for winning, thy don't give a damn about America, only their corporate sponsors, chiefly Big Oil. Follow the money and look at the voting records. Quit believing every thing you see and hear on Fox news, which have even rated as pure entertainment only by PBS.
7:38 pm
The US is far worse than it was before OBAMA. If you don't think so, you are either on Govt assistance, a elected member of Govt., or you are living in a fantasy world. We (The US) can only hope if you are dumb enough to vote for Obama again, you get what you deserve POVERTY.. OBAMA> One Big Ass Mistake America
8:22 pm
#1 Under Bill Clinton, the average unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. Under George W. Bush, the average unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. Under Barack Obama, things have been much worse. The month after he took office the unemployment rate rose above 8 percent and it has stayed there ever since.
* Gee could it have been that the recession was still in the midst of crashing the US econ?
#2 Under Barack Obama, the velocity of money (a very important indicator of economic health) has plunged to a post-World War II low.
#3 Real median household income has decreased by more than 4000 dollars since Barack Obama entered the White House.
*Hello… recession. Name any one who created an instant recovery.. Name just 1.
#4 The United States has plenty of oil and we should not have to import it from the Middle East. Unfortunately, Barack Obama has an absolutely nightmarish energy policy. Under Bill Clinton, the number of drilling permits approved rose by 58 percent. Under George W. Bush, the number of drilling permits approved rose by 116 percent. Under Barack Obama, the number of drilling permits approved decreased by 36 percent.
* And yet oil production in the US is still on the rise.
#5 When Barack Obama took office, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.85. Today, the average price of a gallon of gasoline is $3.71.
*When Bush was in gas reached an all time high of $5 per gallon.
#6 Under Barack Obama, the United States has lost more than 300,000 education jobs.
*Not only has Romney said that he wants to eliminate more jobs in education but he wants to cut the edu budget by billions. States in a recession are having trouble even paying prisons to keep felons in prisons, Much less teachers teaching. Yes, we are in a recession.
#7 Since Barack Obama became president, the number of long-term unemployed Americans has risen from 2.7 million to 5.2 million.
* OMG! people lose their jobs in a recession?
#8 For the first time in the post-World War II era, the employment-population ratio has not bounced back after a recession. The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been below 59 percent for 35 months in a row.
*Lets see the recession was almost bad enough to be called and compared to the great depression, and yet of the people I know 8 of 10 have jobs, and I have seen help wanted signs in business windows.
#9 While Barack Obama has been president, U.S. home values have fallen by another 12 percent.
* Home prices have also risen. My CA home has gained over 10% in value since Obama has been in office.
#10 More than three times as many new homes were sold in the United States in 2005 as will be sold in 2012.
*Duh, recession. People's credit scores have fell as have the unemployment rate.
#11 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row. Thanks Obama.
*Five years in a row… hello.. McFly anyone home. Obama has only been in office for 3.5 years, not for the last 5 years.
#12 When Barack Obama first entered the White House, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today, the price of gold is over $1630 an ounce.
* Yes, during times of economic collapse/recession metals increase in value.
10:10 am
You guys just don't get it.. The first two years of his failed administration, Dems controlled Washington and NOTHING was accomplished. He couldn't even get his healthcare debacle through and misused the Reconciliation Act to backdoor it in. The House has sent numerous bills to the Senate including Cut Cap And Balance that Harry Reid blocked from debate calling it "A big wet kiss for Republicans." Obama stated that he never read it. So much for the partisanship he preaches (HYPOCRIT).
Yes he took office with a heavy hand to play. However, like the inexperienced gambler, he wasted more than we can afford. The $800,000 milion failed Stimulus for and his healthcare bill for another.. He has doen nothing to improve on the situation unless playing golf helps. 4 years in, this is his baby to rock. His policies have failed to turn the tide.. As Clint said, "When someone fails to do the job, you gotta let them go!!! Good bye Oh What a Mess.
8:23 pm
#13 Since 2008, our economy has lost 1.3 million jobs while at the same time 3.6 million more Americans have been added to Social Security’s disability insurance program.
*Let us see, economic crash= recession, people out of work people get hurt because companies get cheap and slow down on safety.
#14 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 31.9 million when Barack Obama took office to 46.4 million today. How much more “hope and change” are we going to be able to endure?
* What part of we are in a recession that started during the Bush years does this author not understand?
#15 As I wrote about the other day, it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
*Wrong again, Obama care will eventually take over medicaid.
#16 If you can believe it (and this really is hard to believe), more than half of all Americans are now at least partially financially dependent on the government.
* Possible. Since 1 of three people in CA alone are govt employees(state or fed including military)
#17 The total amount of money that the federal government gives directly to the American people has grown by 32 percent since Barack Obama became president.
*The amount of money given to corporations and the rich by the govt has increased by 80% through tax loopholes and the Bush tax cuts and corporate bail outs.
#18 Under Barack Obama, federal spending as a percentage of GDP (25 percent) is the highest that it has been since World War II.
* True, it goes up with almost every president although the GDP has fallen because we are in a recession.
#19 The Obama administration has been spending money on some of the most insane things imaginable. For example, in 2011 the Obama administration spent $592,527 on a study that sought to figure out once and for all why chimpanzees throw poop.
*Govt waste has already been high.
#20 The U.S. government has run a budget deficit of well over a trillion dollars every single year under Barack Obama.
*The congress refused to produce a budget or increase the national debt for so long that it degraded the US credit rating.
#21 Under Barack Obama, U.S. debt was downgraded from AAA status for the first time ever.
*see #20
#22 Since Barack Obama took office, the U.S. national debt has increased by 50 percent.
* yes , how odd, I always thought getting out of a depression, 2 wars, and bailing out the too big to fail was free.
#23 Since Barack Obama became president, the U.S. national debt has increased by an average of more than $64,000 per taxpayer.
*see #22
8:15 pm
A true leader would have found solutions. Give it a break. He is making Jimmy Carter look great, at least he did not stoop this low trying to get re elected.
10:19 pm
America will continue to suffer as long as we have our middle class jobs being sent offshore. What do you feel is the solution to job creation? No one seems to have a good plan to help our country. The plans I see are to cut federal spending but nothing about job creation. We can not compare the last depression with todays economy. During the last depression America recovered because we entered WW2. Business boomed because of the war. The wars we have now takes money from the economy that we did not have. There is no easy solution. I don't care who becomes the President, we will continue to have at high rates until we can get our jobs back.
8:33 pm
Business will not spend money as long as they are facing all these issues with no answers. Of course who is elected will make a big difference. Obama, who has shown that he is against free enterprise, will make things worse as more businesses will close rather than continue fighting upsteam against this government. If he loses, then at least they will have hope that effort will be rewarded and recognized.
11:54 am
# 3, 5, 11, 12 are all related to inflation, so basically you are repeating the same thing
the same with #20 – #24 they are all about national debt — and you are getting sloppy , dont even bother to spread them around ha ha
One of the biggest question facing voters today is : how much is this mess is still Bush's fault, how well/bad exactly did Obama do ( we know he stopped the bleeding , killed bin laden but jobless rate is still high etc)
The answer, my friend, is in this article — look he used clinton's stat to show how good democratice policies were !!! clinton is the same party as Obama and his wife is in the carbinet AS OF NOW , now if you are not sure who should shoulder most of the blame, the author ( A REPUBLICAN ) just told you — BUSH~!!
9:10 am
WOW another KNOW NOTHING retard!
The NEWTSTER was the one responsible for making Clinton look good.
Read your history on elections and WHO controlled what!
2:18 pm
When anyone is elected or hired by a corporation, they are required to have substantial Strategic, Long Range, and Tactical plans to address problems. Obama's plans had to do with the old failed FDR policies of capital investments for infrastructure. All business curriculums and even the SBA warn about concentrating on an infrastructure without have viable and tested products to sell. Also, with changes in today's manufacturing techniques (including employees working at home), selling and buying strategies, any infrastructure building would have to be on new areas and not on the past environment.
But, whether Bush or Obama, we are electing the wrong persons.
To bring back manufacturing we need to have government invest in mass education, via internet, night schools, curriculum courses on the new techniques in manufacturing, i.e., work flow simulators, process flows, small robotics, 3D printers, funding sources, etc. That are becoming inexpensive enough that can help everyone from the garage manufacturing to middle level manufacturing. But also to have wages that match production, stop worthless lawsuits, and some of the damaging business controls.
4:03 pm
Some of the commenters to this column and most Americans repeatedly state that it's the Corporations' fault for some job losses by moving some or all of their operations overseas. Yes, they did move but why? Look beneath the surface. In many cases they did it just to stay in business. The jobs would have been lost whether they moved or not. The reasons are many but they boil down to Congress and the American consumer. Government regulations and taxes were and still are the most onerous in the world. Several decades ago the American consumer began buying primarily on the basis of price only. This perfect storm caused our technology and know-how to move overseas where it flourished and improved to the point where it might never return.
A few months ago an electronics component manufacturer was interviewed on TV and was asked why he was expanding by building overseas. He said he didn't like to do it but it was about $10 million less expensive than building and operating here. The interviewer asked if labor cost was the main reason. He said it was significant but not the biggest factor, that gv't regulations, red tape, and taxes were. So, we have ourselves to blame for our buying habits and for making poor choices for Congress. None of the Presidents until Obama made any of the rules. They asked for various programs, and if it involved spending taxpayers' money, Congress usually was happy to provide the legislation.
Wars are another sore point but I've talked long enough. Suffice it to say we've been sticking our noses into other people's business since 1960 with little to show for it except debt.