Depends on your point of view. Mr. Obama claims everything is just fine. The economy is improving. Jobs are being created (6,000,000 by his count since he took office, but only 1.200,000 acording to Lou Dobbs in whom I have more confidence ). Obamacare is in place and ready to go. So what if health care costs have increased considerably with further increases to come. So what if unemplyment has risen since he took office and remains stubbornly over 7.5%. So what if household income is declining. So what if gas prices at the pump have doubled since he took office. So what if the debt is approaching $17 trillion. So what if the US is viewed around the world as weak and indecisive – four diplomats slain in Libya, North Korea testing nuclear bombs with impunity, Iran racing to develop its own nuclear capability, and Israel wondering if the US will really, really be there for it in a pinch. None of that matters. Mr. Obama and the Dems say we are on the right track. Don’t worry. This is all merely a hangover from the Bush presidency. His policies just need more time to work. This reminds me of that old Groucho Marx joke: “Are you going to believe what I tell you or what you see with your eyes?”
Mr. Obama suggested some proposals that sound good, such as raising the minimum wage to $9.00/hour, providing a quality pre-school education to every child and creating more jobs. However, historically it has been demonstrated repeatedly that raising the minimum wage does not increase jobs. If anything, it reduces jobs as employers who can’t afford to pay the higher wage reduce employees’ hours or terminate some of them, or even worse, go out of business. So, the unintended consequences of this proposal would likely adversely affect the very constituency that it is intended to help. Once again, I wonder if Mr. Obama took any history or economics courses at Harvard. Free pre-school education for every child sounds good, but we have no money to pay for it. Job creation is best left to the private sector, not the government. Over the past four years, many of Mr. Obama’s policies, such as Obamacare and raising taxes on small businesses, have served to hurt job creation rather than help it.
CONCLUSION AND PREDICTION
In short, Mr. Obama’s view of the country, where it is and where it is going, fly in the face of the facts. It sounds illogical until one realizes that his primary objective is not to improve the economy per se, but, rather, to redistribute wealth and income. Take from the rich and give to the poor a la Robin Hood. He has no serious intention of reducing our massive debt. If, as a corollary consequence, the economy is aided, okay; if not, that is okay too. When one views his policies through that spectrum, they make perfect sense.
The State of the Union speech made it clear that we can expect more of the same over the next four years. Before criticizing Mr. Obama too harshly, remember, his actions have been consistent with his resume. He said what he was going to do if elected, and we, the people elected him…twice.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 