Government Spending Is Ruining Families

The economic picture in the United States gets worse with each passing day of the Obama administration, and families are especially hard-hit.  While the damage is already devastating, the ramifications will continue wreaking havoc on today's children when they are adults starting their own families.

Comedians refer back to President Obama's 2008 campaign theme, "Hope and Change," declaring that most of us can only hope to have some change left after paying bills.  A survey of 1,100 Americans taken in October 2012 showed that 41 percent of respondents did not have more than $500 in savings at the time of the survey, which included "dual-income earners with ... big mortgages and big credit card bills."  Further, 54 percent had no savings plan, and 45 percent thought they would never be able to save money. 

The picture did not look any better in June 2013, when a survey of 1,000 adults found that 76 percent are living paycheck-to-paycheck.  Half of those surveyed had less than a three-month cushion in savings, and 27 percent had no savings at all.

It's even worse for the federal government.  Just click on the Debt Clock to see profligate spending in real time.  The U.S. national debt is just shy of $17 trillion!  That amounts to a debt per citizen of $53,431 -- that means every man, woman and child who is a United States citizen would need to pay that much money each to retire our current national debt.  The debt per taxpayer is a whopping $148,091.

What was the national debt when President Obama took office?  According to Mark Knoller, White House correspondent for CBS News, it was $10.626 trillion.  Mr. Knoller pointed out in March 2012, "The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office."  In the first three years and two months of Obama's presidency, he increased the debt more than the entire eight years of President Bush's presidency.  In March 2012, it was $15.566 trillion, and it now stands at $16.901 trillion and is estimated to top $20 trillion by the time Obama leaves office in 2016 -- an 87-percent increase in his two terms.

Via: American Thinker

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33 Shocking Facts That Show How Badly the Economy Has Tanked Under Obama...

Barack Obama has been running around the country taking credit for an "economic recovery", but the truth is that things have not gotten better under Obama.  Compared to when he first took office, a smaller percentage of the working age population is employed, the quality of our jobs has declined substantially and the middle class has been absolutely shredded.  If we are really in the middle of an "economic recovery", why is the homeownership rate the lowest that it has been in 18 years?  Why has the number of Americans on food stamps increased by nearly 50 percent while Obama has been in the White House?  Why has the national debt gotten more than 6 trillion dollars larger during the Obama era?  Obama should not be "taking credit" for anything when it comes to the economy.  In fact, he should be deeply apologizing to the American people.

And of course Obama is being delusional if he thinks that he is actually "running the economy".  The Federal Reserve has far more power over the U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system than he does.  But the mainstream media loves to fixate on the presidency, so presidents always get far too much credit or far too much blame for economic conditions.

But if you do want to focus on "the change" that has taken place since Barack Obama entered the White House, there is no way in the world that you can claim that things have actually gotten better during that time frame.  The cold, hard reality of the matter is that the U.S. economy has been steadily declining for over a decade, and this decline has continued while Obama has been living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It is getting very tiring listening to Obama supporters try to claim that Obama has improved the economy.  That is a false claim that is not even remotely close to reality.  The following are 33 shocking facts which show how badly the U.S. economy has tanked since Obama became president...

#1 When Barack Obama entered the White House, 60.6 percent of working age Americans had a job.  Today, only 58.7 percent of working age Americans have a job.

#2 Since Obama has been president, seven out of every eight jobs that have been "created" in the U.S. economy have been part-time jobs.

#3 The number of full-time workers in the United States is still nearly 6 million below the old record that was set back in 2007.

#4 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers now make less than $30,000 a year.

#5 40 percent of all workers in the United States actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968.

Via: Zero Hedge

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The depressing reality of ‘the recovery’: Americans aren’t getting jobs. They’re retiring.

For most of his presidency, President Obama has been focused on the economic short run — which makes sense, given that he took office in the midst of the biggest recession since the 1930s. With his big economic speech today, he’s shifting to the long-run, talking about the structural changes he thinks the economy needs to see for the U.S. to prosper going forward.

But anyone who thinks that the short-run battle is over should take a look at a new report by Daniel Alpert over at the Century Foundation. Alpert notes that while the headline unemployment number is well below its recession-era peak, that’s almost 100 percent due to declines in the labor force participation rate — that is, the share of the population that’s either employed or actively looking for work. Don’t believe him? Take a look at this chart:

Via: Washington Post
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Chart of the Week: Slowest Economic Recovery Since the 1960s

Americans could be waiting another five years for a return to normal employment based on the sluggish pace of the U.S. economy. After nearly four years in office, President Obama has overseen the worst recovery since the 1960s.

Via: The Foundry

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THE BIG FAIL: Obama Focused On ObamaCare Instead Of Fixing The Ailing American Economy

Doubling Down

Posted October 24, 2012

Obama Focused On ObamaCare Instead Of Fixing The Ailing American Economy

In Des Moines Register Interview, Obama Has No Regrets That He Focused On ObamaCare Instead Of The Economy. DES MOINES REGISTER: “Yes, that begs a question from us, Mr. President. Some say you had a super majority in your first two years and had this incredible opportunity, but because of what you were talking about, as you were running, you had to go to get ObamaCare done. Do you have any regrets taking on some of the economic issues, some of the issues that we’re talking about for your second term, that when you had the chance, so to speak, during your first — do you have any regrets that you didn’t do that at that time?” OBAMA: “Absolutely not.” (President Barack Obama, Interview With The Des Moines Register, 10/23/12)

OBAMA IGNORED CALLS FROM TOP ADVISERS TO FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY INSTEAD OF OBAMACARE

In January 2009, “The Vice President Begged Obama To Make His Early Presidency About Jobs” Rather Than Health Care. “As a pure political proposition, Axelrod advised Obama to dedicate himself to the economy and maybe education, that perennial political winner. Now Axelrod suddenly had reinforcements elsewhere in the new administration. At a meeting in January 2009, the vice president begged Obama to make his early presidency about jobs. The people who’d given him his mandate would understand that times had changed, Joe Biden said. ‘They’ll give you a pass on this one.’” (Noam Scheiber, The Escape Artists, 2012, p. 140)

• During A January 2009 White House Meeting, Biden “Railed That The Government Was In No Fiscal Shape To Pursue A Health Care Overhaul” That Year. “At one January meeting to discuss the budget, Mr. Biden railed that the government was in no fiscal shape to pursue a health care overhaul this year – to the dismay of many present and others who heard about it.” (Mark Leibovich, “Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role,” The New York Times, 3/28/09)

Throughout 2009, Then-Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod Advised Obama To Focus On The Economy While Then-Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel “Begged” Obama Not To Pursue Health Care Reform. “At various points, Vice President Joe Biden, senior advisor David Axelrod and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel advised the president to focus entirely on the economy and leave comprehensive health care for another day. ‘I begged him not to do this,’ Emanuel told me when I was researching my book about Obama’s first year in office.” (Jonathan Alter, Op-Ed, “Barney Frank Makes A Misdiagnosis On ObamaCare,” Bloomberg, 4/19/12)

• Obama Insisted That ObamaCare Be A Year One Priority, “Even Waiting A Year Or Two Was Out Of The Question.” “Still, the man with the most important vote was unmoved. Obama told his aides that if he couldn’t reform health care, another generation would pass before a president tried again. Even waiting a year or two was out of the question. ‘The president’s view was, yes we had to deal with the economic emergency at hand,’ said a White House aide. ‘But if we didn’t move on health care in the first few years, we’d probably never be able to get it done.’” (Noam Scheiber, The Escape Artists, 2012, p. 141)

“[E]ven After Winning The Presidency, Obama Was Loath To Accept That The Economy Was Singularly Important” And Disregarded Calls From Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner For It To Be The Immediate Focus. “But even after winning the presidency, Obama was loath to accept that the economy was singularly important. During a conference call with several senior adies early in the transition, Geithner remarked to his new boss that ‘your signature accomplishment is going to be preventing a Great Depression.’ … Even so, Obama’s response was slightly jarring. ‘That’s not enough for me,’ said the president-elect.” (Noam Scheiber, The Escape Artists, 2012, p. 15-16)

Via: GOP.com

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JUST MORE WORDS: They Said It! Dem Pollster Says “Voters Still Don’t Know” What Obama’s Plans Are

Top Democrat Pollster Says “Voters Still Don’t Know” What Obama’s Plans Are For The Economy

Democrat Pollster Celinda Lake: “What Is Holding The President Back Is Voters Still Don’t Know What He Is Going To Do Early Next Year To Get This Economy Going…”

“‘What is holding the president back is voters still don’t know what he is going to do early next year to get this economy going,’ Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said. ‘There is still time for him to do that, because the economy is the No. 1 thing people are paying attention to.’” (Peter Hamby, “Down To The Wire: Campaign Enters Stretch Run,”CNN, 10/23/12)

Via: GOP.com

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Bill Clinton: “Impatient” Americans Haven’t Recognized How Awesome A Job Obama Has Done Yet…

GREEN BAY, Wis.  –  Former President Bill Clinton said Friday that President Barack Obama is facing a tough re-election race because "impatient" Americans haven't fully recognized an economy on the mend.

Campaigning for Obama in Green Bay, Wis., Clinton urged voters to stay the course as more signs of a recovery sink in. Clinton said voters should judge Obama on the past three years, in which private sector job growth has made up for lost ground.

"This shouldn't be a race," Clinton said. "The only reason it is, is because Americans are impatient on things not made before yesterday and they don't understand why the economy is not totally hunky-dory again."

The former president said Obama's difficulty in his race with Republican challenger Mitt Romney is that "people don't feel it yet" even as the unemployment rate ticks down and the manufacturing sector perks up. Clinton said Obama deserves credit for stabilizing a situation that saw the country hemorrhage jobs well into his first year.

"Gov. Romney acts like from the minute the president took his hand off the Bible he was responsible for every lost job," Clinton said.

Everywhere he goes, Romney argues that the tepid recovery is grounds for a change. The shape of the economy consistently tops lists of voter concerns.

A local police official said 2,200 turned out to hear Clinton at a college fieldhouse. Clinton won Wisconsin in both of his presidential campaigns.

Republicans think they can flip the state, which hasn't gone to them since 1984. Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is on Romney's ticket and has campaigned heavily in the state in the past few months.

Via: Fox News

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Ryan cites increased unemployment rate in Biden’s hometown to drive economic argument

Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan slammed Vice President Joe Biden and the Obama administration’s economic record during Thursday night’s debate, referencing the high unemployment rate of Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

“You and I are from similar towns. He’s from Scranton, Pennsylvania, I’m from Janesville, Wisconsin. Do you know what the unemployment rate in Scranton is today?” Ryan asked.

“Sure do,” Biden responded.\

“Ten percent,” Ryan continued, “You know what it was the day you guys came in? 8.5 percent. That is happening all around America.”

“That’s not how it’s going,” Biden protested, “It’s going down!”

“Look, did they come into and we were in a tough situation? Absolutely, but we are going in the wrong direction,” Ryan explained. “Look at where we are. The economy is barely moving along. It is going at 1.3 percent — that is lower than it grew last year and last year was slower than the year before. Job growth in September was slower than it was in August and August was slower than it was in July. We are headed in the wrong direction.”

Ryan repeated some of the the statistics Romney used last week in his debate against Obama — including the 23 million Americans “struggling for work,” and high poverty rate.

“This is not what a real recovery looks like. We need new reforms for a real recovery,” he said.

Via: Daily Caller

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More Americans now commit suicide than die in car crashes as miserable economy takes its toll

Suicide is a bigger killer than car crashes, according to an alarming new study.

The number of people dying from suicide has drastically increased, while car accident deaths haven lessened, making suicide the leading cause of injury death.

Suicides via falls or poisoning have risen significantly and experts fear there could be en more going unrecognised, specifically in cases of overdose.

The number of car crashes has declined, while suicides have increased

'Suicides are terribly under-counted,' said Ian Rockett, author of the study, published on Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.

'I think the problem is much worse than official data would lead us to believe. We have a situation that has gotten out of hand.'

 

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He added that his goal is to see the same attention paid to other injuries as has been paid to traffic injuries.

The results were compiled using National Centre for Health Statistics data gathered from 2000 to 2009. 

Researchers noted a 25 per cent decrease in car accident deaths, medicalxpress.com reported, while deaths from falls rose 71 per cent, from poisoning 128 per cent and from suicide 15 per cent.

Former U.S. Senator Gordon Smith spoke at a news conference to launch the suicide prevention programme

Higher automobile standards were credited for the traffic deaths drop, with harsher penalties for underage drinking and failing to wear seat belts named as contributing factors.

Previous research has suggested that suicide rates go up during recessions and times of economic crisis.

'Economic problems can impact how people feel about themselves and their futures as well as their relationships with family and friends,' Feijun Luo of CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention told Bloomberg.

'Prevention strategies can focus on individuals, families, neighborhoods or entire communities to reduce risk factors.'

The shift makes suicide the most frequent cause of injury deaths, followed by car crashes, poisoning, falls and murder.

The study also looked at gender and race, concluding that fewer women die from the top four causes than men, while Hispanics have fewer car crashes and suicides than whites but a higher murder rate.

In 2009, more than 37,000 Americans took their own lives, a number that the government and private groups such as Facebook are fighting to lower.

Via: Daily Mail

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OBAMA LEGACY: CANADA HAS FREEST ECONOMY IN NORTH AMERICA

The foundational stone of American Exceptionalism has always been our economic freedom. The ability of individuals, regardless of background or circumstances, to freely engage in the marketplace to lift their own fortunes has been our nation's greatest strength. With economic freedom, none of the "isms" that keep the left up at night matter. We are all truly, regardless of race, gender, class or anything else, "captains of our fate and masters of our souls." A decade ago, we were the second most economically free country in the world. Today, under Obama, we are 18th. 

Every year, The Fraser Institute, a free-market think tank in Canada, compiles a highly respected index of economic freedom in countries around the world. Broadly speaking, it looks at five critical components to freedom: size of government, rule of law, sound money, free trade and regulation. Historically, the US has been near the top of the table in economic freedom, surpassed only by the city-states of Hong Kong and Singapore. This year, we are 18th in the world, while our northern neighbor, Canada, has become the 5th most economically free nation in the world. 

Let us pause here and list the countries that are more economically free than ours. 

Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland, Chile, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Estonia, Taiwan, Denmark and Qatar. 

We are just barely ahead of Kuwait and Cyprus. 

Via: Breitbart

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