This is my response to a negative reaction to the State of the Union address (“As Obama Prepares To Paint A Rosy Picture Of His Presidency, A Look At The Numbers He Wont Mention”). This one, like most of the Conservative responses, focused on attacking Obama’s statements that America is economially strong and improving, than offering substantive alternatives to he’s stated policy goals. It was quite a laundry list, and when I took it on, I focus only on the first three points (if you’re curious about the whole list, just look to the bottom of this post): • $18.1 Trillion: Total Debt Under Obama As Of January 14, 2014. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15) • $10.6 Trillion: Total Debt When Obama Became President On January 20, 2009. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/9/15) • $7.5 Trillion: Amount Added To The National Debt Despite Obamas 2010 State Of The Union Declaration That He Would Not Leave A Mountain Of Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15; President Barack Obama, Remarks On The State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 1/27/10) “What is debt, vs deficit, vs Obama’s part of the debt” Debt: Is the actual amount owed. Deficit: Is that number as a percentage of GDP. Both are important, but the latter is more important yardstick of economic health, and thats why that number (which is going down) is quoted more than the former number (which is going up). The deficit drop under Obama has been spectacular, the best since WWII. Still, total debt is important, but how much of it is Obamas? You statement, $7.5 Trillion: Amount Added To The National Debt is misleading, because the current debt is primarily driven by the debts that Obama inherited, and the expense of the policies Bush saddled him with (still-in-place wasteful tax breaks and the cost of unfunded wars and healthcare mandates as demonstrated in this 2011 chart politicalirony/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chart-of-the-day-bush-policies-deficits-june-2010.jpg). Yes, the rate of government spending has increased under Obama, but it always increases under every President, and Obama has slowed this rate of increase to the lowest since before Eisenhower (b-i.forbesimg/rickungar/files/2013/10/MW-AR658_spendi_20120521163312_ME11.jpg). Talking about reducing costs is nice, but understand that running a nation costs money, and repayment of debt also requires money. The money coming in comes from two sources, increasing tax revenues, and increasing economic activity (which eventually increases tax revenues). If you raise taxes, you have more money to pay your bills and pay down debt -- but yes, there is a chance the taxation could be so high it ultimately reduces economic activity, which in the long run reduces revenues. But we are not anywhere close to creating that situation, US personal income tax rates are among the lowest in the world (static2.businessinsider/image/50eef524ecad04766900000c-960/tax%20rates%20ranking%20100k.jpg). Also, increasing revenues requires capital investment, so economic growth can be as driven by a tax increase just as much as an economic slow down. We don’t end a fetishistic cutting campaign, we smart, growth-focused, spending. As Congressman Barney Frank said, “I’ve never seen a tax cut put out a fire. I’ve never seen a tax cut build a bridge.” If you recognize that the growing wealth disparity in this country is an albatross around the neck of the American dream, increasing taxes for the rich to provide breathing-room for a middle-class tax break makes perfect sense. Among other things, a Middle Class tax break will re-enter the street level economy more directly than one for the one-percenters who likely would invest, but not necessarily invest in American activities, and also have more luxury to save – we all must save, but when the affluent engage in virtuous saving, in a marco-economic sense it more like the dragon Smaug hoarding; this is called the “paradox of thrift,” it’s a pretty basic economic principal, you should look it up. ************************************************************************* “As Obama Prepares To Paint A Rosy Picture Of His Presidency, A Look At The Numbers He Wont Mention” • $18.1 Trillion: Total Debt Under Obama As Of January 14, 2014. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15) • $10.6 Trillion: Total Debt When Obama Became President On January 20, 2009. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/9/15) • $7.5 Trillion: Amount Added To The National Debt Despite Obamas 2010 State Of The Union Declaration That He Would Not Leave A Mountain Of Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15; President Barack Obama, Remarks On The State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 1/27/10) • $4 Trillion: Amount Of Debt That Obama Once Called Irresponsible And Unpatriotic. (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Fargo, ND, 7/3/08) • $1.8 Trillion: Cost Of ObamaCares Coverage Provisions Through 2024. (CBO, 4/14/14) • $1.3 Trillion: Total Student Debt Held By Americans. (Federal Reserve Board Of Governors, Accessed 1/14/15) • $869.3 Billion: Total Taxes In ObamaCare. (JCT, 6/15/12; CBO, 4/14/14) • $95 Billion: Cost Of New Regulations Added Since Obama Became President. (American Action Forum, 1/6/15) • $60 Billion: Cost Of Obamas Community College Tuition Plan Over Ten Years. ( The Associated Press , 1/9/15) • $3.4 Billion: Average Amount Of Debt Added Daily Since Obama Became President. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15) • $3.4 Billion: How Much The Construction Of The Keystone Pipeline Would Contribute To GDP According To A State Department Review. (United States Department Of State, 1/14) • 46.5 Million: Average Number Of Americans Receiving Food Stamps In FY 2014. (Department Of Agriculture, Accessed 1/14/15) • 13 Million: Average Number Of Americans Who Have Joined The Food Stamp Program Since FY 2009. (Department Of Agriculture, Accessed 1/14/15) • 7 Million: Number Of Americans Who Will No Longer Have Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Due To ObamaCare. (Congressional Budget Office, 4/14/14) • 5.5 Million: Americans Who Have Fallen Into Poverty Since Obama Became President. (U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 1/14/15) • 2.3 Million: Americans Who Are Only Marginally Attached To The Labor Force. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • 401,000: Construction Jobs Lost Since Obama Became President. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • 321,000: Manufacturing Jobs Lost Since Obama Became President. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • 273,000: Number Of People Who Left The Labor Force Between November And December Of 2014. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • $56,492: Current Debt Per Capita Under Obama. (U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 1/14/15; U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15) • 42,100: Number Of Jobs The Construction Of The Keystone Pipeline Would Support Over Two Years According To A State Department Review. (United States Department Of State, 1/14) • $21,724: Increase In Debt Per Capita For Americans Since Obama Took Office. (U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 1/14/15; U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 1/14/15) • $4,154: Increase In Family Health Care Premiums Under Obama. (The • Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/10/14) • $2,484: Decline In Median Household Income Since Obama Became President. (U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 1/14/15) • 1978: The Last Time The Labor Force Participation Rate Was At Its Current level. (BLS, 1/24/14) • 677: Individuals Who Have Been Through Obamas Revolving Door. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 1/12/15) • 215: Rounds Of Golf Obama Has Played Since He Has Taken Office. (Mark Knoller, Twitter Feed, 12/31/14; Mark Knoller, Twitter Feed, 1/4/15) • 174: Number Of Days Obama Has Spent All Or Part On Vacation. (CBS News, 12/22/14; Mark Knoller, Twitter Feed, 1/4/15) • 100%: Total Debt As A Percentage Of GDP Under Obama. (OMB, Accessed 1/14/15) • 65.7%: Labor Force Participation Rate When Obama Became President. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • 62.7%: Labor Force Participation Rate In December. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/14/15) • 65: Number Of Fundraisers Obama Attended In 2014. (Mark Knoller, Twitter Feed, 12/2/14) • 32.8: Average Number Of Weeks Someone Will Be Unemployed. (BLS, 1/14/15) • 14.5%: Poverty Rate In 2013. (U.S. Census, Accessed 1/23/14) • 13.2%: Poverty Rate Before Obama Became President. (U.S. Census, Accessed 1/23/14) • 6: Veto Threats Issued By Obama In The New Year. (The White House Website, Accessed 1/19/15; ABC News, 1/16/15) • 0: Attempts To Actually Work With Congress Conclusion: FAIL! Lesson over, youre welcome!
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 16:37:35 +0000
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