Last week, the Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a “tepid” 1.5 percent in the last quarter – “the slowest pace in a year” and the most “sluggish” the economy has been this long into a so-called “recovery” - but that “didn’t seem to get the White House down,”  CNN reports.  Proving once again how astonishingly oblivious the White House is to the failure of its economic policies, President Obama used his weekly address to reiterate his call for a small business tax hike that will put 700,000 jobs at risk at a time when, by almost any measure, the economy is sputtering.  The president must really believe the private-sector is “doing fine” if he insists on pursuing tax hikes that he once said will result in “smaller paychecks” and “fewer jobs.”  Here’s a look at what President Obama once said about the economically damaging effects of a small business tax hike - at a time when economic growth was actually stronger than it is today:

• President Obama Said Preventing Tax Hikes Was Necessary to “Strengthen Our Entire Economy.” “All told, this will not only directly help families and businesses. By putting more money in people’s pockets, and helping companies grow, we’re going to see people being able to spend a little more, we’re going to spur hiring - we’re going to strengthen our entire economy.” (Weekly Address, 12/11/10)
• President Obama: Higher Taxes “Will Have the Effect of Fewer Jobs.” “US President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Congress to pass the tax deal he brokered with Republican foes, saying rejecting the compromise would hurt the economy and cost US jobs. … ‘[I]f this framework fails, the reverse is true. Americans will see it in smaller paychecks that will have the effect of fewer jobs,’ he said.” (AFP, 12/9/10)
• President Obama Said That Preventing Tax Hikes Was “An Essential Ingredient in Spurring Economic Growth.” “I urge members of Congress to pass these tax cuts as swiftly as possible. Getting that done is an essential ingredient in spurring economic growth over the short run.” (Remarks, 12/15/10)
• President Obama Said Stopping the Tax Hike Was the “Right Thing to Do for Our Economy.” “As for now, I believe this bipartisan plan is the right thing to do.  It’s the right thing to do for jobs.  It’s the right thing to do for the middle class.  It is the right thing to do for business.  And it’s the right thing to do for our economy.” (Remarks, 12/6/10)

President Obama once agreed with Republicans and economists that “the last thing you want to do is to raise taxes in the middle of a recession.” Unfortunately for the more than 12 million unemployed Americans, President Obama has since lost sight of that sound economic logic and continues pursuing a tax hike his own jobs council – which he has not met with in six months – opposes. Republicans, on the other hand, are listening to small business job creators and will vote this week to stop the tax hike and fix the tax code to help bring home some of the jobs that have gone overseas.  As Speaker Boehner said, if Democrats vote instead to raise taxes on the small business men and women we are depending on to create jobs, “the American people will hold them accountable.”

Learn more about Republicans’ plan to stop the tax hike and create a better environment for private-sector growth at jobs.gop.gov and join the conversation about stopping the small business tax hike on Twitter using the hashtag #stopthetaxhike.