January 24, 2012

 

 

After three years it is clear that President Obama’s failed policies have made things worse. Despite his best intentions, President Obama’s policies—including an onslaught of regulatory burdens on American businesses, the constant threat of higher taxes, and record debt—have left Americans worse off. The following is a brief synopsis of some of the record setting economic failures during the president’s first three years in office.

 

President Obama’s Promise on Jobs

 

“Now, what makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years…  It's that we’re putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done in critical areas that have been neglected for too long; work that will bring real and lasting change for generations to come.” —President Barack Obama. Remarks by the President and Vice President at Signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, February 17, 2009

 

Reality Under President Obama

 

• Nearly Two Million More Americans are Out of Work since President Obama Took Office:  Despite the president's claims about job growth, the number of net jobs the economy has shed since President Obama took office is still almost two million. 

 

• Unemployment was the Worst since the Great Depression: Three years ago, the Obama Administration said that unemployment would never reach 8 percent if the “stimulus” was approved.  Unemployment (8.5 percent in December) has now been above 8 percent for 35 consecutive months, the longest span since the Great Depression. From March 2009 (the month after the failed $1.2 trillion “stimulus” was enacted) through December 2011, unemployment has averaged 9.4 percent. 

 

• The Number of Unemployed Americans Reached an All-Time Record High: The number of unemployed eclipsed 13 million for the first time in history during President Obama’s presidency and has remained above 13 million for 34 straight months.

 

• The Average Time for an Unemployed Worker to Find a Job was the Longest in History:  The average time it takes for people to find a job was 19.8 weeks in January 2009 when President Obama took office.  The average number of weeks it takes for job seekers to find a job reached 40.9 weeks in November of 2011, the longest average time that Americans have been unemployed since the statistic was first recorded in 1948. 

 

• The Number of American Workers Fell by More than Half a Million: In February 2009, the month after President Obama was inaugurated, the number of Americans in the labor force was 154.5 million. By December 2011 the number of people in the workforce shrank by 634,000 as discouraged workers stopped looking for jobs. This drop occurred despite that fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says 150,000 workers are added to the labor force each month because of population growth.

 

President Obama’s Promise on Poverty

 

“I absolutely will make that commitment. Understand that when I make that commitment, I do so with great humility because it is a very ambitious goal. And we’re going to have to mobilize our society, not just to cut poverty, but to prevent more people from slipping into poverty.” —President Barack Obama. Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum, Grantham Pa. April 13, 2008

 

Reality Under President Obama

 

• Food Stamp Recipients Reached an All-Time Record High: In September 2011, the number of Americans receiving food stamps reached an all time record high of 46.2 million. Today, 15 percent of Americans receive food stamps, an increase of 45 percent since President Obama took office.

 

• 1 in 2 People are Now Poor or Low-Income: According to a December Census Bureau report, nearly half of all Americans are now classified as poor or low-income as a result of the Obama economy. The 97.3 million Americans who fall into the low-income category combined with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line now equal 146.4 million people or 48 percent of the U.S. population.

President Obama’s Promise on Business Growth

 

“Jobs will be our number one focus in 2010, and we’re going to start where most new jobs do—with small businesses. This proposal takes the money that was repaid by Wall Street banks to provide capital for community banks on Main Street. Together with our proposal to cut taxes for small businesses to spur hiring and increase wages, we are making the critical investments we need for our economic recovery.” —President Barack Obama, Statement from The White House, February 2, 2010.

 

Reality Under President Obama

 

• Entrepreneurship Reached a 17-Year Low: According to Bureau of Labor Statistic’s latest data, the number of new business start-ups in 2010 fell to the lowest level since the data was first recorded in 1994. Since 2007, there has been a 23% drop in new business creation.

 

• Ease of Starting a Business in the U.S. Fell from 4^th to 13^th: According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report, the U.S. now ranks 13^th in the world in the ease of starting a new business and has been steadily declining since President Obama took office. In 2011, the U.S. was No. 8. In 2009, the U.S. was ranked No. 6. It was fourth in 2008 and third in 2007. The U.S. now trails such job creators as Macedonia, Georgia, Rwanda, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Armenia and Puerto Rico in the category.

 

President Obama’s Promise on Foreclosures

 

“A second thing we're going to do under this plan is we will create new incentives so that lenders work with borrowers to modify the terms of sub-prime loans at risk of default and foreclosure.” —President Barack Obama. Remarks by the President on the mortgage crisis, February 18, 2009

Reality Under President Obama

 

• Foreclosures Reached an All-Time Record High: The October 2011 Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc. shows foreclosure inventories are on the rise, reaching an all-time high at the end of October 2011 of 4.29 percent of all active mortgages.

President Obama’s Promise on Gas Prices

 

“We'll also take steps to reduce the price of oil and increase transparency in how prices are set so we can ensure that energy companies aren't bending the rules.” —President Barack Obama. Remarks in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 25, 2008

Reality Under President Obama

 

• Gas Prices have Increased by 82 Percent Since Obama took Office:  According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average price of a gallon of gas has increased by 82 percent in the three years since Obama took office. When President Obama was inaugurated, a gallon of gas cost $1.832. The average cost of gas is now $3.342.