"I'd Vote for Obama No Matter What"

I am normally an optimist. I try to infuse positive thinking into these pages, and not to be the purveyor of doom and gloom. There are enough of those folks out there in politics and the "blogosphere" without adding fuel to a raging bonfire.

But, no kidding, I heard a voter in New York interviewed on the street last week, and that's exactly what she said. For every intelligent person out there, I wonder if there isn't someone else who totally cancels out their vote. Very disheartening. Why? Because there are some cold hard facts associated with this president that are just difficult to ignore, even if you aren't the brightest bulb in the closet.

Joseph Curl

This article appeared yesterday in the Washington Times. This is Joseph Curl's list. I heard about it on the radio earlier today, and looked it up when I returned home tonight. I read this, and then I asked myself, "Who are those people out there who would actually cast a vote for Obama, no matter what?" They are likely the people who would kill the messenger, rather than question Obama's message.

I know the state of the Union is currently "dismal," as Curl suggests in today's article, and I know it's complicated, and I get really tired of people who blame the president for everything that's wrong under the sun; but seriously folks, what president in his right mind would proudly boast of this record and ask Americans for a second four-year term? This president has NOT submitted a budget to Congress, nor has Congress passed a budget for over 1,000 days now. Such dereliction of duty would have once been considered an impeachable offense. For heaven's sake, Congress impeached Bill Clinton for a semen-stained blue dress!!

It used to be "the economy, stupid," and it's what unseated the first Bush presidency and put Clinton in the White House. Now I wonder if even that stratagem resonates anymore with people. Here's the deal - the entitlement nanny state is where we now reside.

Capitalism and free markets are virtually dead. The government has been enthroned as the solution to everything, it seems. And there are people out there who actually believe our socialist economy is more fair, provides a more level playing field, and that redistribution of income from the wealthy to the poor is desirable. They will tell interviewers it solves all our ills, which are routinely touted as the "nasty side-effects" of capitalism. So when Obama says he's going to "win the future" for all Americans in this campaign cycle, beware of how he applies words. What he means and what you think and hope he means are two very different ideas.

But I digress. Here's the record, and some would say Obama has been more successful in accomplishing his agenda than any other U.S. president in history. The real question remains - is that what we all wanted? If it is, vote for the man again. If you believe as I do the country is in need of a swift surgical correction in direction, then vote for someone else.

When Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) exited the presidential sweepstakes last week, he asked rhetorically, "Are you better off today than you were $4 Trillion ago?" I hope his question resonates, but I fear nobody really understands it. Some will say national debt and deficits really don't matter, while military leaders will tell you our staggering national debt is the biggest security threat we face today.

And notice, please, I make no mention here of the largest entitlement program in the history of the world, Obamacare, since the way it's being paid for resides in the borrowed public debt listed below:

• The unemployment rate when Mr. Obama was elected was 6.8 percent; today it is 8.5 percent — at least that’s the official number. In reality, the Financial Times writes, “if the same number of people were seeking work today as in 2007, the jobless rate would be 11 percent.”

• There are now fewer payroll jobs in America than there were in 2000 — 12 years ago — and now, 40 percent of those jobs are considered “low paying,” up 10 percent from when President Reagan took office. The number of self-employed has dropped 2 million to 14.5 million in just six years.

• Regular gasoline per gallon cost $1.68 in January 2009. Today, it’s $3.39 — that’s a 102 percent increase in just three years. (By the way, if you’re keeping score at home, gas was $1.40 a gallon when George W. Bush took office in 2001, $1.68 when he left office — a 20 percent increase.)

• Electricity bills have also skyrocketed, with households now paying a record $1,420 annually on average, up some $300.

• Some 48 percent of all Americans — 146.4 million — are considered by the Census Bureau either as “low-income” or living in poverty, up 4 million from when Mr. Obama took office; 57 percent of all children in America now live in such homes.

• Since December 2008, a month before Mr. Obama took office, food-stamp use has increased 46 percent. Total spending has more than doubled in just four years to a record high of $75 billion. In 2011, more than 46 million people — about one in seven Americans — got food stamps. That’s 14 million more than when Mr. Obama took office.

• Median household income has dropped nearly 7 percent in the last six years, taking inflation into account. What’s more, nearly 20 percent of males age 25 to 34 now live with their parents.

• Low- and middle-income Americans 65 and older now hold more than $10,000 in credit card debt, up 26 percent since 2005. 

• The average age of the American car is 10 years; in 1990, it was 6.5 years old (by the way, in 1985, Americans bought 11 million cars; in 2009, less than half that, 5.4 million).

• On the macro side, America’s annual budget has jumped to $3.8 trillion — and yet the United States brings in only about $2.1 trillion in revenue. 

• The U.S. trade deficit for 2011 was $558 billion. 

• America’s total public debt stands at $15.23 trillion. 

• In January 2009, the debt was $10.62 trillion. Mr. Obama is on pace to borrow $6.2 trillion in just one term — more debt than was amassed by all presidents from Washington through Bill Clinton combined. The debt is rising by $4.2 billion every day — $175 million per hour, nearly $3 million per minute. (See the attached debt clock at the top of this page). 

That's an abysmal record. We'll see, beginning with tonight's debate in Tampa, and forward to the election in the fall, who can best draw the distinctions between socialism and capitalism. Whoever that ends up being will have my vote.

How Miserable Are You?

"So I says to Barack, 'I knew Abe Lincoln, and you ain't no Abe Lincoln'"

It was Abraham Lincoln who once observed, "People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be." In other words, happiness is a choice. Do you believe it?

During the Reagan-Carter campaign of 1979, somebody came up with something called the "misery index." It's the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates, two nasty statistics when totaled together equate to economic misery. You'll be relieved to know the Obama administration's misery index hasn't reached the highs hit by Jimmy Carter's.

It's hard to believe but I still remember, so I looked it up today to be sure. Carter's yearly average of 20.8 was reached by 1980 and was the all-time modern high. Obama's administration hit a monthly rate of 12.8 in June of this year. Just so you can compare and remember the "good old days," the average misery index over George W. Bush's two terms was only 8.1, and Bill Clinton's administration was even lower at 7.8.

In one of their debates toward the end of the campaign Reagan quipped, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" He closed the deal with the American people, who decided they weren't and handed Reagan the presidency, making Jimmy Carter the poster child for one-term failure.

There are many today who are comparing the Obama administration to the Carter administration and coming up with the obvious similarities. Many of us hope the crowning likeness will be the one-term comparison.

However, nobody in America wins when the president is weak. I had at least hoped for the best a few months after Obama took office, but his steadfast adherence to his flawed Keynesian economic model is killing us. The lurch to the left went beyond traditional Democratic tax and spend philosophy. It went right off the charts into Democratic Socialism. His stimulus spending to the tune of $825 Billion did nothing. You can ignore all the rhetoric about "creating jobs" or "saving jobs." When the August number came in there were zero jobs created, and that hasn't happened in America in a very long time.

Add to it something called the "Public-Private Investment Partnership," nothing more than Obama's version of Bush's TARP, and all that happened was more toxic assets were transferred to the government, which of course translates into the taxpayers - YOU!

Remember how successful "Cash for Clunkers" was? Remember nationalizing the automotive industry to rescue it from bankruptcy? Somebody at Ford should be crowned King of Captialism for refusing the government handout when GM and Chrysler are still owned principally by the taxpayers.

Remember Obamacare? I have hated the idea since it was first introduced, largely because of the staggering costs involved. It reformed little and the cost was extraordinary in a time when America could afford it least. We won't know what its full effect will be until (and if) it takes root. I'm betting the SCOTUS will strike it down as unconstitutional because of the individual mandate. Whatever that eventual outcome, the short-term effect has been businesses by the droves are getting out of the business of providing private healthcare coverage for their employees. If you've loved Medicare and Medicaid, then you're just going to love government-sponsored health insurance exchanges.

Remember the national debt clock? It's still ticking at a more rapid pace now than ever before in our history. It has now exceeded $14 Trillion and will hit $15 Trillion by the end of September (yes, this month). When it happens, don't expect a flurry of headlines, because the story will be tucked away somewhere on page 10 below the fold. It will be the first time since World War II that the debt will exceed the GDP.

Remember the first downgrade on our debt in our history from "AAA" to "AA?" Unless Congress takes substantive steps to change course this fall in the supercommittee, the credit markets will continue to react negatively.

Remember "tax the rich?" He's still thumping that theme as recently as yesterday in his stump speech. I was heartened yesterday to hear a report that thirty-six senators from both parties are now calling upon the super committee to enact sweeping tax reform as part of their work product. Knock on wood. With an approval rating of 12%, Congress had better do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to demonstrate their willingness to do the bidding of the American people who employ them. The polling data is suggesting there are very few who are inclined to send the same members of Congress back in 2012 unless they prove worthy of their hire.

We're running up debt for the next generations of Americans that will prove to be impossible to repay unless the growth engine in our economy is jump-started and begins to hum again.

There are those who say it isn't fair to hold Obama or any POTUS to the same standard as private business measurements for success. Honestly, why not? If he were CEO of America, Inc., no board of directors worth its salt would retain him given his record. Here's a stunner for comparison: This "recovery" has been underway for two and half years and employment has actually dropped by a full percentage point. The only other president in American history to have witnessed negative job growth for a comparable period is Herbert Hoover. I'm certain when Barack Obama took office he wanted to be considered an historic president, but I doubt this is what he had in mind. Nor did any of us.

Despite the clear record, he continues to blame George W. Bush for the mess we're in. I have stated repeatedly it is more complicated than blaming your successsor. Presidents, let me say it once again, DO NOT create jobs. Their policies, however, provide either an environment for job growth or an environment that stifles job growth. So what does this failing president flail away at? The same failed European economic model that won't work, and he keeps doubling down on his bets.

Obama might do well to take a page out of Bill Clinton's playbook. Clinton lost control of both houses of Congress in 1994. But Clinton the pragmatist, wanting to be re-elected, decided a 180-degree turn was in order. He put Al Gore in charge of downsizing the federal government and he worked with Republicans in Congress. Together they passed the North American Free Trade Act, they reformed a badly broken welfare system, and (listen for the drum roll) they enacted and achieved a balanced budget!!!

It's been done before. When correct principles are applied they work.

Barack Obama is no Bill Clinton, and he's certainly proven he's no Abe Lincoln, but he needs to pick a new path and try something dramatically different than giving another speech before a joint session of Congress about all the jobs he's going to create with government debt and deficit spending.

I just hope it's not too late before he becomes another Jimmy Carter.

On the other hand, there are only thirteen and a half months left until the next election. Maybe we'll all just have to be patient.

Until then, I choose happiness instead of misery.

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Are you still wondering about the impact of debt in America? This is the official scoreboard:

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time