Quote:
Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson
His actions have brought 25 months of steady private sector job growth.
|
What actions? Wouldn't "private sector job growth" be the result of the private sector?
Quote:
|
His actions saved some homeowners.
|
What actions? The housing bubble was created by Clinton-era policies forcing banks to make risky loans. It was kept alive and promoted by Democrats during the Bush years. Many people lost their homes primarily because of the types of liberal social policies that President Obama supports. There wouldn't have to be homes to save if the Democrats would have let the market determine itself instead of playing socialist games with it.
Quote:
|
His actions saved a major automobile manufacturing company.
|
The bailout money saved GMC. Yet Ford refused the bailout money, inspired themselves to make it work, and now they are cranking out some of the best autos in the market. GMC may have been saved but they have a long way to go to ranking with Toyotas, Hondas and Mercedes like Ford is doing---without govt money. My prediction is that GMC will be in trouble again in time. It may be 10 years, it may be 20 years, but bailouts only seem to reinforce the notion that there are no consequences to poor management, unreasonable unions and bad products. The big dogs get their bonuses, the union bosses get their fat salaries, and the assembly line worker gets his $75 an hour and top of the line benefits package, while sales continue to slump isn't sustainable anymore.
Quote:
|
His actions saved countless jobs.
|
How do you quantify that? It's the "it would've been worse" campaign slogan. What is a job saved? How can we measure a saved job? I don't know. You dont know. No one does because the only way to prove a job would have been saved would be to create a second reality in a parallel universe without an auto bailout or a stimulus and after four years compare the number of jobs in this splinter universe with our existing universe. It is incredulous for Obama to try to take credit for something that isn't verifiable, but based only on wishful thinking.
Quote:
|
His actions have deported more illegal immigrants than any other President.
|
That's great to hear, yet there are no actions taken to secure the border or address the massive numbers of illegals here. I admit both parties are guilty of dragging their feet on this one and I don't fault Obama solely for the problem of illegal immigration. Yet, I don't know how you can say that his immigration policies are a good reason to vote for the guy. As far as weighing his administration in toto, I think the the administration taking Arizona to court for passing a law enabling law enforcement officers to check for legal immigration status is a gross abuse of it's authority. Think about it: the Attorney General is suing Arizona for enforcing the very federal laws the administration is sworn to uphold and defend!
Quote:
|
His actions have seen the arrests and annhilation of many high-level terrorists, around the world.
|
I will grant him praise for this with one caveat: some critics are saying that annihilating high level targets with drones or special ops eliminates the possibilities of extracting much needed information from these leaders. It's indisputable with the info we have now from people who were involved in the enhanced interrogations that the information acquired through enhanced interrogations gave usnthe leads we needed to take out several of these high profile terrorist leaders including Bin Laden. Obama has stopped the program and with it, possibly vital info that could prevent other terrorist actions. And then the whole debacle of trying prosecute KSM on American soil in American courts. It backfired and no one wanted the trial to happen in their backyard. Obama and Holder had to backtrack on that, going with military tribunals just as the Bush admin promoted from the beginning. And he had to backtrack on closing Gitmo. Now these backtracks weren't because there was a sudden revelation and change of heart, it was for pure politics, just as the promises to try them in our courts, providing habeas corpus to them and closing Gitmo were political ploys to strengthen his base. It suddenly became politically inconvenient to try to make good on those promises.
Quote:
|
His actions have helped to keep America safe.
|
Well the growing danger is our economic vulnerability. And BO does nothing to give us hope that the mounting debt is ever going to be addressed. He never talks about it. His most recent budget proposal grew the debt even further and didn't contain a plan to reduce it any time soon. And JD this is because he fundamentally believes that added spending can turn this country around. It's preposterous. It's a formula that has worked to an extent at certain times in history, but never to this level. There is limit to how much you can borrow and spend and we are nearing the limit with no plan in sight to change things. It's going to take substantial cuts and those cuts will have to be with Social Security and Medicare and other entitlements that eat up well over 60% of the budget and will increasingly become more and more a percentage of the total.
Quote:
His actions have encouraged more private companies to put more Veterans to work than ever before.
His actions have helped so many returning combat Veterans and their families.
His actions secured our military presence in Afghanistan until 2014, but our influence in the area for years to come.
His actions may help someone to get the health care they need that they may not have been able to afford on their own.
|
In the end these issues may or may not be true or accurate. The truth is the economy has to be addressed, top to bottom, specifically in relationship to this growing, always hungry, never satisfied beast called the US Federal Government that shows no signs of healing itself. It's a cancer that is going to destroy the prosperity and peace this nation has enjoyed for so long.
You downplay the gloomy predictions and act is if these things are inconsequential or somehow some way we'll figure it out, or someone will fix things. But the truth is there have been celebrated, civilized, educated, prosperous societies throughout history that grew complacent and indifferent about the gathering storms, signs that trouble was coming, and ignored them to their peril.
It may take 10 years, it may take 50 years, but if nothing is fundamentally done to change the course the nation is on economically, we are destined for a disaster like we've never seen. And that goes for the GOP too should they gain the reins of power. During the Bush years they spent money like there was an empty supply of money and I criticized them for it, wrote letters to them about it and withheld financial support because of it.
There has to be a fundamental shift, and I do not see Obama coming even close to the idea that Keynesian economics is a classroom fantasy. It does not work. Europe is proof positive it doesnt work. The length of the Great Depression is proof. The failure of the socialist experiment in the former Soviet Union is proof. The fact that communist China saw the handwriting on the wall and has embraced capitalism more and more bringing prosperity and economic success to it's shores is proof.
So to say Obama has nothing to run on is hyperbole, yes, but when it comes to THE ISSUE of this election and maybe our lifetimes, to me it's obvious that he has been weighed in the balances and is found wanting.
Quote:
You know, for all this talk about the President not doing anything, he sure has done a lot!
If you want to talk economy, talk the whole picture. It's NOT all doom and gloom and most people know that. Slow, steady growth is a sign of stability. 24 months from now, our economy will much more vibrant, stable and strong.
|
He promised it would be more vibrant, stable and strong back in 2009 when he took office. He said unemployment would be lower, he said GDP would be stronger, he promised a lot of things he failed to deliver on. He said if he didn't deliver he should be a one term president. Most of the metrics point to a sluggish economy at best. He may say, "it could've been worse". We say, "it shouldve been better". And it will be when he is sent home packing to Chicago in November.
Linear Mode
