The Obama Track Record: Promises Vs Results
Unemployment Rate
The purpose of the original chart (all the blue parts) and the report it came from was to help sell the “stimulus” package, or “recovery plan,” by planting in the public mind the perception that experts had done the math and knew how the government could “save or create 3.5 million jobs,” by borrowing and spending nearly $800 Billion. In a televised address President Obama claimed:
“The report confirms that our plan will likely save or create three to four million jobs. 90 percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector – the remaining 10 percent are mainly public sector jobs we save, like the teachers, police officers, firefighters and others who provide vital services in our communities.”
The chart and the light and dark blue lines were copied directly from the report. Everything in red was added by Liberty Works.
Our red bar showing the actual unemployment rate overlays the chart’s lines that track the predictions of the Obama economic team. The actual rate, 8.9% is a full point higher than the President and his team promised it would be, even though Congress did enact the stimulus/recovery just three weeks after inauguration. In fact, it’s even higher than the economic team predicted it would be if no stimulus were enacted.
The difference between promises and and actual results equals an additional 1.5 million jobless men and women.
For a century so-called “progressives” have promoted expansion and consolidation of power, authority and wealth in the central government in Washington. Centralized power that overwhelms state and local government, and individual liberty, is a violation of both the spirit and the plain language of the U.S. Constitution. Yet The People have elected and reelected politicians who have made federal powers and budgets so vast and opaque they are beyond comprehension or management.
Each new generation of voters has been deceived by politicians who promised that more of their earnings paid in taxes to fund more federal power would provide greater prosperity than they could earn for themselves, working and interacting in a market economy.
- control, restrict and ration medical services,
- artificially increase the cost and decrease the supply of energy,
- partially nationalize the financial sector and domestic auto companies
- coerce millions into involuntary union membership, and
- federalize K-12 education.
Individual liberty and free markets, the foundations of our prosperity and success as a nation, are at risk.
The President claims his government take-over of health care will “save each family $2,500,” and save the government Trillions, even as it expands to cover 150 million Americans whose medical services are now paid through private insurance.
He claims, in the same self-assured tones, that massive new government intervention to increase the cost, and reduce the supply of energy will create “green jobs,” either 4 million, 5 million, depending on which of his speeches you believe. Of course he doesn’t mention the millions of jobs that will be lost because of escalating energy prices.
If we the people permit Congress to pass the Obama agenda, we will, once again, learn the hard way, as we have with the stimulus/recovery plan, that politically inspired economic projections don’t come true, but the negative consequences of bureaucratic supervision and lost liberty always emerge, after it’s too late to stop the federal power grab.
This is just the beginning. There’s no way to stop these maniacs. Their doing ten things at once every day to keep conservatives off balance. And its working for them.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. In a year you wont believe what has happened to America.
The stimulus is already saving jobs and will save a lot more. This is the Bush depression, and these job losses are the result of Bush’s policies.
Obama’s health care proposal is not to take over everything. He will insure the uninsured. that’s all. its about time we got those 50 million people insured. they cost more every time they go to the ER.
Data do not lie. The stimulus is not working. Of course, no responsible person really thought it could work in the short run. The funds could not get deployed fast enough. Here is a prediction: the actual effects of the stimulus will be felt mostly in the second half of this year, giving a false sense. But then, just like Japan experienced in their 90′s recession, the effect will fade. I’ll bet we have 8% unemployment in 2010.
And here is another thing to ponder. Obama’s own budget shows that upon return to 5% unemployment, the deficit will be 50% higher than prior to his administration. These are Obama’s own numbers.
Since unemployment has almost no chance to return to 5% in the time frame they predict, we will witness the greatest deficit increase of all time.
I don’t think it’s going to work ever. Obama is drowning us in debt. all that money could have started new businesses all over the country to hire millions of people. instead it all goes to states and cities where Democrats are in charge.
I’ll bet Chicago gets a truck load of money. they’ll have to unload it with a forklift. I live in Chicago and so Im supposed to be thankful to “the ONE”. But I’m nauseated
The chart and the whole premise is stupid. The recession is a lot worse than they realized so there are more layoffs than they expected. Republicans screamed and accused obama of trying to talk down the economy. Now you try to smear him for being optimistic in a report that turned out to be a little off on projections.
As President Obama said, Bush left “a mess”. it will take time to recover, but Obama has us on the right track. Look at the polls. Americans are more and more positive about the future.
Republicans are a washed up party.
To the Obama-files. By their own account, the stimulus money hasn’t even hit the economy yet. Maybe 5% has.
You guys need to stop deciding whether to spit or swallow, and get back to economic reality.
The real questions are 1) whether the stimulus will hit at precisely the wrong time, and be inflationary, and 2) will they last.
But that requires economic analysis, not, shall we say, uh, er, just “vocal talents.”
To all the “hope & change” constituents:
It won’t work. Look at it this way, if all we had to do, to create a robust economy, was simply to print money, we’d all be living on Easy Street, never having to work again. But we can’t, because printing money creates no value, no wealth.
Keep your political views and your finances separate. There will be inflation, and it will be much worse than the 1970′s. Prepare.
Housing prices are still collapsing, 1 in 8 homeowners are behind on their mortgage, business continues to slow across the board, and many more layoffs are coming … things are going to get significantly worse.
The blame game is over. The entire debacle is the fault of the 545 in Washington and the Federal Reserve. George Bush started this, and Obama put it on steroids. America is in for a very rude awakening.