On Tuesday night’s broadcast of the CBS Evening News, anchor Scott Pelley opened with sobering words:
“This is the worst economic recovery America has ever had. We’ve been looking for hopeful signs, but today the chairman of the Federal Reserve threw a cold splash of reality on those hopes.”
Now someone needs to give President Obama “a cold splash of reality.” With each passing day, he and his team further reveal their fundamental misunderstanding of the economy.
Obama sees everything backward. Where Americans see individual achievement, he sees government’s work. Where we see failing companies, he sees innovation worth subsidizing. Where we see the need for economic growth, he sees a need for higher taxes. No wonder 64 percent of Americans say we’re headed in the wrong direction.
Here are just six examples of President Obama and his campaign exposing their distorted view on economics and job creation.
1. “You didn’t build that!”Speaking at a recent fundraiser, President Obama declared, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” By “somebody else,” of course, he meant government. For the president, government is the source of all good. Entrepreneurship is apparently some old economic fiction.
This comment is more than just appalling. It’s insulting to every American small business owner and every entrepreneur who took a risk, started an enterprise, and put people to work.
How can we expect President Obama to encourage much-need entrepreneurship if he doesn’t even respect entrepreneurs? How do you promote individual achievement with a president who doesn’t believe in individualism?
2. 6 months. 106 fundraisers. 10 golf trips. 0 jobs council meetings.
As of Wednesday, six months have passed since the last public meeting of President Obama’s jobs council. When asked about this, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney replied, “The president has obviously got a lot on his plate.”
So, President Obama has time for 106 campaign fundraisers in six months, but he does not have time for a single jobs council meeting. He says jobs are his “number one” priority, but he really means Number One’s job is his priority.
3. Calling bankruptcy “successful and innovative”
Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith told the Detroit News this week that Solyndra was a “successful and innovative” company. Yes, Team Obama says the company that went bankrupt and laid off 1,800 workers was “successful.” The company that received over half a billion dollars from taxpayers and will likely never pay us back was “innovative.”
Since taking office, President Obama has delivered neither success nor innovation. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t even know what those words mean.
4. Creating jobs in Finland
Like Solyndra, Fisker Automotive received $500 million in stimulus-backed loans from the Obama administration, promising to create jobs for American workers. Its Delaware plant now sits shuttered. Unlike Solyndra, however, Fisker did not go bankrupt. It’s still making cars—in Finland.
We need jobs in America. Obama’s supporting jobs overseas.
5. Pushing job-killing tax increases
After the latest dismal jobs report, President Obama’s first policy proposal was…higher taxes.
A just-released study from the accounting firm Ernst and Young reports that these tax increases could cost us over 700,000 jobs.
In other words, the monthly jobs report said we desperately need jobs, and Obama decided to destroy 700,000 jobs.
6. “The private sector is doing fine.”
Before “you didn’t build that” came “the private sector is doing fine.” President Obama’s denigration of the private sector and free enterprise is now a chronic condition. Which helps to explain why unemployment has been chronically high—over 8 percent for 41 straight months.
President Obama sees everything backward. Our economy is upside down. Clearly, it’s time for a new direction.
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