In one of the most blatant lies in political history, Obama is basing his re-election bid on his supposed support of middle income Americans. We need to counter this falsehood with facts.
Thanks to Obama’s policies, the sharp decline of the middle class over the past three years has devastated our nation, and absent a significant change in course, the trend seems destined to continue.
The statistics are deeply troubling. Numerous analyses by both independent sources and government agencies alike outline the dilemma:
· There has been a 26% decline in the net worth of the middle fifth of American households over the past two years.
· Real median household income plunged 2.3% in 2010 from the year before.
· The Official unemployment rate during the past three years has skyrocketed to 9% or over, and there is little prospect of that number being reduced anytime soon. That number doesn’t even count “discouraged” workers who have exhausted unemployment benefits or have given up trying to find jobs; that brings the actual unemployment rate to about 16.2%. Further add to that statistic those who have been forced to work only at part time jobs or for salaries representing a fraction of their former income, and you reach Great Depression levels. Job seekers now outnumber job openings five to one, the greatest number in the post war era. The number of Americans out of work for more than six months has escalated by more than 3.5 million in the past two years.
Washington has virtually ignored these numbers, and can point to almost no action designed to increase middle income private sector employment. In fact, even these tragic numbers are masked by the continued strength of public sector employment. On both the federal and state level, the highly influential public sector unions successfully deploy their influence to protect their interests. The problem is, absent a strong private jobs market, governments have run out of tax income to pay for public workers and other programs. That is a key factor in the deficit crisis we now face.
With sharply reduced income and assets, and despite a depressed economy, middle income families over the past few years must contend with increased prices, much of which is the result of Washington’s actions over the past three years.
One of the key root causes for inflation has been the cost of energy. The White House continues to promote policies that create unnecessary shortages, causing prices to ascend ever higher. The federal government has road-blocked the use of domestic assets such as those available in Alaska’s ANWAR, off our southeastern coast in the Caribbean (which is instead being exploited by China) and in numerous other instances. The President has, for reasons not clearly outlined, delayed until next year a decision on the Keystone pipeline from Canada. The net effect of all these anti-production policies has been increased energy costs, inflation all around, and further unemployment. Brazil has lately been the beneficiary of American foreign aid to increase its energy production—energy it is selling to China. Not surprisingly, at our expense, Brazil’s unemployment rate has dropped, even as ours continues at crushing levels. Americans must be reminded that, before his election, Obama stated that for his energy policies to success, "Prices necessarily must skyrocket."
One impact of the White house’s anti-production energy policies on the middle class can be seen at the grocery store. The price of food has increased by 4.7% in the past year, and another 4.5% increase is expected in the coming year. Food staples such as eggs and dairy products have risen over 10%.
Taken as a whole, Washington’s policies are driving the middle class into poverty and dependence on government programs, programs which eventually will fail due to a lack of resources.
Bluntly stated, politicians find it easy to secure the loyalty of special interest groups by providing benefits which middle income taxpayers must pay for, through taxes, inflation, and the weakening of other programs designed for and largely paid by the classic American family. Combined with a failure to encourage the growth of private sector employment, these policies will continue to devastate our nation’s middle class.
The defeat of Obama and his policies is crucial to restoring middle income Americans to prosperity.
No comments:
Post a Comment