According to David Axelrod and White House press secretary Jay Carney, the controversy about President Obama’s comment on Friday that “the private sector is doing fine” is a manufactured one. Obama’s comments were taken out of context, his top aides insist.
Nice try, but here’s what the president said in context:
The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government—oftentimes, cuts initiated by governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in. And so, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is, how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry.
What the president is arguing, then, isn’t simply that the private sector is doing fine; he’s also making the case that the federal government right now is not spending enough, that it’s too frugal, that our trillion-dollar-a-year-deficit is evidence of parsimony, and that creating post-World War II records in federal spending as a percentage of GDP, the federal debt as a percentage of GDP, and the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP hasn’t quite satisfied his spending ambitions. By his own logic, President Obama believes the path to prosperity is for the federal government to spend more, and more, and more – and that the GOP, if it was a responsible political party, would help him do just that.
It looks like we’re going to get that clash of visions the president has been longing for.
What Obama did on Friday was to lay out, in 136 words, what his economic theory is and what he would like his second term to look like. What happened at the Obama press conference, as Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post points out, wasn’t a gaffe; it was a window into the philosophy that animates the president. He’s committed to doubling down on a policy that has been an utter failure. That is what will eventually prove most damaging to the president – and it explains why his aides are peddling the ludicrous line that Obama’s comments were taken out of context. In fact, it’s the context that is the killer.
Two words for Obama: Torricelli and Libbage (LBJ). What Obama needs to do is see that he will surely lose and take down his entire party, and therefore, he must declare his non-candidacy for re-election ("I need to work night and day for the American people, not my re-election"), ride off into the sunset of million dollar speaking fees as a "winner" and let Hillary try to pull it out. Ideal timing for this: July 4.
Not taken out of context, this column is utter BS. Obama said no such thing in any context about increasing government spending. He merely factually pointed out that the severe cutbacks in the public sector, under Republican demands, have been causing layoffs of firemen and teachers and significantly contributing to the unemployment problem. This is just an undeniable fact. Here's another one. Public sector employees laid off in mass impacts the private sector, because you have less spending from these individuals, not to mention contributing to the foreclosure problems, lack of new home construction, etc. etc. Then we get more of the Republican talking point in the column that Obama's policies "have been a failure." Yes, they prevented a recession growing even worse into a massive recession and the fact checkers agree have created and saved millions of jobs. It is the Republicans that want to double down on Bush era policies that have demonstrably failed.
Actually the facts are that since Obama took office there has been a net increase in the number of federal employees. So he is wrong on that fact first of all. The second point is that the column quotes Obama's own words. Argue with Obama if you don't agree with the column, becasue it is fact.
Wisconsin has an unemployment rate of 6.5%…r nScott Walker has not gone on a hiring binge…r nWhy is their unemployment rate so low and while a reduction in government spending has occurred?r nSorta debunks your weak and moronic argumnet…
If you have no private sector you have no government money to spend. n nDon't know where anyone thinks the money to payment government workers come from, but it aint the money fairy. n nSo let's do this and I will type slowly for those math challenged. n n nA municipality is looking at a situation where they have no more money but have 100 people that need jobs. If they hire those people to government jobs, they have to raise taxes to pay for those people, and that breaks their budget and forces them into bankruptcy, all employees are fired and the municipality is reorganized under bankruptcy laws. n nIf those hundred people are hired in the private sector, they will now be paying taxes, increasing the revenue to the municipality and with more funds the municipality might be able to do more, or maybe like N. Dakota return some of the taxes to the people. n n nWALKER WON IN WISCONSIN nnow that is hope and change nN.DAKOTA LOOKING TO ELIMINATE PROPERTY TAX nseems oil business does create economic growth and prosperity n nso what part of this doesn't obozo and his minions understand. n n
"Severe cutbacks" What the H^%$# are you talking about. We're running a $1.3 TRILLION dollar deficit – where do you think that money goes to? n nFY2008 – $2.524 Trillion – (2008 Deficit – $458 billion) – First Year of Congressional Democrat's "Budget" nFY2009 – $2.105 Trllion – (2009 Deficit – $1.412 Trillion) – Obama's First Year (He was Senator before) nFY2010 – $2.162 Trillion – (2010 Deficit – $1.294 Trillion) nFY2011 – $2.302 Trillion – (2011 Deficit – $1.299 Trillion) n n nYou call $3.6 TRILLION dollar spending a "CUT", what planet are you living on.
Yes, the conservative bias in this article is exactly what prevents us from making real progress in this country. What the President said was absolutely true. The public-sector shed over 197,000 state and local jobs in the last few months alone due to the tax and expenditure cuts forced by congressional Republicans. But the private sector added over 780,000 jobs in the same few months.There has been steady private sector job growth in the last 27 months which has totaled over 4 million private sector jobs. Since Obama was elected, the public sector has shed 600,000 jobs. If you added those jobs back, the unemployment rate would be below 8 percent. Those are simply the facts. n nWhile I'm at it: As far as the conservative media bias that Obama is biggest spender the White House has seen, keep saying it: it still won't make it true. The $5.07 trillion the Bush Administration spent through F.Y. 2002-2009 on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (1.469 trillion), the Bush tax cuts (1.812 trillion; and yes, being lost revenue, a tax cut has the same effect as spending), non-defense discretionary spending (608 billion), TARP and HERA (224 billion), the Medicare drug benefit (180 billion) and the 2008 stimulus (773 billion) far exceeds the 1.4 trillion spent on Obama's 2009 stimulus spending (711 billion), non-defense discretionary (287 billion), stimulus tax cuts (425 billion), and health reform (152 billion) during the four years of his administration combined. If you can't even be honest with your readers about that, there isn't much hope for this blog, Peter.
That's funny. So, if we take $50k out of the private sector, and the teacher spends $15k (after taxes & utilities), then that $15k helps the private sector more than just keeping the original $50k to invest & grow businesses to begin with? Try this logic – teachers get paid from taxes that are come from the private sector. The bigger the private sector, the more tax revenue there is to hire more teachers, policemen, firefighters, etc. Obama's crippling of the private sector is bleeding into the public sector jobs – that's what is happening, period.
Doubling down on stupid is one of the few things barry is good at.
What a great favor Mr. Obama has done for us all. The wizard has stepped from behind the curtain. This election won't be fought in the hope and change clouds, but rather as a choice between two irreconcilable theories of the proper role of government and the primacy of the private sector. David Axelrod's worst nightmare: a clear delineation.
If you look at the facts at all major prior recessions the President is correct on public-sector jobs and hiring. n nReagan, H.W. Bush and W all had programs to support public sector jobs. This is the decades long republican policy in recessions. n nNow because we have a Democratic president there is total amnesia on this. n nUnder all three of those presidents public-sector hiring increased it was supported by the federal government as we're protecting jobs. n nWe are not talking about bureaucrats were talking about firefighters cops and most importantly teachers. n nThe duplicity of the Republicans and right-wing like this poster is palpable
Here is something that Liberals fail to grasp. The public sector employees are paid with tax money paid by the private sector. The public sector does not so much 'pay taxes' as contribute money that will be used to pay them anyway. That is not to say that they don't feel the 'tax' pinch though. Either way, since the private sector is the very foundation of the revenue for the US government, it is far more important to secure the private sector employment over public employment. As for talking about the value of public employees I will say that the police and fire departments are a critical service. However, many states have fallen WAY behind in education, especially California. LAUSD has a drop out rate of around 50% and of those that do stay, the failure rate out of high school is around 65%. That means that either 65% of the children are simply to stupid to learn anything, or the teachers that are 'teaching' those students just aren't up to par. LAUSD spends some 80% of their budget on salaries and about 6% on student supplies. I would also like to point out that the periods where republicans were increasing public sector hiring were during periods where the economy was doing good and the tax revenues to pay these public sector employees was available. The same case cannot be made for the current situation. Basically, without a strong private sector employee base, there just isn't the tax revenue to keep public sector employees employed.
if you have no money the government can't hire more workers, without taxing others to pay for them. Sorry but government workers don't create wealth, which doesn't mean that they aren't necessary, but if you are broke you have to make choices. n
How does hiring a teacher create jobs? Hire a teacher, you've created hired one person. Grow a business, you've created multiple jobs.
It seems that half of the statements made by this administration are to correct previous statements. Biden didn't mean that. Booker didn't mean that, Clinton didn't mean that, Obama didn't mean that. For the first time in his life, nothing that Obama throws at the wall is sticking. He never knew why things stuck before, and he certainly doesn't know why they won't now. The Emperor has no clothes, and he doesn't know where to get any.
u201cWhere my vision believes in the ingenuity of the American people, his vision trusts the wisdom of political appointees and boards, commissions and czars. r nr nItu2019s one in which ordinary Americans must get permission from people in Washington before they can buy, build, invest or hire. r nr nItu2019s a world of federal mandates and waivers, tax credits and subsidies, federal grants and loan guarantees. r nr nItu2019s an economy where a companyu2019s lobbyists will be more important than its engineers, and federal compliance lawyers will outnumber patent lawyers. r nr nBusiness models based on building a better mousetrap will give way to those that seek the right mix of government subsidies, waivers and loan guarantees. r nr nAnd Chief Government Officers will join the ranks of Chief Financial Officers and Chief Operating Officers in corporate Americau2019s executive ranks.r n r nPresident Obama trusts in the wisdom of government. I put my trust in the ingenuity and creativity and commitment to hard work of the American people.u201dr n r n… Mitt Romneyr n r nSeeing this speech I couldnu2019t help remembering another Candidate responding to a sitting president who was telling us that u201cEverything was just fine.u201dr n r nu201cEight million out of work. Inflation running at 18 percent in the first quarter of 1980. Black unemployment at about 14 percent, higher than any single year since the government began keeping separate statistics. Four straight major deficits run up by Carter and his friends in Congress. The highest interest rates since the Civil War–reaching at times close to 20 percent–lately down to more than 11 percent but now going up again–productivity falling for six straight quarters among the most productive people in history.r nr nThrough his inflation he has raised taxes on the American people by 30 percent–while their real income has risen only 20 percent. He promised he would not increase taxes for the low and middle-income people–the workers of America. Then he imposed on American families the largest single tax increase in history.r nr nHis answer to all of this misery? He tries to tell us that we are u201conlyu201d in a recession, not a depression, as if definitionsu2014words–relieve our suffering. r nr nLet it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. r n r nr nWell if itu2019s a definition he wants, Iu2019ll give him one. r nA recession is when your neighbor loses his job. r nA depression is when you lose yours. r nRecovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.u201dr nr n… Ronald Reagan.
When the Manchurian Candidate says the private sector is doing fine, he means it…. n nHe has his boot in it's throat….all according to the plan…..
This really shouldn't surprise anyone. Barack Obama is, at the core, a committed leftist. It's who he is. It's in his DNA and he will never change. Just like NY Times Paul Krugman, his default response to every problem is "more spending" and "bigger government". n nSince he will never change this fundamental outlook, it is up to American voters to remove him from office on November 8th if we want to avoid the fate of Europe.
Democrats are elected by automatically-deducted government sector union dues. If the government sector shrinks, or if more governors follow Walker & Daniels, et al, Democrats will lack the money necessary to their elections. Government sector jobs & unions are an existential need of a party that has not had a new idea to drive donations since FDR. As long as the private sector has enough money to pay whatever taxes are necessary to fund the number of workers required to fund dem campaigns, then the private sector is doing just fine in the eyes of Progs. Besides, the masses don’t need houses and cars and vacations – they should be living in small, European-style apartments near city centers & using bicycles & trains to get to work in green-energy-driven companies doing Barack’s work.
Great article, Mr. Wehner, You brought the issue into perfect focus. I only hope that people will wake up, see the direction of the country and decide for real hope and real change. it's time we release the stranglehold on the American economy so we can get people back to work without digging a deeper and deeper hole. Thanks for your insight.
We can only hope that the Obama campaign continues its arrogance and confidence in its policies and allows this election to be about the fundamental differences in Obama and Romney's approach to presidential policies and leadership.
Is this litany of various government "interventions" correct? And more is going to be spent? n2007-2008= TARP I n2008-2009= TARP II n2009-2010= QE I n2010-2011= QE II n2011-2012= TWIST n2012- ? = QE III n nResults of all this "Stimulus spending!": n n1) The Fed released its tri-annual Survey of Consumer Finances yesterday, revealing that the net worth of the median American family has plunged nearly 39 percent since 2007—from $126,400 to $77,300, a level not seen since the early nineties. Three-quarters of that loss was attributable to the collapse of the housing market. But the decline was not felt equally. While middle-class families saw their incomes drop and the average working-class family lost more than 40 percent of its net worth, the top 10 percent of American families have seen their wealth climb 16 percent in the same time period. (American Prospect – June 12, 2012) n nCont….
Cont II… n2) (8 June 2012) Upon taking office in 2009, Czar Obama projected his $825 billion "stimulus" spending would keep unemployment below 8% and reduce it to approximately 5.8% today (projected to be 6.2% without stimulus). Instead, the rate quickly ascended to 10.1%, stands at 8.2% today and has exceeded that false 8% ceiling for an all-time record 40 consecutive months (every full month of his reign). There are 142.3 million civilian employees, compared to 146.6 million in Nov. 2007. n n3) (2 June 2012) Czar Obama spent $90 billion of his stimulus package on green energy projects. It was claimed there would be 200,000 jobs created … $450,000 per job. Only 16,100 jobs were created … $5.59 million per job. The wind industry has actually lost about 10,000 jobs since 2009. (Sources: American Wind Energy Association, 26 May 2012 Washington Examiner, 29 May Tea Party Economist) n nCont III… n
Cont III… n n4) (2 June 2012) In 2011, federal spending on 79 programs to provide cash, food, housing, medical care, social services, training and targeted education for low-income people was $717 billion. State contributions to these federal programs added another $201 billion and independent state programs added $9 billion … total welfare spending of $927 billion. After adjusting for inflation and population growth, the amount for cash, food and housing was 50% more than in 1991. (Source: 29 May 2012 National Center for Policy Analysis) n nQuestion: Will QE III really improve this "malaise" and halt this economic decline? Seems unlikely. nSolution? Cheap energy + unfettered manufacturing = American Exceptionalism (this last, a chicken bone crossed in the throats of New Left. Progressives and Liberal prognosticators). n n
I don't even feel like Obama is Pro-American. That is enough for me, but i do believe he has been blinding everyone, says we are ok. Then says more spending is ok?!? I feel the President is using the media to make racism a big deal. He needs every black vote, yet the unemployment for the black community has never been higher? I understand change, Obama deserved the chance as any other President. We the people of the United States need to try and look the lies, and learn to love eachother, and most of all should never fear or worry about its Government. So people vote for who you deep down know wants to help and see our people rise. The ones in charge now look to keep a very tight eye on its people…they fear all of us will see their injustice and take on our duty. Thank you for your time. Vote American People
We needed a bigger-than-life President u2013 we got President Zero.r nWe needed a well-grounded stable President u2013 we got a certifiable narcissist.r nWe needed bold leadership u2013 we got a teleprompterr nWe needed a seasoned hand u2013 we got a hand in in our pockets r nWe needed a champion for American citizens… we got a champion for the invading horde of Illegal Aliens r nWe needed a skilled bridge builder u2013 we got a class-warfare specialist and inciter-in-chief.r nWe needed practical, proven policies u2013 we got socialist dogma and monumental waster nWe needed an inspirational visionary u2013 we got an ideologically blinded, left learning-impaired radicalr nWe needed a Constitutional champion u2013 we got a domestic enemy of the Constitutionr nWe needed a restrained, intimidating warrior u2013 we got groveling, bowing, Barney Fifer nWe needed a patriot u2013 we got G. D. America, G. D. America, G. D. America.r nWe needed someone to unshackle our economy u2013 we got someone who is a friend to our enemies and an enemy to our businessesr nWe needed a president beyond color u2013 we got a green president embracing every whim and myth ever spoken by the kook environmental fringe.r nWe needed mature, principled leadership u2013 we got a petulant, lying, whining, blaming, sulking, accursing, excusing, man-child.r nr nIt is a national disgrace that someone this inept, incompetent, racist, and a American hating Socialist could be elected to the office of the Presidency.
What? I thought that was the purpose of the last two 'stimulus' plans; to help state and local governments from having to lay off public sector employees! Where did the money REALLY go? Hmm?
did you notice the numbers that obozo stated as being created, 4,3 Million in 27 months. n nIf you understand that the country needs to create more than 150,000 jobs a month to stay even, he is excited about doing nothing but treading water.