The Dems’ Appetite for Job Destruction
Dems Use Their Economic Illusion to Prescribe More of the Same Failed, Job-Destroying Policies
- Friday morning’s jobs report will arrive amidst record pessimism about the direction of the American economy. Recent indicators have heightened fears of a double-dip recession.
- Despite this clear verdict on the failure of Democrat policies, top Democrats are denying that their policies have made a bad economy worse. And worse yet, they’re pushing ahead with plans for more failed stimulus spending and refuse to abandon their plans for thousands of new job-destroying regulations.
- It’s no wonder, then, that the president’s approval ratings are at record lows. How much longer must Americans endure the Democrats’ failed economic experiment before Democrats change course?
BACKGROUND
Friday morning’s jobs report will arrive amidst record pessimism about the direction of the American economy. Recent indicators have heightened fears of a double-dip recession:
WHITE HOUSE REPORT: UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 9% THROUGH 2012. (Erik Wasson, “White House Downgrades Job Growth Forecast for 2012,” The Hill, 9/1/2011)
MORE: WHITE HOUSE SHRINKS 2011 GROWTH FORECAST TO 1.7%: “When the ‘substantial’ economic ‘turbulence’ of the last two months are considered, the administration expects the economy to grow as little as 1.7 percent in 2011 compared to last year. That is down from a rosier projection of 2.7 percent growth, made in February.” (Erik Wasson, “White House Downgrades Job Growth Forecast for 2012,” The Hill, 9/1/2011)
“WEAKEST SIX MONTHS OF GROWTH SINCE THE RECESSION,” WITH GDP GROWTH AT 0.7% FOR 1st HALF OF 2011. (“Manufacturing Slows to a Crawl, but ISM Beats Expectations,” Associated Press, 9/1/2011)
SECOND QUARTER PRODUCTIVITY SEES BIGGEST DROP SINCE LATE 2008: “Second quarter productivity was revised down to a decline of 0.7%, the biggest drop since the fourth quarter of 2008, from a first reading of -0.3%. It has fallen for two quarters in a row, for the first time since the end of 2008.” (Mark Gongloff, “Jobless Claims Stuck Above 400,000, Productivity Falls,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/1/2011)
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE PLUMMETS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN TWO YEARS: “The mood among U.S. consumers plummeted in August… The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 44.5 this month, from a revised 59.2 in July, first reported as 59.5.” (Kathleen Madigan, “Consumer Confidence Plunges,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/11)
DEUTSCHE BANK ECONOMISTS: “CONSUMER CONFIDENCE NUMBERS ‘ARE AT LEVELS NORMALLY SEEN WHEN THE ECONOMY IS IN RECESSION.’” (Tweet from Catherine Rampell, The New York Times, 8/30/2011)
MERRILL LYNCH FORECAST: DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION ODDS COULD BE AS HIGH AS 80%. (John Melloy, “Chance of Recession Is as High as 80%: Study,” CNBC, 8/25/2011)
ECONOMISTS: “RECOVERY COULD BE ONE OF THE LONGEST, MOST DIFFICULT IN U.S. HISTORY.” (Peter Whoriskey, “Recovery Could Be One of the Longest, Most Difficult in U.S. History, Economists Say,” The Washington Post, 8/19/2011)
“FED ECONOMISTS PREDICT A 15 YEAR BEAR MARKET FOR STOCKS.” (Bruce Krasting, “Fed Economists Predict A 15 Year Bear Market for Stocks,” Business Insider, 8/23/2011)
Despite this clear verdict on the failure of Democrat policies, top Democrats are denying that their policies have made a bad economy worse. And worse yet, they’re refusing to abandon their plans for thousands of new job-destroying regulations and pushing ahead with plans for more failed stimulus spending:
DEMOCRATS MAKE EXCUSES:
DNC CHAIR WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: “WE ARE ON THE UPSWING EVER SINCE PRESIDENT OBAMA TOOK OFFICE”: (Anthony Man, “Wasserman Schultz Blasts Republicans, Defends Obama, Tears Up on Social Security,” The Sun Sentinel, 8/29/2011)
DEMOCRAT WHIP STENY HOYER: STIMULUS CREATED 2 MILLION JOBS, AND ECONOMY “STARTED TO REGRESS” BECAUSE STIMULUS MONEY “RAN OUT”: REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): “Well, I tell you what. We created 2 million jobs after we passed that stimulus bill. So it had a stimulative effect. And what happened when the bill ran out just a few months ago? The economy started to regress. The fact of the matter is I don’t care whether we call a stimulus or recovery act it is what it is. …I think it [the stimulus] did work.” (Interview with Rep. Steny Hoyer, Las Vegas Sun, 8/29/2011)
THOUSANDS OF NEW REGULATIONS, COSTING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS:
4,257 NEW REGULATIONS IN THE WORKS, 219 WILL COST MORE THAN $100 MILLION ANNUALLY—15% MORE REGULATIONS THAN LAST YEAR. “Appropriate and responsible regulations play an important policymaking role. Yet the Obama administration has turned rule-making into an assault on American businesses and the jobs they create. Right now, 4,257 new regulations are in the works, 219 of which will cost over $100 million annually — 15 percent more than last year.”(Editorial, “How Obama’s Rules Hold Back Chicago Business,” The Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/2011)
7 NEW RULES WILL COST MORE THAN $1 BILLION/YEAR: “President Barack Obama says his administration is considering seven regulations that would cost the U.S. economy more than $1 billion a year. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Obama says his administration is also trying to reduce the burden of government rules.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Obama: 7 Proposed Regs Would Exceed $1 Billion,” Associated Press, 8/30/2011)
AND ONE COULD COST $90 BILLION ANNUALLY. “Topping the list: the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed changes to ozone standards, which could cost as much as $90 billion a year. The others, all from the EPA or the Department of Transportation, range from $1 billion to $10 billion.” (Richard Wolf, “Obama: Seven Proposed Rules Could Cost $1 Billion-Plus,” USA Today, 8/30/2011)
EXAMPLE: ONE RULE WOULD PREVENT TURKEY SANDWICHS ADS FROM RUNNING DURING THE SUPER BOWL. NO JOKE. “Standing next to a picture of a wholesome-looking turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and swiss cheese, Sara Lee CEO Christopher J. Fraleigh said Tuesday that new rules proposed by the Obama Administration would prohibit him from advertising that sandwich during the Superbowl.
“ ‘A turkey sandwich made with Sara Lee fat-free lean turkey meat, we would not be able to advertise that on venues, be it the Superbowl or anything that would have a significant child audience, because the product is a little bit too high in sodium,’ Fraleigh [said].” (Abdon B. Pallasch, “Roskam, Business Leaders Bash Obama’s New Regulations,” The Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/2011)
MORE FAILED STIMULUS?!:
“OBAMA TO SEEK STIMULUS FUNDS—BUT ‘YOU WON’T HEAR THE S WORD’”:“With President Obama set to unveil his plan for job creation at a Joint Session of Congress next week, a former White House economic adviser said today that economic ‘stimulus’ will be part of the package – but won’t be labeled as such.
“ ‘You won’t hear the word ‘stimulus’ — the ‘s word’ — because that just is politically unappealing right now,’ Jared Bernstein, who left his post as Vice President Joe Biden’s top economist in June, told us on ABC’s ‘Top Line’ today. ‘But you will hear targeted measures, which I think is actually a more apt description of what I think the president will talk about.’” (Rick Klein, “Obama to Seek Stimulus Funds—But ‘You Won’t Hear the S Word’,” ABC News’ The Note Blog, 8/31/2011)
BIDEN LAST WEEK: WE NEED MORE STIMULUS, FIRST ONE DIDN’T SPEND ENOUGH MONEY. “Vice President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. economy needed more stimulus to get it moving, putting in a plug for government intervention shortly before the White House unveils new proposals to boost job growth. … ‘I think the economy does need more stimulus,’ Biden said… ‘Everybody says we should’ve (had)…a bigger stimulus package. Yeah, we should’ve. I was pushing (for) it,’ he said.” (Jeff Mason, “Biden Says U.S. Needs More Stimulus, Businesses Mad at S&P,” Reuters, 8/26/2011)
It’s no wonder, then, that the president’s approval ratings are at record lows. How much longer must Americans endure the Democrats’ failed economic experiment before Democrats change course?
QUINNIPIAC POLL: OBAMA HITS ALL-TIME LOWS. “President Barack Obama’s overall job approval rating has sunk to an all-time low, as American voters disapprove 52 – 42 percent, compared to 47 – 46 percent approval in July, and among whites and men his approval has dropped into the 30s, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.” (“Obama Approval Hits All-Time Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Economy Is Getting Worse, More Voters Say,” Quinnipiac, 9/1/2011)
ANOTHER POLL SHOWS OBAMA AT 34% IN PENNSYLVANIA. (Tim McNulty, “F&M: Low Obama Approval, But Leads GOP,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “Early Returns” Blog, 9/1/2011)
CNN: DISAPPROVAL OF OBAMA ON ECONOMY, JOBS, DEFICIT AT RECORD HIGHS.“President Barack Obama’s disapproval rating has hit yet another series of new lows on his handling of the economy, the federal budget deficit and unemployment, a new poll shows.
“Nearly two-thirds – 65 percent – of respondents to a CNN/ORD poll released on Thursday said they disapproved of the president’s handling of the economy. …
“CNN found that 66 percent of respondents said they disapproved of the Obama’s handling of the federal deficit, and 62 percent said that they disapproved of his handling of unemployment.” (Tim Mak, “Poll: Obama Approval on Economy Dips,” Politico, 9/1/2011)
NO WONDER SOME HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE “DISTANCING THEMSELVES FROM OBAMA”: “It’s been a tough summer for swing-district Democrats seeking reelection in 2012 with a president at the top of the ticket whose approval ratings are in the weeds.
“As these members begin to focus on their reelection bids after Labor Day, they are increasingly calculating how close is too close to an unpopular President Obama.”(Alex Roarty and Beth Reinhardt, “Democrats Distancing Themselves from Obama,” National Journal,9/1/2011)