Will This Be the Democrat-Created “Lost Decade”?

September 23, 2011

Americans Are Blaming Obama for a Prolonged Weak Economy as Dems Keep Pushing For Job-Destroying Policies

As fears of a second recession remain high and investors worry that America may be “several years into a Japan-style lost decade,” a new Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans now blame Obama and his job-destroying policies for the weak economy.
Despite abundant evidence of a struggling economy, President Obama this week unveiled a $1.5 trillion tax hike, bringing his two-week total for tax hike proposals to $2 trillion. Small business job creators around America are rightfully crying foul at more Democrat policies that will destroy jobs and hurt our economy.
With his latest proposal, Obama appears to have once again thrown the economy under the bus to please the liberal activists in his base.

BACKGROUND

As fears of a second recession remain high and investors worry that America may be “several years into a Japan-style lost decade,” a new Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans now blame Obama and his job-destroying policies for the weak economy:

INVESTORS: AMERICA COULD BE “SEVERAL YEARS INTO A JAPAN-STYLE LOST DECADE”: “As the U.S. economy slouches toward another recession and confidence in policymakers erodes, investors are coming to grips with the notion that the country may already be several years into a Japan-style lost decade.

“If so, the years ahead could be a very tough slog. U.S. households, unlike those in Japan, have higher debts and lower savings, while massive deficits have sapped political support for the type of robust government spending Japan relied upon.

“In short: in a prolonged period of anemic growth, the U.S. economy may have a slimmer margin for error.” (“Japan’s Lost Decade: Still a Risk for US Economy,” Reuters, 9/19/2011)

CENSUS: YOUNG ADULTS ARE RECESSION’S “LOST GENERATION”: “Call it the recession’s lost generation. In record-setting numbers, young adults struggling to find work are shunning long-distance moves to live with Mom and Dad, delaying marriage and buying fewer homes, often raising kids out of wedlock. They suffer from the highest unemployment since World War II and risk living in poverty more than others – nearly 1 in 5.” (Hope Yen, “Census: Recession Taking Toll on Young Adults,” Associated Press, 9/22/2011)

GALLUP/USA TODAY POLL: 80% SAY U.S. IN RECESSION, 60% SAY ECONOMY WILL BE SAME OR WORSE IN A YEAR AND A MAJORITY BLAME OBAMA: “Twenty-four percent say Obama deserves a great deal of the blame, up 10 points since 2009. For the first time since he took office, a majority of Americans — including six in 10 independents — say he deserves a great deal or moderate amount of blame for the nation’s economic woes.” (Susan Page, “Poll: Economic Pessimism Deepens, and More Blame Obama,” USA Today, 9/21/2011)

WSJ SURVEY OF ECONOMISTS: ODDS OF A RECESSION “MORE LIKELY,” NEARING ONE-IN-THREE: “Economists see a one in three chance the U.S. will slip into recession over the next twelve months and doubt any steps the Federal Reserve might take at its meeting next week can change that.” (Phil Izzo, “Economists Say That U.S. Recession Looks More Likely,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/16/2011)

STOCKS POST “BIGGEST TWO-DAY SLUMP SINCE 2008” ON RECESSION FEARS:“U.S. stocks slumped, giving the Dow Jones Industrial Average its biggest two-day decline since December 2008, amid investors’ concern that policy makers are running out of tools to avoid another global economic recession.” (Lu Wang, “Dow Posts Biggest Two-Day Slump Since 2008 on Policy Concern,” Bloomberg, 9/22/2011)

Despite abundant evidence of a struggling economy, President Obama this week unveiled a $1.5 trillion tax hike, bringing his two-week total for tax hike proposals to $2 trillion. Small business job creators around America are rightfully crying foul at more Democrat policies that will destroy jobs and hurt our economy:

THE PRICETAG? $1.5 TRILLION. (Helene Cooper, “Obama Vows Veto if Deficit Plan Has No Tax Increases,” The New York Times, 9/19/2011)

LAST WEEK OBAMA OFFERED $467 BILLION IN TAX INCREASES TO PAY FOR STIMULUS 2.0: “The Obama administration is asking Congress to raise taxes by $467 billion over 10 years to pay for the President’s one-year $447 billion stimulus, which he announced during a speech Thursday before a joint session of Congress.” (Neil Munro, “Obama Asks Congress for $467-Billion Tax Increase to Fund Jobs Plan,” The Daily Caller,9/12/2011)

IN 2009, OBAMA CONCEDED THAT “THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS RAISE TAXES IN THE MIDDLE OF A RECESSSION BECAUSE THAT WOULD JUST…PUT BUSINESS FURTHER IN A HOLE”: (Stephen F. Hayes, “Obama vs. Obama,” The Weekly Standard, 7/11/2011)

NFIB: OBAMA TAX PLAN “THE LAST THING THIS ECONOMY NEEDS TO GET BACK ON TRACK,” “SENDS A BAD MESSAGE TO JOB CREATORS”: “New tax increases on America’s biggest job creators are the last thing this economy needs to get back on track. At least 75 percent of small businesses file taxes on business income at the individual rate, and reinvest those earnings to grow the business and hire workers. With small businesses still struggling to recover and grow, this plan sends a bad message to job creators.” (“NFIB Statement on White House Deficit Plan,” National Federation of Independent Business, 9/19/2011)

750,000 SMALL BUSINESSES WOULD SUFFER UNDER OBAMA TAX HIKES: “That distorts the overall percentages to make it appear the impact of the White House plan on small businesses is extremely limited. In fact, it would affect about 750,000 taxpayers who report business profits on individual income returns, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.” (“How Tax Facts Stack Up in Small-Business Imbroglio,” Associated Press, 11/30/2010)

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 65 PERCENT OF NET NEW JOBS BETWEEN 1993 and 2009: “Small firms accounted for 65 percent (or 9.8 million) of the 15 million net new jobs created between 1993 and 2009.” (“Advocacy Small Business Statistics and Research,” U.S. Small Business Administration, Accessed 9/22/2011)

With his latest proposal, Obama appears to have once again thrown the economy under the bus to please the liberal activists in his base:

“OBAMA AND THE LEFT BACK IN SYNC” AFTER LATEST STIMULUS/DEFICIT SPEECHES, LIBERALS REACT WITH “ALMOST INCREDULOUS JOY”: “President Barack Obama finally gave his liberal critics exactly what they wanted.

“His tough opening bid on deficit reduction and his feisty, defiant speech from the White House Monday were greeted with almost incredulous joy by progressives who have urged Obama to take this kind of hard line with Republicans since the day he was elected.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Ben Smith, “Obama and the Left Back in Sync,” Politico,9/19/2011)

AFL-CIO ELATED: “TODAY PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID SOME THINGS THAT VERY MUCH NEEDED TO BE SAID.” (“Statement by AFL-CIO Richard Trumka on President Obama’s Plan for Jobs and Deficit Reduction,” AFL-CIO, 9/19/2011)

ALLIES ON LEFT RELIEVED, VINDICATED: ” ‘We’re glad to be shifting the conversation in the right direction,’ said Peter Colavito, director of government affairs for the Service Employees International Union.

“Others on the left expressed a measure of vindication.

” ‘When many of us were calling for this approach in 2010, we were arrogantly dismissed by the confident boys in the West Wing,’ said one prominent liberal donor and activist. ‘Now, a year later…” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Ben Smith, “Obama and the Left Back in Sync,” Politico, 9/19/2011)

OBAMA IN A STATE OF DENIAL: THINKS HIS POLICIES DIDN’T FAIL, IT’S THE ECONOMY’S FAULT IT FAILED TO RESPOND TO THEM… WE’RE CONFUSED, TOO:“Obama has mused in several private settings that if he loses re-election, it won’t be because a Republican beat him: It will be because the economy was impervious to his attempts to revive it.” (Marc Ambinder, “One Small Step for Jobs, One Big Target for Republicans,” National Journal, 9/7/2011)