Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?

August 31, 2012

Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?

Working Families Simply Can’t Afford Four More Years of the Same Failed Policies that Brought Us Economic Failure and $5 Trillion in New Debt

Four years of failed Democrat policies have taken a painful toll on working families: record unemployment, plummeting wages, rising foreclosures and decimated savings.
Instead of offering struggling families hope for recovery, Democrats are doubling down on a failed agenda that has made economic suffering the new normal.
The working families who have lost jobs and seen their savings destroyed by the Obama economy can’t keep waiting for Democrats to figure out that they can’t spend, borrow and tax their way to economic recovery.

Four years of failed Democrat policies have taken a painful toll on working families: record unemployment, plummeting wages, rising foreclosures and decimated savings:

MEDIAN NET WORTH PLUMMETTED DURING THE RECESSION: “Perhaps the most dramatic figure is that median net worth took a major hit during the recession. It plummeted from $152,950 to $93,150.” (Eyder Peralta, “Pew: Middle Class Poorer, Earning Less and Shrinking,” NPR, 8/22/2012)

STUDY: U.S. INCOMES FELL MORE AFTER STIMULUS THAN DURING RECESSION: (Jeff Kearn, “U.S. Incomes Fell More in Recovery, Sentier Says,” Bloomberg, 8/23/2012)

“HALF OF HOMEOWNERS UNDER 40 ARE UNDERWATER”:(Ann Carrns, “Half of Homeowners Under 40 are Underwater,” The New York Times, 8/23/2012)

5.7 MILLION RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES ARE EITHER 30 DAYS DELINQUENT OR IN FORECLOSURE: (Press Release, “LPS ‘First Look’ Mortgage Report: June Month-End Data Shows Increase In Delinquencies,” Lender Processing Services, 7/25/12)

“US POVERTY ON TRACK TO RISE TO HIGHEST SINCE 1960s”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty on Track to Rise to Highest Since 1960s,” Associated Press, 7/23/2012)

“US CHILDREN, FAMILIES STRUGGLING AFTER RECESSION”: “More children and families across the United States are facing poverty and economic instability following the recession, new data shows, raising concerns about the weak economy’s long-term impact on the next generation of Americans.” (Susan Heavey, “US Children, Families Struggling After Recession,” Reuters, 7/25/2012)

A MISERABLE UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION:

8.3% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, 15.0% UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE: (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8/3/2012)

“IF THE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE WAS THE SAME AS WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE IN JANUARY 2009, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD BE 11.0%”: (James Pethokoukis, “July jobs report: America’s labor market depression continues,” American Enterprise Institute, 8/3/2012)

DEMS PROMISED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD BE AT 5.6% BY NOW IF WE PASSED THEIR STIMULUS: (American Enterprise Institute, 8/3/2012)

42 MONTHS OF UNEMPLOYMENT OVER 8%: (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8/3/2012)

MORE THAN 23 MILLION AMERICANS ARE JOBLESS, UNDEREMPLOYED, OR HAVE STOPPED LOOKING FOR WORK: (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 8/26/12)

“WEAK RECOVERY LEAVES MOST LAID-OFF US WORKERS STRUGGLING TO FIND NEW JOBS; MOST TAKE PAY CUTS”:(Christopher S. Rugaber, “Weak Recovery Leaves Most Laid-Off US Workers Struggling to Find New Jobs; Most Take Pay Cuts,” Associated Press, 8/24/2012)

ONLY 56% OF AMERICANS LAID OFF BETWEEN JAN. 2009 AND DEC. 2011 HAD FOUND JOBS BY START OF 2012: (Christopher S. Rugaber, “Weak Recovery Leaves Most Laid-Off US Workers Struggling to Find New Jobs; Most Take Pay Cuts,” Associated Press, 8/24/2012)

OVER HALF TOOK A PAY CUT, AND A THIRD TOOK A PAY CUT OF MORE THAN 20%: (Christopher S. Rugaber, “Weak Recovery Leaves Most Laid-Off US Workers Struggling to Find New Jobs; Most Take Pay Cuts,” Associated Press, 8/24/2012)

Instead of offering struggling families hope for recovery, Democrats are doubling down on a failed agenda that has made economic suffering the new normal:

DEMOCRATS DOUBLE DOWN ON FAILURE:

OBAMA: “WE TRIED OUR PLAN—AND IT WORKED”: “Just like we’ve tried their plan, we tried our plan — and it worked. That’s the difference.” (“Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event,” The White House, 7/25/2012)

OBAMA: “THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS DOING FINE.” (“Obama: ‘The Private Sector Is Doing Fine,’” Real Clear Politics, 6/8/2012)

DNC CHAIR DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZIS “PRETTY HAPPY” ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY:“I am pretty happyabout straight 28 months of job growth in the private sector.” (“Wasserman Schultz ‘Pretty Happy’ With ‘Job Growth,’” Real Clear Politics, 7/8/2012)

LA TIMES: “FOR OBAMA, IT’S RIGHT BACK TO TAXES AFTER JOBS REPORT”:(Michael A. Memoli, “For Obama, It’s Right Back to Taxes After Jobs Report,” Los Angeles Times, 8/3/2012)

A NEW NORMAL OF ECONOMIC MISERY:

UNEMPLOYMENT TO “REMAIN ELEVATED FOR ANOTHER FIVE TO SIX YEARS”: “Federal Reserve officials agreed at a meeting in June that unemployment would remain elevated for another five to six years, but most did not regard that as a reason for the Fed to expand its efforts to stimulate growth, according to an official account published Wednesday.” (Binyamin Appelbaum, “Fed is Torn on Tipping Point for Action,” The New York Times, 7/11/2012)

AP: “ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS THE WEAKEST SINCE WORLD WAR II”: “The recession that ended three years ago this summer has been followed by the feeblest economic recovery since the Great Depression. Since World War II, 10 U.S. recessions have been followed by a recovery that lasted at least three years. An Associated Press analysis shows that by just about any measure, the one that began in June 2009 is the weakest.” (Paul Wiseman, “Economic Recovery is the Weakest Since World War II,” Associated Press, 8/15/2012)

WALL STREET JOURNAL: “IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW UNUSUAL THIS KIND OF WEAK RECOVERY IS”: “Deep recessions like the one from December 2007 to June 2009 are typically followed by stronger recoveries, as there is more lost ground to make up.” (Editorial, “The 1.5% Presidency,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/27/2012)

CBS NEWS’ SCOTT PELLEY: “THIS IS THE WORST ECONOMIC RECOVERY AMERICA HAS EVER HAD.” (CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley, 7/17/12)

The working families who have lost jobs and seen their savings destroyed by the Obama economy can’t keep waiting for Democrats to figure out that they can’t spend, borrow and tax their way to economic recovery:

FOX POLL: 46% SAY COUNTRY HAS CHANGED FOR THE WORSE IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, ONLY 29% SAY FOR THE BETTER: (Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: Race for the White House Tightens,” Fox News, 8/24/2012)

MAJORITY OF VOTERS DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA’ HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY: “By 54-42 percent, more voters disapprove than approve of Obama’s handling of the economy.” (Dana Blanton, “Fox News Poll: Race for the White House Tightens,” Fox News, 8/24/2012)

NBC/WSJ: 54% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA’S ECONOMIC RECORD, 61% SAY THINGS ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK: (NBC/WSJ Survey, August 2012)

AP POLL: 60% SAY THINGS ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK: (“The AP-GfK Poll,” Associated Press, August 2012)

65% RATE THE ECONOMY AS “POOR”:(“The AP-GfK Poll,” Associated Press, August 2012)

DEMOCRATS’ BORROWING AND SPENDING IS BALLOONING THE DEBT:

SIZE OF NATION’S ECONOMY AT $15.606 TRILLION: (Bureau of Economic Analysis, Accessed 8/30/2012)

NATIONAL DEBT LARGER THAN NATIONAL ECONOMY, STANDS AT $15.978 TRILLION: (TreasuryDirect.Gov, Accessed 8/30/2012)

$5.35 TRILLION INCREASE IN NATIONAL DEBT SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: (“The Daily History of the Debt Results,” Bureau of the Public Debt, Accessed 8/30/2012)

STUDY: ECONOMIC GROWTH TAKES 25% HIT FROM DEBT LEVELS AT MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF ECONOMY: (Bloomberg Businessweek, 4/30/2012)

Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?http://ow.ly/dm8P6