Democrats Aren’t Working: An Indefensible Economic Record

September 4, 2012

Democrats Aren’t Working: An Indefensible Economic Record

Even Democrats Can’t Explain HowAmericans Are Better Off Under Obama

Democrats are struggling to defend the fact that four years of borrowing, spending and taxing have not left working families better off than they were four years ago.
America’s struggling middle class families know all too well that they aren’t better off because they are living the painful reality of the Democrats’ broken promises.
Economic failure hasn’t stopped Democrats from doubling down on more of the same policies that have destroyed jobs and made a bad economy worse.

Democrats are struggling to defend the fact that four years of borrowing, spending and taxing have not left working families better off than they were four years ago:

TOP OBAMA ADVISERS “STUMBLED OVER THE QUESTION OF HOW AMERICANS FEEL FOUR YEARS AFTER OBAMA’S ELECTION”: (“Dems Massaging Message on Whether Americans Better Off,” CNN, 9/3/2012)

“DEMOCRATS DO DAMAGE CONTROL ON ‘BETTER OFF’ QUESTION”: (Matt Vasilogambros, “Democrats Do Damage Control on Better Off Question,” National Journal, 9/3/2012)

ECHOES OF CORY BOOKER? MARYLAND’S DEMOCRAT GOV. SAID “NO,” WE ARE NOT BETTER OFF: “Martin O’Malley, Maryland’s Democratic governor, had answered the same question with a ‘no’ on Sunday before turning the blame to Obama’s Republican predecessor. Appearing Monday on CNN, O’Malley tried a more positive turn of phrase, saying: ‘We are clearly better off as a country because we’re now creating jobs rather than losing them. But we have not recovered all that we lost in the Bush recession. That’s why we need to continue to move forward’ under Obama.” (Ken Thomas and Calvin Woodward, “Pre-Convention Tussle: Are Americans Better Off?”, Associated Press, 9/3/2012)

“OBAMA TEAM WALKS BACK ON ‘ARE YOU BETTER OFF?’”:(Jake Tapper, “Obama Team Walks Back On ‘Are You Better Off?’”, ABC News, 9/3/2012)

VOTERS LEFT “TO WONDER WHERE A REELECTED OBAMA WOULD TAKE THE COUNTRY”: (Major Garrett, “Chasing Romney, Losing Himself,” National Journal, 9/3/2012)

NATIONAL JOURNAL: OBAMA CAMPAIGN HAS LARGELY IGNORED DISCUSSING OBAMA’S RECORD: “Second, the Obama team has given short shrift to its first-term accomplishments.” (Major Garrett, “Chasing Romney, Losing Himself,” National Journal, 9/3/2012)

America’s struggling middle class families know all too well that they aren’t better off because they are living the painful reality of the Democrats’ broken promises:

BIDEN CLAIMS AMERICANS ARE “BETTER OFF”:

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN DOUBLED DOWN ON DEMOCRATS’ RECORD OF FAILURE: “I’ll say it to the press. America is better off today than they left us.” (Michael D. Shear, “G.O.P. Seizes on a Question: Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?”, The New York Times, 9/3/2012)

ONLY JOE: I’D TRY TO EXPLAIN WHY AMERICANS ARE BETTER OFF, BUT IT’S JUST SO DARN HOT OUTSIDE: (“Biden: ‘If It Weren’t So Hot, I’d Go Into Detail’ on How America’s Better Off,” Breitbart TV, 9/3/2012)

THE FACTS TELL ANOTHER STORY:

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)

“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)

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)

BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT IS 14.1%: (“Table A-2: Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Race and Age,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/3/2012)

HISPANIC AND LATINO UNEMPLOYMENT IS 10.3%: (“Table A-3: Employment Status of the Hispanic or Latino Population by Sex and Age,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 9/3/2012)

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)

Economic failure hasn’t stopped Democrats from doubling down on more of the same policies that have destroyed jobs and made a bad economy worse:

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 happy about 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)

Democrats Aren’t Working: An Indefensible Economic Record http://ow.ly/dqWPM