Democrats Won’t Stop Their Assault on the Weak Economy

September 28, 2012

Democrats Won’t Stop Their Assault on the Weak Economy

Despite Weak Economic Growth and Shrinking Household Income, Democrats Continue Their Job-Destroying War on Energy

Newly released data show the economy is even weaker than previously thought.
This is little surprise to the families who’ve seen their household incomes shrink drastically in the Obama economy.
Despite this failed economic record, Democrats are pushing policies that will make things worse by raising taxes and destroying jobs.

Newly released data show the economy is even weaker than previously thought:

GDP GROWTH REVISED DOWNWARD TO 1.3%: (Aanalyn Censky, “GDP Report: Economic Growth Revised Lower,” CNN Money, 9/27/2012)

“DEPRESSINGLY WEAK”: (Daniel Halper, “Santelli on GDP Numbers: ‘Depressingly Weak,’” The Weekly Standard, 9/27/2012)

“EVEN MORE SLUGGISH THAN PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED”: (Annie Lowrey, “Last Quarter’s Growth is Revised Down Sharply,” Associated Press, 9/27/2012)

REPORT “SHOWS THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMY IS STRUGGLING TO GAIN MOMENTUM”: (Alex Kowalski, “Economy in U.S. Expanded Less than Forecast in 2Q,” Bloomberg, 9/27/2012)

This is little surprise to the families who’ve seen their household incomes shrink drastically in the Obama economy:

FALLING INCOMES:

“HOUSEHOLD INCOME DOWN 8.2 PERCENT SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE”: (“Household Income Down 8.2 Percent Since Obama Took Office,” Fox News, 9/26/2012)

MEDIAN INCOME WAS $55,198 WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE; IT IS $50,678 TODAY: (“Household Income Down 8.2 Percent Since Obama Took Office,” Fox News, 9/26/2012)

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)

A WEAK JOB MARKET AND SLUGGISH ECONOMY:

368,000 AMERICANS GAVE UP LOOKING FOR WORK IN THE OBAMA ECONOMY: (Jeff Cox, “New Jobs at 96,000, Missing Expectations; Rate Hits 8.1%,” CNBC, 9/7/2012)

23 MILLION UNEMPLOYED, UNDEREMPLOYED AND DISCOURAGED WORKERS: (“The Employment Situation—August 2012,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 8% FOR 43 STRAIGHT MONTHS UNDER OBAMA, MORE THAN 11 PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS COMBINED: (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/7/2012)

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)

U.S. MANUFACTURING GETTING CLOBBERED, SUFFERS “ITS WEAKEST QUARTER IN THREE YEARS”: “U.S. manufacturing suffered its weakest quarter in three years and conditions at European businesses worsened, surveys showed on Thursday, while China’s economy continued to lose momentum.” (Steven C. Johnson And Andy Bruce, “U.S. Factories Struggle, Europe And China Slump,” Reuters, 9/20/12)

SKY-HIGH POVERTY:

“US POVERTY RATE 15 PERCENT; RECORD NUMBERS PERSIST”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate 15 Percent; Record Numbers Persist,” Associated Press, 9/12/2012)

46.2 MILLION PEOPLE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE IN 2011, “THE HIGHEST IN MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY”: (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate 15 Percent; Record Numbers Persist,” Associated Press, 9/12/2012)

PEW: “A RECOVERY NO BETTER THAN THE RECCESION”: (Rakesh Kochar, “A Recovery No Better Than the Recession,” Pew Research Center, 9/12/2012)

Despite this failed economic record, Democrats are pushing policies that will make things worse by raising taxes and destroying jobs:

DEMOCRATS’ WAR ON ENERGY IS DESTROYING JOBS LEFT AND RIGHT:

AP: ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES CUTTING 1,200 COAL JOBS, SHUTTERING 8 MINES: “Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said Tuesday it’s cutting production by 16 million tons and eliminating 1,200 jobs companywide, including 400 with the immediate closing of eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.” (Vicki Smith, “Alpha Closing 8 Mines, Cutting 1,200 Jobs in All,” Associated Press, 9/18/2012)

THE CAUSE? “A REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT THAT’S AGGRESSIVELY AIMED AT CONSTRAINING THE USE OF COAL” NAMED AS A MAJOR FACTOR: (Michael Bastasch, “Coal Company Facing Aggressive Regulations Announces 1,200 Layoffs,” The Daily Caller, 9/18/2012)

“REPORT: MORE THAN 200 COAL-FIRED GENERATORS SLATED FOR SHUTDOWN”: (Michael Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

GOVERNMENT IS TO BLAME: SHUTDOWNS LINKED TO NEW AND PENDING EPA REGULATIONS: “Within the next three to five years, more than 200 coal-fired electric generating units will be shut down across 25 states due to EPA regulations and factors including cheap natural gas, according to a new report by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).” (Matthew Bastasch, “Report: More than 200 Coal-Fired Generators Slated for Shutdown,” The Daily Caller, 9/22/2012)

UNDER OBAMA REGULATIONS, 111 U.S. COAL POWER PLANTS HAVE ALREADY CLOSED (20% OF ALL U.S. COAL PLANTS): “But in the past two years, an increasing number of coal-powered electricity plants across the country have announced closures. Estimates vary, but banking and industry analysis firm Credit Suisse put expected and known closures for 2009-2012 at 111 plants, that’s one-fifth of the nation’s nearly 500 coal plants.” (Lisa Desjardins, “The War Over Coal Is Personal,” CNN, 7/17/12)

NEW COAL REGULATONS ARE EXPECTED TO CUT 1.4 MILLION JOBS: “Coal plants will be forced to install new scrubber equipment that provides marginal improvement in air quality at tremendous expense… Electric bills will jump 12 percent by 2016 with areas such as Kentucky and Tennessee seeing a 24 percent increase. Employment will drop by a net 1.4 million jobs.” (“Obama’s Coal Tax,” Washington Times, 9/20/12)

DEMOCRATS TAX HIKE PLAN WILL DESTROY EVEN MORE JOBS:

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION: 940,000 SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET HIT BY DEMOCRATS’ LATEST TAX HIKE: “Congress’s Joint Tax Committee—not a conservative outfit—estimates that in 2013 about 940,000 taxpayers will have enough business income to meet Mr. Obama’s tax increase threshold.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

MORE THAN HALF OF NET BUSINESS INCOME WILL BE HIT BY HIGHER TAX RATES UNDER OBAMA PROPOSAL: “And of the roughly $1.3 trillion in net business income, about 53% will get hit with the higher tax rates. This is because millions of businesses report their income as sole proprietors and subchapter S corporations that file under the individual tax code.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

OBAMA’S NEW TAX HIKE WOULD HAVE SOME SMALL BUSINESSES PAYING HIGHER TAX RATES THAN GENERAL ELECTRIC AND J.P. MORGAN: “So Mr. Obama wants these businesses to pay higher tax rates than the giant likes of General Electric or J.P. Morgan. Does that qualify as ‘tax fairness’?” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

TAXMAGEDDON WILL COST AVERAGE FAMILY $4,138 IN 2013: (“Taxmageddon Costs Average Family $4,138 Next year,” The Heritage Foundation, 6/14/2012)

710,000 JOBS COULD BE DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS’ TAX HIKE PLAN: (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012, Appendix C)

1.8% DROP IN WAGES: “Real after-tax wages would fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers’ living standards relative to what would have occurred otherwise.” (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012)

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