Dems See Grim Economic Numbers as Green Light for Tax Hikes

After Insisting Their Failed Policies “Worked,” Democrats Are Calling For More Job-Destroying Tax Increases

• While millions of Americans continue to struggle under the Democrats’ failed economic policies, President Obama and Democrats insist their plan “worked.”
• The numbers clearly tell a different story. Unemployment and poverty are sky-high, middle class income is down and future economic forecasts provide no reason for “hope.”
• Apparently Democrats see these grim numbers as a green light for more of the same failed policies. Even today, Democrats are still pushing for more job-destroying tax hikes.

While millions of Americans continue to struggle under the Democrats’ failed economic policies, President Obama and Democrats insist their plan “worked”:

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 SCHULTZ IS “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)

The numbers clearly tell a different story. Unemployment and poverty are sky-high, middle class income is down and future economic forecasts provide no reason for “hope”:

AP: “US ECONOMY LOOKS WEAKER, BUSINESS CONFIDENCE DIMS”: “Businesses placed fewer orders for most long-lasting manufactured goods in June, suggesting many are losing confidence in the slumping U.S. economy. The housing recovery also lost some momentum last month as fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes. A third report Thursday showed applications for unemployment benefits plunged last week — normally a good sign. But economists quickly dismissed the decline, saying fewer temporary auto layoffs distorted the figure.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “US Economy Looks Weaker, Business Confidence Dims,” Associated Press, 7/26/2012)

GDP ESTIMATE COMING OUT TODAY COULD BE “SHARPLY LOWER THAN THE START OF THE YEAR”: “The latest data added to worries that growth in the April-June quarter could be sharply lower than the start of the year. The government will issue its first of three estimates for second-quarter growth on Friday.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “US Economy Looks Weaker, Business Confidence Dims,” Associated Press, 7/26/2012)

“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)

“US ECONOMIC DATA ADD TO SIGNS OF SLOWING RECOVERY”: (Christopher Rugaber and Paul Wiseman, “US Economic Data Add to Signs of Slowing Recovery,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 7/19/2012)

DEMS SAID UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD NOW BE AT 5.6% UNDER THEIR STIMULUS: (James Pethokoukis, “June Jobs Swoon: America’s Labor Market Depression Continues,” The American, 7/6/2012)

INSTEAD, WE HAVE 41 MONTHS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 8 PERCENT: “With 41 months of 8% unemployment or higher, Congress’s Joint Economic Committee confirms that this is the weakest growth and employment at this stage of a recovery since World War II.” (Editorial, “The Latest Jobs Drought,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/7/2012)  

12.7 MILLION UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS: (“Labor Force Statistics From the Current Population Survey,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7/3/2012)

MIDDLE CLASS INCOME ON THE DECLINE: “Since median inflation-adjusted family income peaked in 2000 at $64,232, it has fallen roughly 6 percent. You won’t find another 12-year period with an income decline since the aftermath of the Depression.” (Jeff Cox, “Earnings Show Recession May Be ‘Fast Approaching,’” CNBC, 7/23/2012)

CBS NEWS’ SCOTT PELLEY: “THIS IS THE WORST ECONOMIC RECOVERY AMERICA HAS EVER HAD.” PELLEY: “This is worst economic recovery America has ever had. We’ve been looking for hopeful signs, but today the chairman of the Federal Reserve threw a cold splash of reality on those hopes. Ben Bernanke said any improvement in unemployment will ‘likely be frustratingly slow.’ Well, yes, to say the least.” (CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley, 7/17/12)

FEDERAL RESERVE: 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)

“EARNINGS SHOW RECESSION MAY BE ‘FAST APPROACHING’”: (Jeff Cox, “Earnings Show Recession May Be ‘Fast Approaching,’” CNBC, 7/23/2012)

ESTIMATES FOR FUTURE EARNINGS HAVE “DROPPED TO LEVELS NOT SEEN SINCE THE DAYS OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS”: “Estimates for the third and fourth quarters have been dropped to levels not seen since the days of the 2008 financial crisis, below even the muted 2 percent expected level of inflation.

“That’s an ominous recession sign for an economy that has barely managed to attain positive growth this year even with the strong level of earnings beats, according to an analysis by Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx in New York.” (Jeff Cox, “Earnings Show Recession May Be ‘Fast Approaching,’” CNBC, 7/23/2012)

Apparently Democrats see these grim numbers as a green light for more of the same failed policies. Even today, Democrats are still pushing for more job-destroying tax hikes:

“DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GO OVER ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ IF GOP FAILS TO RAISE TAXES”: (Lori Montgomery, “Democrats Threaten to Go Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ if GOP Fails to Raise Taxes,” The Washington Post, 7/16/2012)

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)

“WHITE HOUSE WARNS OF $1,600 TAX HIKE ON 114 M[ILLION] MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES” IF CURRENT RATES AREN’T EXTENDED: (Jonathan Easley, “White House Warns of $1,600 Tax Hike on 114M Middle Class Families,” The Hill, 7/24/2012)

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE: IF DEMS GET THEIR WAY “RECESSION WOULD OCCUR EARLY NEXT YEAR”: “The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, if the full range of tax increases and spending cuts were allowed to take effect–a scenario widely referred to as the fiscal cliff–a shallow recession would occur early next year…” (Bernanke testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Web site, 7/17/2012)