Out-of-Touch Democrats Just Don’t Get That Their Policies Have Failed

January 31, 2012

When Confronted With Reality Obama Seems Surprised His Policies Aren’t Creating Jobs, as Unemployment and Debt are Projected to Keep Getting Worse

In his Google online townhall yesterday, President Obama seemed shocked that unemployment is a problem in America, seeming almost to dispute the wife of an unemployed engineer who outlined her husband’s difficulties in finding a job.
The failure of the Democrats’ policies may be news to Obama, but it is the daily reality for America’s families. A new CBO report projects that unemployment and the national debt will get much worse, all while new economic data continue to show the signs of a weak economy.
This verdict of failure is all the more damning in light of recent revelations regarding memos which showcased that the Obama administration sought to manipulate independent economists in order to give Democrats political cover to pass their wasteful, failed stimulus spending spree.

In his Google online townhall yesterday, President Obama seemed shocked that unemployment is a problem in America, seeming almost to dispute the wife of an unemployed engineer who outlined her husband’s difficulties in finding a job:

“OBAMA APPEARED SURPRISED” BY QUESTION ON UNEMPLOYED ENGINEER:“Obama appeared surprised, asking Weddel what kind of engineer her husband was. He noted that while work for civil engineers might have slowed during the recession, business leaders have told him that there is a shortage of specialized engineers–and therefore, ample job opportunities–in the high-tech field.” (David Nakamura, “Obama Offers To Find Woman’s Husband A Job During Google+ Chat,” The Washington Post, 1/31/2012)

“POINT WHERE THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW OF THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY COLLIDED WITH THE REALITY OF A FAMILY’S PERSONAL STRUGGLE”: “While the president largely promoted his economic and domestic agenda, there was a point where the president’s view of the economic recovery collided with the reality of a family’s personal struggle.

“Jennifer from Ft. Worth, Texas, asked the president why her husband, a semiconductor engineer who was laid off three years ago, is still struggling to find a job in his field. Obama, seemingly surprised, insisted that there’s evidence of a ‘huge demand for engineers.'” (Mary Bruce, “Obama Comes Face to Face with Economic Recovery in Google ‘Hangout,'” ABC News, 1/30/2012)

OBAMA TOLD WOMAN HER HUSBAND “SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING RIGHT AWAY,” BUT WIFE WAS “UNCONVINCED”: “In the beginning, Obama told Weddel that her husband ‘should be able to find something right away.’ Unconvinced, Weddel kept pressing.” (Amie Parnes, “Obama to Voter on Google+: Send Me Your Husband’s Resume,” The Hill, 1/30/2012)

WOMAN SAID: “I JUST THINK I STUMPED HIM A LITTLE AND HE WANTED ME TO HUSH ABOUT IT”: (Jennifer Epstein, “Obama Google+ Gets Personal,” Politico, 1/30/2010)

The failure of the Democrats’ policies may be news to Obama, but it is the daily reality for America’s families. A new CBO report projects that unemployment and the national debt will get much worse, all while new economic data continue to show the signs of a weak economy:

CBO SEES LONG ROAD AHEAD, PROJECTS UNEMPLOYMENT TO HIT 8.9% IN 2012, 9.2% IN 2013: “CBO also projected the jobless rate would rise to 8.9 percent by the end of 2012, and to 9.2 percent in 2013.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Projects $1.08T Deficit, Higher Unemployment,” The Hill, 1/31/2012)

CBO: REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 10%: “The rate of participation in the labor force fell from 66 percent in 2007 to an average of 64 percent in the second half of 2011, an unusually large decline over so short a time. … Had that portion of the decline in the labor force participation rate since 2007 that is attributable to neither the aging of the baby boomers nor the downturn in the business cycle (on the basis of the experience in previous downturns) not occurred, the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been about 1¼ percentage points higher than the actual rate of 8.7 percent.” (“The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022,” Congressional Budget Office, January 2012)

MORE: CBO SEES YET ANOTHER YEAR OF TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICITS UNDER OBAMA: “The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday predicted the budget deficit will rise to $1.08 trillion in 2012. … The deficit was $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011. The largest deficit recorded before that was $458 billion in 2008.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Projects $1.08T Deficit, Higher Unemployment,” The Hill, 1/31/2012)

“CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FALLS SHORT OF FORECAST IN JANUARY”: “The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 61.1, from a revised 64.8 in December. Economists had expected a reading of 68.” (“Consumer Confidence Falls Short of Forecast in January,” Associated Press, 1/31/2012)

“HOME PRICES FALL FOR THIRD STRAIGHT MONTH: CASE-SHILLER”: “U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index shows prices dropped in November from October in 19 of the 20 cities tracked.” (“Home Prices Fall for Third Straight Month: Case-Shiller,” Associated Press, 1/31/2012)

This verdict of failure is all the more damning in light of recent revelations regarding memos which showcased that the Obama administration sought to manipulate independent economists in order to give Democrats political cover to pass their wasteful, failed stimulus spending spree:

WHEN WHITE HOUSE STARTED PUSHING STIMULUS, RAHM EMANUEL ORDERED STAFF TO GET OUTSIDE ECONOMISTS ON RECORD PROPOSING LARGER STIMULUS SPENDING: “There’s an interesting backstory to that portion of the memo: When Rahm Emanuel was informed that the economic team wanted to push an $800 billion stimulus, which was larger than anything anyone else in the political system was proposing, he demanded that they get a lot of outside economists on the record with very large estimates. And so the team began doing just that.” (Ezra Klein, “What the Summers Memo Tells Us About the Obama White House,” The Washington Post, 1/23/2012)

“OBAMA’S ECONOMIC ADVISORS PUSHED OUTSIDE ECONOMISTS TO REVISE THEIR ESTIMATES OF THE NECESSARY STIMULUS UPWARDS” TO GIVE THEM POLITICAL COVER: “In certain cases, Obama’s economic advisers pushed outside economists to revise their estimates of the necessary stimulus upwards. In one example, Jason Furman, deputy director of the NEC, met with liberal economist Jamie Galbraith and urged him to increase the size of the stimulus he was proposing in an upcoming speech in order to make it easier for the administration to push for a higher number. (Over e-mail, Galbraith confirmed this account.)” (Ezra Klein, “What the Summers Memo Tells Us About the Obama White House,” The Washington Post, 1/23/2012)