The Not So Surprising Failure of Obamanomics
There are invariably two reactions emanating from many media outlets and Democrat political circles over the recent economic turmoil. The media has been sent into a state of apoplexy over the sputtering economy, while Democrat politicians and strategists have asserted the clichéd “it could have been worse” argument and the blame Bush strategy.
The fundamental question remains, why is anyone actually surprised over the failure of Obamanomics?
President Obama’s initial response to the recession was the infamous $787 billion stimulus package. The raison d’être of the stimulus was to boost aggregate demand in the economy through massive government spending, which would in turn stabilize the economy and begin to create jobs. But the stimulus came and went, vanishing with little positive effect on the economy, only to leave a trail of debt, subsidies and crony capitalism.
But the president’s Council of Economic Advisers promised that the stimulus would stem the tide of unemployment at 8 percent, receding even further thereafter. The economy remains mired in persistently high unemployment, experiencing a recent uptick to 9.1 percent. Conversely, the President’s economic advisors maintained that if the stimulus was not passed then unemployment would reach 8.8 percent. One could only wish!
The president and Democrats on Capitol continue to thwart economic recovery by punishing the private sector through tidal wave of regulations, mandates and taxes. Obamacare has become an albatross over the American economy. Its pernicious regulations and taxes have left employers (except for politically connected exemptions) mired in a state of uncertainty, unable to hire new workers due to fears of increased costs of employment and rising health care premiums.
Then there is the monolithic morass of punitive regulations incorporated in the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform bill. This 2,000-plus page monstrosity was designed to prevent a future financial crisis, but that assumption is increasingly in question. New regulations are stifling access to credit for businesses, entrepreneurs and hampering further job creation.
Ominously looming over the horizon is the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency, which has threatened to become the grim reaper of affordable energy by implementing a draconian cap and trade scheme through bureaucratic fiat. In addition, the agency is in the process of finalizing a host of new regulations that will cost consumers billions of dollars. Inflation and high gas prices have been a tremendous detriment to an already frail economy; further meddling by the EPA will only diminish economic growth and destroy jobs.
All of these policies have created a strait jacket on the economy. Even Democrat supporters on Wall Street, such as JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon have asked, “Has anyone bothered to study the cumulative effects of these things?”
The answer is no they haven’t. Surprised?
