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Jewish World Review Oct. 5, 2012/ 19 Tishrei, 5773 Obama the exacerbater By Deroy Murdock
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Slip slidin' away ...
Why does America seem to be slouching? Multiple measures have found this country going down, down, down since President Barack Obama's inauguration.
The Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) ranks nations on competitiveness. When Obama came to power, America had dominated this contest for at least three years. The U.S. quickly stumbled from first place in 2008 to second in 2009, fourth in 2010, fifth in 2011, and seventh today.
After examining 144 countries, WEF said this Sept. 4 about America's economic performance:
"The United States continues the decline that began a few years ago, falling two more positions to take seventh place this year. Although many structural features continue to make its economy extremely productive, a number of escalating and unaddressed weaknesses have lowered the US ranking in recent years ... The business community continues to be critical toward public and private institutions (41st).
In particular, its trust in politicians is not strong (54th) ... Business leaders also remain concerned about the government's ability to maintain arms-length relationships with the private sector (59th), and consider that the government spends its resources relatively wastefully (76th). A lack of macroeconomic stability continues to be the country's greatest area of weakness (111th, down from 90th last year)."
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After Standard & Poor's humiliating downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt on August 5, 2011, America has suffered two more demotions. Egan-Jones, one of nine rating agencies "nationally recognized" by the Securities and Exchange Commission, lowered America's debt from AA+ to AA last April, and from AA to AA- last September 14. Egan-Jones previously had chopped America's long-time AAA debt status to AA+ on July 16, 2011, foreshadowing by more than a fortnight Standard & Poor's higher-profile downgrade.
Egan-Jones said the Federal Reserve's Argentine-style money printing -- most recently via its $40 billion-per-month exchange of mortgage-backed securities for freshly minted cash -- threatens to pound the dollar as thin as phyllo dough.
"The Fed's QE3 will stoke the stock market and commodity prices but, in our opinion, will hurt the U.S. economy and, by extension, credit quality," observed Egan-Jones' statement on the Fed's "Quantitative Easing" policy. "The increased cost of commodities will pressure profitability of businesses, and increase the costs of consumers thereby reducing consumer purchasing power."
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America has deteriorated from a debt/GDP ratio of 76 percent when Obama took office to 104 percent today. This ties directly to Obama's 52 percent expansion of America's national debt, from $10.63 trillion at his inauguration to $16.17 trillion today. (GDP simultaneously grew just 11 percent, from $13.97 trillion to $15.58 trillion.) This burgeoning indebtedness reflects Obama's shattered promise to "cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office."
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The Bureau of Economic Analysis on September 27 revised second-quarter GDP growth downward, from 1.7 to 1.3 percent. America now trails growth in Cuba, which advanced by 2.1 percent between April and June.
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While the U.S. economy supposedly is in recovery, inflation-adjusted median household income is shrinking. As the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, that figure stood at $53,718. By last August, such a typical household saw its income shrivel to $50,678, a 5.7 percent reduction totaling $3,040 in lost buying power.
Some of these trends pre-date Obama. The Big Government Bush-Rove Administration cravenly ballooned the state. In an unprincipled and quixotic effort to create Rove's "durable Republican majority," he and Bush deployed new entitlements, boondoggles, pork projects, and other "compassionate conservative" outlays. These fools' errands beggared the nation while costing the GOP control of Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008. Nice work, George and Karl.
Obama correctly blames Bush-Rove for this fine mess. Alas, Obama exacerbates it. He is like a firefighter who finds a house ablaze and denounces the arsonists who ignited the inferno. But then Obama shovels coal onto the flames.
After four years of inhaling Obama's smoke, Americans finally may be ready to breathe normally again under Romney-Ryan.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Comment by clicking here. Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.
• 09/28/12: Barack Obama, slacker-in-chief • 09/24/12: Citizens or subjects? Candidates offer choice • 08/17/12: Dems ignore own issues with Medicare • 08/13/12: Speech Romney should give on Bain • 07/20/12: Obama's green projects bleeding red • 07/13/12: EPA, why fine oil firms over fantasy biofuel? • 07/06/12: How about remembering Mexican victims of 'Fast and Furious'? • 06/29/12: Health-care victory will give Obama headaches • 06/22/12: Mitt Romney, get on bus • 06/18/12: The 'racist' Florida vote purge obeys federal law • 06/08/12: Scott Walker's win should propel big reforms, stiffen pols' spines • 06/01/12: Regulators regulate, and that's a problem • 05/25/12: WWII hero Karski to receive U.S. Medal of Freedom • 05/18/12: Not the behavior of normal Americans • 05/18/12: Spacemen to NASA: Cool it on global warming • 05/04/12: Libs want to plunge the penthouse • 04/27/12: Obama and company are pushing hard on the pedal for deadlier cars • 04/20/12: We don't need no stinkin' budget? • 04/14/12: New Reasons to Hate Obamacare • 04/06/12: Team Obama plays energy policy for laughs • 03/30/12: Twitchy Dems need to let workers put tax-cut money in retirement funds • 03/23/12: Why not $100-an-hour minimum wage? • 03/15/12: The real (high) cost of Obama's health care act • 03/09/12: Race-baiting Dems oppose voter ID • 03/02/12: Forget kids --- today's debt hurts adults • 02/24/12: Dems arise against Obamacare • 02/17/12: The voting dead are understated • 02/10/12: Holder takes on 'racist' photo-ID cards: Prejudice is widespread --- even Obama backed them • 02/03/12: On tax plans, Gingrich trumps Romney • 01/27/12: Photo IDs can protect elections, let dead rest • 01/20/12: Romney runs hot and cold on global warming • 01/13/12: Economic freedom declines in U.S. • 01/06/12: Time to yank off Mitt's mask • 12/23/11: Boehner hands Dems a gift • 12/15/11: The U.S. could learn much from Hong Kong • 12/09/11:$687 billion is available to Congress free of strings • 12/02/11: Obama criticizes Wall Street but takes money from it • 11/18/11: Puerto Rico shows Washington the way • 11/11/11: Take heed, America: In Ohio even left-wing unionists voted to repeal ObamaCare • 10/28/11: Thanks, Netanyahu, for surge of hardened terrorists • 10/24/11:The Obama Spend-O-Rama • 10/17/11: Cain stakes his viable claim just by showing up • 10/07/11: Green jobs are national scandal • 10/04/11: Obama proudly declares class war • 09/23/11: Obama wrong about ‘Do-Nothing’ Congress • 09/16/11: Obama needs Ryan's vision on jobs • 09/09/11: Reaganomics trounces Obamanomics • 09/02/11: Labor leaders to Obama: Stop killing jobs • 08/26/11: Pro-market Perry vaults over Romney in GOP race • 08/19/11: Some rich Americans will not rest until Washington boosts their taxes • 08/12/11: Hope, change and free birth control for all • 08/05/11: Debt deal does virtually nothing • 07/21/11: Dems pro-choice on abortion but little else • 07/15/11: Debt deception: If only Dems were honest and GOPers were courageous • 07/08/11: Congress' war on light bulb blows up
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