We’re All In This Economy Together
Wednesday - August 17, 2011
Since I consider myself to be conservative, the assumption in today’s political climate is that I must despise President Obama and his policies. This is probably fueled by assuming that all liberals despised President George W. Bush and his policies.
And herein lies the problem.
We are allowing our assumptions, emotions and games of one-upmanship to occlude the one irrefutable fact that, regardless of political affiliation, we all stand to suffer if we continue this downward spiral.
I am sincerely concerned with our nation’s economic future. My angst is derived from simply being a husband, father of two young children and someone who could be categorized as being “middle class.” I am not dissimilar to you or people you know. So I am incredibly frustrated with the stewardship of America by those who pursued positions of leadership with promises of hope, prosperity, security, etc. Once these folks came into office, for the most part, it just seems they are jockeying for position in order to win reelection at any cost.
The Great Debt Debate exposed the sausage-making to the general public. We witnessed the exploitation of this critical time for individual political gain. Again, regardless of your political persuasion, I am sure you walked away feeling less confident than before in the ability of our representatives to “do Americans right.”
President Bush 43 was eviscerated by the press and left-leaning punditry throughout his administration for everything from the Iraq War to outlawing stem cell research. I believe he was unfairly maligned and mistreated in the press most times, but there were occasions when he deserved it. One glaring area was federal spending, which increased to 6.5 percent gross domestic product from 2001 to 2009. Now, I also know there will be about a million explanations from Bush supporters as to why this was necessary.
All I can say to you is, “it is what it is.”
My point is there is enough blame to go around. If I report to you that our federal debt has increased from approximately $5 trillion in 2007 to about $14.3 trillion in 2011, is this an attack on the president? Am I engaging in “terrorism,” as Vice President Joe Biden has suggested if you dare question or disagree with the administration?
Hardly.
In January 2009, the number of unemployed was approximately 13 million. Unemployment rose to nearly 14.7 million by January 2010. Despite the fact that unemployment had fallen to 14 million by July 2011, there is a net increase in unemployment of approximately 1 million since 2009. Is this an attack on the president or anybody else? No. They are dispassionate facts that paint a picture of our reality.
But let’s not be mistaken. When economic conditions are good, the president in office reaps the praise and the credit. When economic conditions are bad, the president usually points the finger at others rather than hold up a mirror when giving statements and speeches. This president has blamed President Bush, Congress, other nations and more. I am waiting for him to blame football, global warming and too much salt in our diet (oh, Michelle’s got that one covered).
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