Obama-cession
Two weeks ago Senator Barack Obama was elected to our nation's highest office by a large margin. This coming January 20 a record breaking four million people are forecasted to attend his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol. This is especially amazing since Barack Obama is responsible for the recession? Aghast, didn't you hear!
"The Obama recession is in full swing," radio right-winger and spitball zinger Rush Limbaugh has declared. "This Obama recession might turn into a depression," he warned, "and his ideas are killing the economy." Limbaugh's charge is based on Obama's pledge to raise income taxes for people making more than $250,000 a year and that he may increase capital gains rates for the wealthy.
Do I hear an echo? Oh, yes, it's Sean Hannity. "Wall Street keeps sinking, could it be the Obama recession?" asks Hannity. This is now a major topic on his television show and throughout the right-wing radio talk world as well. Hey, Sean, can't you find a way to pin this on Bill Ayers and the Reverend Wright too? Like it's a radical left-wing cabal headed up by Hussein Obama. If I am not mistaken, your fear is that America doesn't know who the real Barack Hussein Obama is?
Well, in case you haven't seen it, the United States is already in a "prolonged" recession. The National Association for Business Economics, NABE, just released a survey of leading economists and the findings are depressing.
Most economists surveyed believe that the U.S. recession began on or about the beginning of 2008, well before Obama's first primary win. During the third quarter of this year they estimate that GDP (Gross Domestic Product) contracted by .3%, and it will fall an amazing 2.6% in this, the fourth quarter. A recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed believe that economy will grow a paltry .7% next year, starting off with a 1.3% decline in the first quarter and slowly improving.
However, unemployment is forecast to hit 7.5% by the end of next year, and given the recent surge in layoffs that number will probably be quickly revised upward. The unemployment rate is currently at 6.5%.
If this forecast is not bad enough, consider we are in a global meltdown and that most economists don't know how the current financial crisis will play out. Banks and financial institutions are uncertain about their future, foreclosures are at a record high, and our great economic engine, the U.S. auto industry, may soon be out of business.
The U.S. government bailout is not working because it was not well thought out. And it is adding to America's national debt, which is now approaching $11 trillion. That's double what it was in 2000 when President George Bush was sworn into office as a compassionate conservative. During his tenure President Bush has added more than $15,000 in debt for each and every American, and the total debt is growing at a rate of $3.90 billion a day!
Meanwhile, we are mired in two costly wars, both in dollars and precious lives. And we urgently need to fix health care, education, entitlements, the environment, infrastructure and the list goes on. Furthermore, China and Japan are among the nations that own a large chunk of America and we are asking for more foreign investment. Thankfully, the George W. Bush administration will leave office in just a few weeks.
But Limbaugh and Hannity will go on and on. Each of them is free to shout and scream any outrageous, idiotic and inane comment they want in our great country. They daily manifest deceitfulness, divisiveness and greed. Clearly they are not encumbered by responsibility, integrity and decency. But each, with their $100 million plus employment contracts, are sure not feeling any economic pain from the Obama-cession.
Follow Joe Peyronnin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joepeyronnin
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
@satyriasis
}}}}
Ugh no they didn't. Liberals had factually based criticism of Bush.
{{{{
Ahhhh I see..
So when it's coming from the Right, it's all relentless smears..
When it comes from the Left it's "factually based criticism"
Do you see how completely and utterly hypocritical that attitude is??
Michale...
The right wing will smear Obama relentlessly like they did president Clinton. We progressives have to fight them head on, everyday, relentlessly too. Obama winning wasn't the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.
}}}}}
The right wing will smear Obama relentlessly like they did president Clinton.
{{{{
And the left wing smeared Bush relentless
What's your point??
Michale...
Ugh no they didn't. Liberals had factually based criticism of Bush. The right, as usual, is divorced from reality much like you. I wonder who pays your salary? I know Sheldon Aldelson is facing hard times. Perhaps he should ask for a refund.
Obama has a huge job on his hands. A pending depression, if not careful! Is he going to continue the same old crap allowing the biggest crime of the century to continue? The theft by bankers and more is incredible.
http://eye
@Bruupo
}}}}
"It's an undeniable fact that Democrats have as much blame as Republican
Bull.
{{{{
Bill Clinton himself made the point....
Michale...
@wideout179
}}}}
No one was assigning blame until you showed up.
{{{{
You mean, no one was assigning blame to DEMOCRATS until I showed up..
"This may very well be Bush's recession,"
"to blame for Bush's f***ups."
"Mr. Bush, the Republicans and the talking heads are responsible for this mess."
You see, that's kind of my point.
Ya'all wallow in political bigotry without even realizing you are doing it...
Michale
"It's an undeniable fact that Democrats have as much blame as Republican
Bull.
Your statement about "political bigotry" is an oxymoron. Politics are stated positions, parties announce their positions in their platforms, and politicians make decisions that are recorded in history. If their is any validity to the concept of "political bigotry", then it was also the ONLY THING THE REPUBLICANS RAN ON THIS ELECTION CYCLE.
George W Bush and Phil Gramm carried out their stated political positions, in their interpretation of their party's platform, in decisions which are on the record. They are responsible for deregulating investment banks, enabling speculation in energy markets, and in prompting the SEC to enter the age of "voluntary regulation" - and a dumber oxymoron there ain't- of the kinds of financial instruments in question in this.
And that is without even getting into the economic effect of Bush's war of choice- but it must betray an undue bias to mention THE TRUTH, acknowledged by the whole frea.king world, regarding that.
Dittoheads are the ones who want to pretend that somehow the democrats are to blame for this, after barely two years of control in Congress, and that is looney, and betrays YOUR "political bigotry".
We could have dealt with mortgage failures just fine if not for Gramm and Bush and the policies they pursued, the philosophy they believe in, and the poisonous, patently dishonest derivatives from unregulated corporations that they produced.
don't forget to include an expensive elective war financed on credit, presumably with intension of transferring (little remaining) public wealth to the hands of defense contractor
I am constrained to point out two things.
1. It has been the Democrats who have been at the forefront of this fiscal irresponsibility for the past 2 years, capping it off with a totally irresponsible bailout. And further compounding their error by pushing ANOTHER bailout.
and
2. Obama's pledge to not tax people STARTED out at $250,000. I think it ended right around $100K at the time he was elected..
Just being accurate here...
Michale...
Since when have the Republicans shown any responsibility for anything? Clinton left a budget surplus for Bush. The Republicans blew it. Now the Democrats have to clean up the mess the Republicans made, and will get blamed all the way for doing so.
No one is claiming that the Republicans are any more responsible.
But the fact is, it was the Democrats who pushed the credit/banking bailout and it's a disaster. It's also the Democrats who are pushing for the Auto bailout as well....
Yes, the Democrats have to clean up the mess.. But, they share a large part of the responsibility for the mess..
And their attempts to clean it up to date, have been less than spectacula
I am not about fixing blame. It's an undeniable fact that Democrats have as much blame as Republican
Michale...
you either have a short memory or bad tunnel vision-
Yes, Bill left a surplus, that was the result of the DotCom economy (no credit to the guy in office for that one) .
You say "The Republicans blew it." (?) Did they? or did the DotComs collapse, 9/11 hit, Katrina hit, and the Chinise economy hit? Stop trying to play the blame game based on elephant or donkey and study a bit of history (you and your comments will appear much more educated if you try it)
Obviously you don't know what you are talking about, the cut off is still 250, 000 dollars, the difference is those people at the end closest to 250 may not see money come back to them, but their taxes will not increase. those under 100, 000 dollars obviously will see money back because they make less money. so yes both are true, maybe you need to go back to school- because this is pretty basic stuff- 5th graders get it.
I overhear people at work talking about how the stock market keeps going down now that we have President-Elect Obama.
If you look at stocks, they are basically where they were when W took office 8 years ago.
I'm thinking of betting them that the stock market will be up at the end of Obama's first and second terms.
Where do you live? Very few here where I live buy that. Not even republicans. OK maybe the Rush fans who surrendered thier brains in order to be as obnoxious and destructive as possible.
In the good ol' U. S. of A. They were the same ones who were swooning about Sarah Palin a couple months ago. They are somewhat removed from reality.
The strange thing is that a lot of people believe Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and the other drooling, fear-mongering, mouth-breathing luddites that spread this garbage on the airwaves. I just don't get it. Maybe the water systems have been spiked....
This may very well be Bush's recession, but the fact of the matter is that should things worsen then it will be considered Obama's depression.
Well, at least Bill Clinton is finally off the hook with the noise machine. They have a new Democrat to blame for Bush's f***ups.
This situation has long been a depression, but the Bush/Repub
Americans are brighter -- and have better memories -- than that. Despite all the happy talk about the economy from Mr. Bush and his choir of talking heads for most of the last eight years, we shall know, always, that the market slipped dangerously when Mr. Bush usurped an office to which he was not elected, and that it slipped again as a result of his misadministration. Mr. Bush, the Republicans and the talking heads are responsible for this mess.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
