Friday, July 27, 2012

Report: Economic Growth Slows To 1.5%, Yet Obama Says His Plan 'Worked'?

By Susan Duclos

On July 23, 2012, Barack Obama attended a fundraiser in Oakland California and claimed "We tried our plan... and it worked."

[WATCH]






It worked?

Four days later, July 27, 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce issues the National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 2nd quarter 2012 report which shows that "U.S. economic growth slows to 1.5 percent annual rate from April-June, consumer spending weakens." (Source- Associated Press headline)

Via Bloomberg:

Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 1.5 percent annual rate after a revised 2 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 1.4 percent increase. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy, grew at the slowest pace in a year.

What does Obama think worked?

His $800 billion stimulus where he pumped money into the economy without addressing the underlying issues that caused the recession? That gave off the illusion that the economy was getting better, but as was predicted, that illusion faded and now the economy is stalling again?

Obama is right about something working but it wasn't their plan, the "illusion" worked but the plan did not.

What is their answer?

Via Bloomberg again:

Consumers are cutting back just as Europe’s debt crisis and looming U.S. tax-policy changes dent confidence, hurting sales at companies from United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) to Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) Cooling growth makes it harder to reduce unemployment, helping explain why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has said policy makers stand ready with more stimulus if needed.

Yes, more stimulus because the first round worked in so well that three years later the economy is sputtering and growth is slowing.

Let us not forget that Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer wants the Fed to artificially stimulate the economy before the November elections so voters are tricked into thinking the economy is getting better before the electorate hands their referendum down on Obama's  economic job performance.

Manufacturing is down, unemployment is up, retail sales are down and the economy's growth is going in the wrong direction, but the Obama administration, like a two-trick pony show, thinks more stimulus and more debt, and raising taxes is a good plan?

The revised numbers from previous quarters tells us that the slowest recovery in memory is actually weaker and slower than was previously thought as recently as April 2012. The U.S. economy has never been so sluggish this long into a recovery. (Source- USA Today)

Yet Obama says, with a straight face, "We tried our plan... and it worked."

New Flash Barack, over 61 percent of the country disagrees and does not think your plan "worked" and still think the country is going in the wrong direction.

The only way to assure a healthy recovery is to get job creators to start creating jobs again, that will bring in more revenue because there will be new taxpayers in the system. To get small businesses to start growing again because that will help create more jobs and again, more workers means more taxpayers and more revenue. To get investors feeling secure enough to start investing their money into new businesses, expanding and pumping their money, not money the U.S. has to borrow, creating more debt, into the economy again.

None of that is part of Obama's plan.