During his State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening, Barack Obama is going to promise to make life better for middle class families. Of course he has also promised to do this during all of his other State of the Union addresses, but apparently he still believes that there are people out there that are buying what he is selling. Each January, he gets up there and tells us how the economy is “turning around” and to believe that much brighter days are right around the corner. And yet things just continue to get even worse for the middle class. The numbers that you are about to see will not be included in Obama’s State of the Union speech. They don’t fit the “narrative” that Obama is trying to sell to the American people. But all of these statistics are accurate. They paint a picture of a middle class that is dying. Yes, the decline of the U.S. middle class is a phenomenon that has been playing out for decades. But without a doubt, our troubles have accelerated during the Obama years. When it comes to economics, he is completely and utterly clueless, and the policies that he has implemented are eating away at the foundations of our economy like a cancer. The following are 27 facts that show how the middle class has fared under 6 years of Barack Obama…
#1 American families in the middle 20 percent of the income scale now earn less money than they did on the day when Barack Obama first entered the White House.
#2 American families in the middle 20 percent of the income scale have a lower net worth than they did on the day when Barack Obama first entered the White House.
#3 According to a Washington Post article published just a few days ago, more than 50 percent of the children in U.S. public schools now come from low income homes. This is the first time that this has happened in at least 50 years.
#4 According to a Census Bureau report that was recently released, 65 percent of all children in the United States are living in a home that receives some form of aid from the federal government.
#5 In 2008, the total number of business closures exceeded the total number of businesses being created for the first time ever, and that has continued to happen every single year since then.
#6 In 2008, 53 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be “middle class”. But by 2014, only 44 percent of all Americans still considered themselves to be “middle class”.
#7 In 2008, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be “lower class”. But in 2014, an astounding 49 percent of all Americans in that age range considered themselves to be “lower class”.
#8 Traditionally, owning a home has been one of the key indicators that you belong to the middle class. So what does the fact that the rate of homeownership in America has been falling for seven years in a row say about the Obama years?
#9 According to a survey that was conducted last year, 52 percent of all Americans cannot even afford the house that they are living in right now.
#10 After accounting for inflation, median household income in the United States is 8 percent lower than it was when the last recession started in 2007.
#11 According to one recent survey, 62 percent of all Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck.
#12 At this point, one out of every three adults in the United States has an unpaid debt that is “in collections“.
#13 When Barack Obama first set foot in the Oval Office, 60.6 percent of all working age Americans had a job. Today, that number is sitting at only 59.2 percent…
#14 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen from 19.8 weeks to 32.8 weeks.
#15 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.
#16 At the end of Barack Obama’s first year in office, our yearly trade deficit with China was 226 billion dollars. Last year, it was more than 314 billion dollars.
#17 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent. Today, it is over 101 percent.
#18 The U.S. national debt is on pace to approximately double during the eight years of the Obama administration. In other words, under Barack Obama the U.S. government will accumulate about as much debt as it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.
#19 According to the New York Times, the “typical American household” is now worth 36 percent less than it was worth a decade ago.
#20 The poverty rate in the United States has been at 15 percent or above for 3 consecutive years. This is the first time that has happened since 1965.
#21 From 2009 through 2013, the U.S. government spent a whopping 3.7 trillion dollars on welfare programs.
#22 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has gone from 32 million to 46 million.
#23 Ten years ago, the number of women in the U.S. that had full-time jobs outnumbered the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps by more than a 2 to 1 margin. But now the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps actually exceeds the number of women that have full-time jobs.
#24 One recent survey discovered that about 22 percent of all Americans have had to turn to a church food panty for assistance.
#25 An astounding 45 percent of all African-American children in the United States live in areas of “concentrated poverty”.
#26 40.9 percent of all children in the United States that are living with only one parent are living in poverty.
#27 According to a report that was released late last year by the National Center on Family Homelessness, the number of homeless children in the United States has reached a new all-time record high of 2.5 million.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.
The incredibly foolish decisions that have been made by Obama, Congress and the Federal Reserve have brought us right to the precipice of another major financial crisis and another crippling economic downturn.
So as bad as the numbers that I just shared with you above are, the truth is that they are nothing compared to what is coming.
We are heading into the greatest economic crisis that any of us have ever seen, and it is going to shock the world.
I hope that you are getting ready.
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He's right; the tone sounded the same.
Related:
"Retailers nationwide sold $616 billion worth of goods in November and December 2014, up 4 percent from the year before. It was a tick below expectations — the National Retail Federation predicted growth of 4.1 percent — and Massachusetts saw slower-than-national growth, with a survey of retailers here chalking up a 3.4 percent rise in sales compared with 2013. The shopping season was unusual for the way deals were rolled out before Black Friday, which smoothed consumption out and might have lowered sales for the Black Friday weekend."
The same day I was told it was a sluggish holiday season, and I suppose that is better than a di$mal one.
Obama committed to financial reform, says Treasury Secretary Lew
Like what?
In speech, Obama will urge higher taxes for wealthiest
He's delusional, right?
"In the final two years of his presidency, Obama is shifting from trying to bolster a tepid recovery to promoting a vision for reshaping the US economy as it gains strength. He has made closing the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and middle- and lower-income workers a central theme....
President Obama Tuesday night outlined a robust agenda to guide his final two years in office, boldly claiming credit for a rebounding economy and confidently focusing on populist themes that aim to close the growing income-inequality gap and bolster the middle class. He said again and again how far America has come, from times of war and recession at the beginning of his term to a period where combat missions have ended and, he said, the economy has recovered. “The shadow of crisis has passed,” he said. “And the state of the union is strong” — as the Democratic president is seeking to secure a legacy as an economic populist while shaping the terms of the debate heading into the 2016 election."
Where was all this eight years ago when you had a filibuster-proof Congress? Whatta hack!
You want to read more? By my guest:
"President Obama on Thursday unveiled plans to greatly increase federal assistance to working Americans struggling to afford child care, choosing a Democratic pocket in a solidly Republican state to sharpen the contrast between the parties’ economic visions. Obama is engaging in a well-worn tradition of presidents taking their State of the Union themes out of Washington and around the country — but with a twist: to places controlled by Republicans. Lawrence is “this little blue dot in a red sea here,” said Burdett A. Loomis, a political science professor at the University of Kansas. Kansas is also home to Koch Industries and ground zero for the conservative political empire of the billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch....
What was the carbon footprint of the public relations promotion?
A lot of people don’t have the luxury to see college as a place to “find yourself.” For them, college is primarily a means to one end — upward mobility. So when President Obama announced that he would propose making community college free for a lot of folks, I applauded the initiative. Then my pessimism set in. Given how sluggishly things happen in Congress — made worse by partisan politics — I don’t hold out much hope that the policy will come to pass. Already, critics are crying about the cost of the program, which is a legitimate concern, considering the federal deficit.....
Notice the war machine, Wall Street, well-connected corporations and concerns, and Israel never have such worries?
Questions about the initiative remain, including about how it would be funded when states could have to pay for roughly 25 percent of the cost."
That's a non-$tarter!
Related: President Obama seeks to end tax breaks on 529 college savings plans
But he cares, kids.
"Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy could further antagonize Republicans who are already angry with the president over his vows to veto several of the party's priorities, including legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, make changes to the president's signature health care legislation and block his executive actions on immigration. Even before officials revealed Obama's tax proposals, Republicans were saying that his veto threats are a sign of a president who didn't get the message from voters who relegated his party to minority status in the November election."
Neither did you guys.
"Obama veto threats echo top D.C. issues" by Nancy Benac, Associated Press January 24, 2015
WASHINGTON — President Obama has a telling legislative hit list.
The veto threats that he has issued over the last three weeks are a microcosm of American politics, representing the roiling issues of the day, the power struggle playing out between Congress and the White House, and even the pique between the president and GOP congressional leaders.
Pfffft!
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There’s a little bit of everything in Obama’s veto threats: the culture wars (abortion), energy policy (Keystone XL oil pipeline), health care (Obama’s program), foreign policy (Iran), economic angst (financial regulation), even wonky details of governance (rule-making processes).
Related: Privy to Your Health File
The list lays bare two competing visions of the proper role of government.
And while there’s plenty of political strategy behind what Obama has chosen to single out for a potential veto, he is also ‘‘really expressing what his values are and what he believes in,’’ says James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
Likewise, Thurber says, for all the political positioning going on among congressional Republicans, they have advanced any number of bills in the face of certain veto because they believe in them.
Game or not, the odds of winning are in Obama’s favor. Presidents have prevailed on 96 percent of their more than 2,500 vetoes over the years, with Congress able to muster the votes to override just 4 percent of the time.
Of all the legislation subject to an Obama veto threat, a bipartisan effort to impose new sanctions on Iran to discourage its nuclear program may have the best chance of mustering the two-thirds vote needed to override a presidential veto. A vote on that could come as early as next month.
Related: Obama Looking For a Fight on Iran
Many of the other bills do not stand a chance. And Republicans know that going in.
Still, it is smart for Republicans to put forward their ideas to show a clear contrast with the president, says Dan Holler, communications director for the conservative Heritage Action for America.
Holler said it is also important to understand that any major legislation that has a chance of being enacted is going to be negotiated with the White House behind the scenes.
Both sides appear to be ‘‘frontloading’’ their agendas with confrontational matters to help set the stage for the 2016 elections, with the real work to find compromises to come later, said William Galston, a former Clinton official.
It's all a BIG GAME!
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Also see:
Trade proposal, with rare reach, blurs party line
Plenty of biparti$an$hip there!
I'm leaving the rest behind for you to read. Good night.
NDUs:
Obama seeks to expand protection of Arctic wildlife
Environmentalists cheered the proposal, even though enactment by the current Congress appears unlikely [as] “this administration is willing to negotiate with Iran but not Alaska.”
I'm tired of the frozen fart mist from that man's mouth. Sorry.
Alaska faces lean budget times as oil prices plunge
Among the ideas circulating: instituting a personal income or sales tax. Many in the GOP-controlled Legislature are looking to a proposed liquefied natural gas project for new revenue. But that project is years away, if it even gets built.
UPDATE:
Global Warming Mounting Weird Comeback in 2015 - Agenda 21 Looming
TUESDAY UPDATES:
State of emergency in Mass.; Most driving banned, T shut, Guard activated as blizzard bears down
Blizzard, travel ban forces businesses to scramble; Statewide, businesses are finding creative ways to serve their customers and keep employees safe when a storm bears down
Looking to help neighbors dig out? ‘Snow Crew’ matches volunteers, needy
For small businesses, storm’s punch can be especially painful
Utilities geared up to tackle outages
Utilties urge customers to call if they lose power
Charlie Baker pulls first storm duty
Millions in path of fierce storm
Blizzard can seem like the end of the world
It better be after all the ma$$ media hype. If it turns into a dud.... arrrrrghh!
Advocates seek shelter for the homeless ahead of ferocious storm
Science behind the storm
Oh? What $cience would that be, Globe?
Climate change skeptic accused of violating disclosure rules
(Blog editor is so stunned at the juxtaposition he can't comment. War is peace, slavery is freedom, and cold is hot. I've seen it all. This is worse than Stalin's regime when it comes to true science)
I can't see my way to a purcha$e even if the weather were fine.
Obama makes the most of India’s Republic Day Parade
That article was DOA.
On one level, of course, it was just a parade. But it served as a fitting geopolitical metaphor as well. Russian-made Sukhoi-30 fighter jets roared so low that the scent of jet fuel settled over the VIP section, and Russian T-90 tanks trundled by, a reminder of India’s ties to Moscow dating to the Cold War. Yet it was Obama in the seat of the chief guest.
He is f***ing delusional, and so is the fawning and felting pre$$ that follows him.
