Past Presidents have pursued a “trickle-down approach,” “stimulus spending,” “supply-side economics,” “Keynesian theory,” “Reaganomics,” “demand-side spending,” and various other economic policies. Economists, politicians, and business leaders argue about the merits of each of these policies, arguing they are or are not “fuzzy math.”
However, there is nothing fuzzy about Obama’s policy of “Oblimination.”
Tuesday night, President Obama in his State of the Union address said, “Here are the results of your efforts: The lowest unemployment rate in over five years,” touting the “success” of his policies in reducing the unemployment rate down to 6.7%.
Concluding that this drop in the unemployment rate is a good development is not only false, but it is also outright mean to the millions of Americans who can’t find a job because of his failed economic policies.
The most recent employment report clearly illustrates his insensitive deception. The unemployment rate did drop from 7.0% to 6.7%, the lowest rate since October 2008. However, the rate fell almost entirely because almost 350,000 people left the workforce unable to find a job, according to figures released on January 10th by the U.S. Department of Labor. On the other hand, the U.S. economy added only a meager 74,000 jobs in December, well below estimates of what is needed for any widespread jobs recovery. In other words, about 80% of the “improvement” in the unemployment rate was because people got so discouraged with the job market they just gave up.
According to Obama’s logic, if in one month there were 100 million people in the work force and eight million of these people were unemployed, the unemployed rate would be 8%. If in the next month, all eight million of the unemployed stopped looking for work – just gave up – the unemployment rate would fall to zero. Eight million people giving up is not progress – it is total failure.
Under this false logic, if Obama’s economic policies could only get all the hungry to either stop looking for food or die from starvation, or the homeless to freeze to death or stop looking for a roof over their heads at night, he could eliminate three of the largest social problems this country faces (unemployment, hunger, and homelessness).
The White House understands this math, and the American people aren’t that stupid.
Fortunately, the media and American public are waking up and realizing that the President’s policies and metrics of success of Oblimination are false. Oblimination is not fuzzy – it is just plain mean to the less fortunate that have been hurt the most under his failed policies.
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