Posted on 06/10/2012 8:17:06 AM PDT by Kaslin
The rage of the heat blowing in the direction of the White House this past Friday was so intense that in less than three hours from saying what has to be the most universally disconnected assertion in Presidential history President Obama was back at the microphone lapping up what he said like a dog at his own vomit.
He had no choice.
Never in the course of economic stagnation has a less-feeling, more callous, completely out-of-touch sentence been uttered.
"The private sector is doing fine."
In all of the debates that can be had over policy direction, administration priorities, whether or not the free market should be allowed to fail (and hence reinvent itself), or not (and hence keep the drag of economic growth going) one thing was known by both sides in the partisan ranks--the private sector is not fine.
America currently has the lowest participation in the employment pool of workers (by percentage) in over thirty years. Long after the 99 weeks of unemployment checks stopped coming, people have given up. The job market has dried up. Innovation has died a painful assassination, the bullet being fired into the head, by the administration's own war on the small business man or woman.
It is painful. It is humiliating. It is gut wrenching. In short it is anything but "fine."
If we were looking at the same employment pool (numbers) as when President Obama came into office in 2009, our actual unemployment number (those who are out of work but desire it desperately) is closer to 14%, and our underemployment (families who are working has hard as they can but can't pay for their basic needs) is closer to 25%.
There is legitimate discussion to be had about solutions to these dismaying numbers. There are genuine debates that can be had on college campuses this early fall about which direction would solve the problems. But no one can dispute that the private sector (the overwhelming engine of economic activity) is anything close to fine.
What was almost as equally disturbing the in the soundbite taken from President Obama's answer was the portion following the the "fine" comment.
He proceeded: "Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Often times cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in."
Here we see revealed an equally inane view of economic need, growth, development and solution.
In reality governments have tremendous power to levy the kind of help needed. State and local governments have fewer solutions than the federal government, but only by one choice. State, Local, and Federal governments all have the ability to borrow money or to raise taxes.
But state and local governments are under the gun of an electorate who is very close to them, doesn't want to see fiscal mismanagement, and has no use for even more of their hard earned money being lost in wasteful fashion. The federal government being further removed from the people, gets away with high-end Las Vegas conferences, endless rounds of golf, or sending the first dame and kids off on Air Force 1 vacations at the drop of the hat--without as much immediate consequence.
The federal government also has the one ability that states and municipalities do not--the control the printing presses to the currency. And in this administration's view--printing up as much as we need--doesn't seem to be terribly objectionable.
One of the reasons, I'm earnestly convinced, that President Obama does so few press briefings in recent days is partly due to the fact that he does not seem to be able to appear without demonstrating a considerable distance between himself, and "the little people." He has demonstrated this in his positions on fiscal issues, the manipulation of our national defense--and access for Hollywood insiders, and even every day American moral values. Bottom line: the king has no clothes.
His attempt to back pedal later on Friday was all spin to save face, and to not take a blow in this tightening election cycle in which normally blue states like Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Colorado--maybe even California are all coming into play for the GOP. But don't be confused--he believes he created jobs, he's done his part, and he has a tee time at 4pm.
Perhaps the most "out-of-touch" assertion ever issued by a sitting President, has also sealed--at least for Obama--the reality, that he is also... finally... for the good of America...
Out-of-time.
"Private Sector Doing Fine" my royal Irish ass! The RATS live in a make-believe world where socialism works. The rest of us are trying to keep a real world alive to pay for their fantasies!
I expect to see them at State FAIRS or evne COUNTY FAIRS if the polls show them close.
If the polls how a BLOWOUT for Mitt, the Obama's will be jetting all around, though.
POOTUS?
Is the Hepburn house still on the market? Expect to see a lot of trips to Connecticut. I don’t think they can write enough books to afford it.
I would like to see DumBO’s next residence in Leavenworth.
“The private sector is doing fine.”
Oboz0; hoist by his own canard. The left MUST spout this lie because they would necessarily be culpable if it were not true. The Clown President, so used, perhaps, to asserting this merely said it in passing sans highly spun statistics. A mild form of delusion.
Yeah I’m one of those who is underemployed but I am not even counted. I am self employed and took a huge hit when the housing bubble burst (construction). All of my work just dried up like a puddle in the desert. Now I am still doing woodworking but in a different way and I am working more hours for less pay but I won’t show up on any statistic. I have to wonder how many people there are out there like me. I have an e-commerce site and things are growing steadily. Maybe in another year I’ll be doing as good as I was before, but there is this dark cloud called the democrats and many republicans hanging over us and I don’t see things getting better any time soon. That’s the damnable thing. I wish I at least had some hope that things would improve but I do not. The one ray of hope I have is that the healthcare law will be struck down in its entirety this month. I think a lot of businesses are waiting to see what happens with that.
No Mr. President, things are not fine. There anything but fine. Fine is not even remotely close to the word for how things are. Look up from your golf ball for a minute and see the destruction you and your cronies have wrought. I know you won’t change direction because your policies are working as planned. You never cared about creating jobs.
Only One Term?
With all the stimulus money he blew with no results he could have gave every tax payer two million tax free and ended up with results.
He could have said see socialism does work,now he has to do a lapping up of his own vomit.
Socialist never get anything right.
Obama's stupid comment "the private sector is doing fine' will rank as one of those pivotal moments in U.S. presidential campaigns where historians can see exactly when the candidates campaign began to unravel.
Bumper sticker.
Obama says you’re doing fine.
ARE YOU DOING FINE?
The American economy gets downsized with each worker dropout by the amount they used to earn. Workers that don't participate in making money don't participate in spending it either. We're becoming Cuba Norte, exactly what the left wants. Hopefully Marco Rubio will get some stage time to educate swing voters about the left's socialist utopia of Cuba.
I'm pretty sure, Jeb already knows that. This announcement may have more to do with George P.'s career -- in or out of politics -- than his father's.
In Obamugabe’s world, the private sector IS fine. Everybody he knows is a Hollywood, sports or Wall Street multi-millionaire........
(raising hand in the back of the room)
Same here, brother. My wife and I risked it all to start our own business when we had a one year old, and another one due within months. That was fifteen years ago. In that time, we built a fine business that employed six to eight skilled craftsmen for many years. Times were good then.
That's all gone now. It's now back to just Mom & Pop. My eldest (who was the one year old when we started) now goes out with me and helps me install our jobs, which we now make 40% less for, than we did just five years ago.
Still, I know that we're doing a lot better than other folks out there, who can't find a position in their chosen field, and who have to rely on gov't assistance, or take employment which is far below their grade level.
I suppose we count as the 'under-employed', but as you said, who's counting us? No one.
“Private Sector Doing Fine” .....
I suppose it’s doing “fine” in the land of the King’s Court......DC Metro area.....but the Prez needs to get out a little more often with We the People.
Similar statement: "I don't think Eastern Europe is under Soviet Domination."
Sorry to hear that. I hope things improve for you. I talked to a plumber I used to work on a lot of jobs with. He is having to drive hundreds of miles to find work and he had to lower his prices to find what work he has. He is away from his young kids for weeks at a time. People who work for others as employees have no idea what it takes to build a business and what’s worse is most of the people in Washington have no experience at running a business but feel they are qualified to run everyone else’s.
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