Dear Barack Obama: Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me

Impact

Young people today have more to lose in this presidential election than ever before. They are losing something they never had, the prospects of rewarding career. In this election, more than half of recent college graduates are unemployed or settling on jobs that do not even require the Bachelor's degree they spent four years pursuing. This election is also a reflection on how many of today’s graduates voted in the 2008 presidential election, while still in college. In that regard, this is the election of "fool me twice, shame on me."

Unlike in 2008, when Obama’s teleprompter also served as his record, in this election neither candidate will be able to avoid their record. This was readily understood this week, when Obama gave himself — after four years — an “incomplete” score on his promise to fix the economy in his first term. Just as incomplete does not result in promotion to the next grade; it certainly does not put people back in jobs. To his credit, Obama at one point in his presidency understood this, saying he would be a “one-term president” if he did not get the economy growing again.

Forget for a moment that an election is approaching. Today, gas prices are dangerously high — two dollars higher per gallon than when Obama first took office. The increased cost for fuel hampers domestic consumption and sends more hard-earned dollars to the Middle East. What is worse, bludgeoned by Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Japan, the international financial markets and economic trends are looking ever bleaker. According to the Department of Commerce, U.S. exports to the European Union — its largest trading partner — have already decreased by 5% since June 2011. Should the EU continue down this path as many analysts predict, America may follow closely behind. The U.S. faces a colossal bill from its amount of debt. The financing of U.S. government operations costs approximately $500 billion annually, which reached $16 trillion of total outstanding debt. Anyone who has ever carried debt on a credit card knows that — especially with increasing government expenditures — this is an economic train set to crash.

Obama recognized America was concerned about the growing debt and promised to cut the debt in half within four years. However, since his term began in January 2009, the debt has risen by exactly half, driven primarily by Obamacare and stimulus money that ended up primarily in the companies owned by donors and resulted in a net loss of 300,000 jobs. Probably the best indicator of Obama’s record is USDA’s report on the number of people receiving food stamps. Forty-seven million American’s are now using food stamps, up 15 million from when he took office. That means one out of every seven Americans is now dependent on the government. Not only is this an appalling failure for the American people, but also one that the Obama administration is proud of and will cruelly benefit from.

Just as parks ask that patrons not feed the wildlife to prevent them becoming dependent and losing their survivability skills, liberals know that the more people that become dependent on them, the more votes they are able to count on. 

If the Obama administration had any respect for those between jobs and not simply looking to addict people to handouts, they would push the government handout as the last resort, not the first. Then videos like the “food stamp rap” or advertisements looking to enroll individuals that do not need the safety net would simply not exist. 

Obama has stated that he favors another stimulus, more green energy, and more safety nets. Americans can expect this to be part of his economic plan to dig the U.S. out of recession. He may even repeat his mantra about cutting the debt in half again. But, if history has ever repeated itself, a vote for Obama will make it happen again.

On the other hand, there is the Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and a successful businessman. A born leader that knows what it takes to make a business healthy, lead a state, turn around an Olympics, and balance a checkbook — something desperately needed in Washington. He maintains a record of increasing jobs in both the public and private sectors. During his time as governor, he added tens of thousands of jobs, decreased unemployment, and balanced the budget. His party, is the party of ideas, grounded in the constitutional right that Americans should pursue happiness. 

Romney has a five point plan for the economy: promote more domestic energy, cultivate skills for economic success, make trade work for America, cut the deficit, and champion small business. He will push for the repeal of Obamacare and cut regulations that prevent economic growth at a time when families need it most. Most of all, he believes that the government should work for the people, rather than the people for the government. It is the government’s job to remove barriers to success and smooth the pursuit of happiness, not put barriers and roadblocks in the path to happiness.

This election may indeed decide if America is going deeper into or finally coming out of a recession. America deserves a leader who will ensure that it is the later, one that instills confidence in the American economy once again, and one with solid private sector credentials to bear. Young people are struggling now, and they will continue to struggle until this economy gets moving. Obama, may make some good speeches, but it is due time that America chose a leader that returns to the values this country was founded on, be honest about the challenges we face as a nation, and make tough decisions that get Americans back to work.