Oh wait, actually that headline is completely false, except for the snark tag of course. In reality, President Obama inherited an economy in freefall, having collapsed while George W. Bush was president. Recall that in late 2008 and early 2009, the economy was losing around 800,000 jobs per month, while the housing market and stock markets were collapsing. In sum, the day Barack Obama was sworn in, he was faced with the worst economic crisis this country has faced since the Great Depression.In response, Democrats took strong actions, including the economic recovery act that essentially zero Republicans supported. And the results? See the graphic below: 8.1 million private sector jobs added in the past 45 months; also a stock market setting record highs and the housing market experiencing a strong recovery. Turns out, first of all there was nothing "socialist" about Obama or the Democrats; second, that Democratic economic policies, along with strong monetary stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve, worked; and third, that we'd all be even BETTER off without the brain-dead austerity policies - including major cuts to state and federal government, threatening to default on our national debt, shutting down the government, and even now threatening to cut off unemployment benefits for people who need them - pushed by Republicans. Just remember all that come November 2014...and November 2016...and every November for a long time to come. |