Morning Bell: The Obama Tax and Spend Economy is Here
Conn Carroll /
Yesterday, just days after President Barack Obama signed his economic stimulus measure, the White House released a statement claiming credit for the reopening of a window and door factory in Chicago. Vice President Joe Biden said, “The reopening of this factory and the rehiring of these workers provide an excellent example of how the money in the Recovery Act is targeted to spur job creation quickly.”
If the Obama Administration is going to claim credit for every job created since Obama and Biden were elected, then if they are honest, they should also take the blame for every job lost. Since Obama’s election Nov. 4, the Dow has dropped 2,562 points. This past Friday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy shrank by 6.2%, making it the worst quarter since 1982. Many economists predict that labor data to be released this Friday will show that as many as 700,000 jobs were lost in February.
Why has our economic downturn accelerated only since President Obama took office? Because the Obama Administration’s policies amount to a declaration of war on the investors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses that make our economy grow. The budget released last week only confirmed the worst fears about the direction the Obama Administration wants to take the country.
Taxes: At a time when only the economists on the White House payroll believe our economy is about to recover, the Obama Administration plans to raise taxes on the American people by almost $2 trillion. The first $1.3 trillion of these taxes are aimed at the highest earning Americans, corporations, and small businesses. According to Heritage Foundation senior analyst Brian Riedl, while the top 20% of taxpayers now pay 80% of all taxes collected by the government, under the Obama plan, the top 20% of tax filers would pay 90% of all taxes, and the number of families who owe no tax would climb to near 50%. Riedl warns: “You can only increase taxes on the rich so much before they stop working, saving and investing, and that reduces economic growth for everybody.”