OPINION:
In February 2009, President Obama’s $831 billion stimulus program was supposed to create 5 million new jobs and reduce unemployment to below 8 percent by the end of 2010. Mr. Obama missed both projections by wide margins.
Unemployment is still above 8 percent. Just 69,000 new jobs were created in May, the fewest in a year. When we add in people who have stopped looking for work, the real unemployment rate is closer to 13 percent. During Mr. Obama’s term, the national debt has increased by $5 trillion to more than $15 trillion and it increases still. What’s more, the flailing administration has created extreme uncertainty in the private sector, which has depressed manufacturing activity and inhibited hiring.
Mr. Obama’s policies and programs have had a negative impact on the work force. For example, the White House has obstructed job creation by putting the Keystone XL pipeline project on hold, and the Congressional Budget Office has stated Mr. Obama’s health care law will cost the United States 850,000 jobs.
The latest reports show we could be in a stagnant economy and possibly could fall back into recession. Mr. Obama has been in office 3 1/2 years, and he - not former President George W. Bush - owns the faltering economy. As the late President Truman once said, “The buck stops here.”
DONALD A. MOSKOWITZ
Londonderry, N.H.
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