Why is America Recovering Despite Obama?

Bill Clinton vetoed the fiscal policies of the conservative Congress twice in 1996 before finally accepting the policies. He then took credit for the surpluses that the policies produced.

Some ignorant people will give Obama credit for the current “recovery.” If presented with the facts, then it would be hard to do so. Consider unemployment in Yuma, AZ of 31.8% and unemployment in Bismarck, ND of 2.8% from the BLS report for June. If Obama is responsible for a 7.4% national rate, then he is also responsible for the 31.8% rate in Yuma The real reason is that new technologies in the “carbon-based” industries have given us an energy boom. Obama has been fighting any progress with a carbon tax proposal, huge subsidies to competing energy sources, and delays/prohibitions for obtaining resources from public lands and cheap and efficient distribution methods (pipelines). The oil imports have decreased more than 1 million barrels/day over the last several years (eia.gov). This amounts to money for over hundreds of millions of barrels of oil at $100/barrel which stays in the United States instead of subsidizing those who hate us. Those billions each year compose capital which can be used to create jobs.

Obama has surrounded himself with academics and out-right socialists who favor central planning over free-market economics. They claim that deficit spending (stimulus) by government and tight controls bring the nation out of recessions. The fact is that Hoover and FDR; Bush and Obama both tried stimulus spending and high wages. We know what happens because it has been tried before. Millions of Americans have suffered. The wealthiest period in America was the six years under President Coolidge. We had surpluses every year and individual wealth rapidly increased. Americans borrowed money to invest in America believing the boom would last forever (sounds like house prices never decrease?). Alan Greenspan would describe them as “irrationally exuburant.” The crash came under Hoover who Coolidge dubbed “wonduh boy.” Coolidge had been blamed as a “do-nothing” while Hoover, FDR, Bush and Obama were type-A interventionists.

The reference economist of 1776 was Adam Smith. Twentieth century economists Hayek and Mises saw the flaws in Keynes ideas and their use in Europe. If we continue to ignore the lessons of history, then we are doomed to repeat the mistakes – over and over again! See mises.org (Mises Institute at Auburn University – a kudzu-league school).