“The Times They are a Changing”
As Bob Dylan said almost 50 years ago, “The times they are a changing.”
No more so than America’s people and their perception of today’s economy.
Approximately one-third of likely voters, or 34 percent to be exact, blames the president for the faltering economy the last few years according to a new poll conducted by The Hill.
They don’t blame Congress, Republicans or Obama’s favorite punching bag, former President George W. Bush. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Barack Hussein Obama, the commander-in-chief, our leader the last 45 months.
President Has Steered The Economy in The Wrong Direction?
Fifty-three percent, or a majority of those polled say the president has steered the economy in the wrong direction stalling growth, while 42 percent think he has taken the proper direction to fix it.
But the most dismal part of the poll shows 37 percent of independents, those most likely to determine the outcome of the election, blame the president for the slowest recovery since the Great Depression. Twenty-nine percent blame Congress, 20 percent corporations and financial institutions and the ever-favorite target, George W. Bush, a mere 9 percent.
Meanwhile 59 percent of independents think the president has prioritized the recovery in the wrong fashion while 36 percent say he’s doing things properly.
Republicans on Right Path on The Economy?
Overall, 30 percent of those polled felt Republican members of Congress have taken the right path on the economy while 57 percent feel the exact opposite. Conversely, independents are 26 percent in favor of Republicans in Congress while 59 percent are not.
All this brought up the most interesting question in the survey: Did the respondents think the slow recovery of the economy was inevitable?
Sixty-six percent of the majority said no while a paltry 26 percent said slow growth has been unavoidable. Independents at a 65 percent ratio blamed Washington while only 29 percent say it was inevitable.
Most Economists Predict Continued Slow Growth
This poll comes as most economists now predict continued slow or stagnant growth heading into the fall campaign season. It is also predicted that the official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent.
That is substantially higher than it was in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson declared his “War on Poverty.” Trillions of taxpayer dollars have been sunk into a multitude of government social programs since.
Poverty has been spreading from its traditional roots in the South to the West in such states as Colorado and Nevada.
Last Monday economist Nouriel Roubini, who correctly predicted the oncoming 2008 recession, was quoted as saying the U.S. economy will continue its down-slide and reach a “fiscal cliff” if spending is not curtailed.
Unparalleled Government Spending
Unparalleled government spending and stunted growth are imminent through the election and beyond. The U.S. faces a severe fiscal crisis and an indirect effect on private spending.
Last week also produced a Rasmussen poll that showed entrepreneurs starting a new business are now doing more to create jobs and economic growth than government or large businesses.
A complete opposite of decades gone by.
President Obama’s Speech July 13th
As a direct slam of President Obama’s speech July 13th attributing business owner’s success to outside influences, “If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own,” 72 percent of the 1,000 likely U.S. voters surveyed by Rasmussen said people who start small businesses are primarily responsible for their own success or failure.
A mere 13 percent disagreed.
Continuing that line of questioning, 11 percent felt state and local government programs deserved most of the credit for small business success while 7 percent attribute it to federal government programs.
A shocking 61 percent believe that small businesses are more of a valuable service to a community than big business or government at any level.
Obama Strategists Back to The Drawing Board
The results have sent Obama strategists back to the drawing board, or better yet, an Etch-a-Sketch redesign of their rhetoric.
Will it be credible?
