Obama’s Economy

Recently former president Barack 0bama has been on the campaign trail trying to take credit for the current economy claiming most of the credit for the currently booming economy. I would point out that improving the economy never seemed to be Barack 0bama’s goal. In support of that claim I would point out 0bama’s 2008 pre-election brag that his carbon plan would cause utility rates to skyrocket. Who would that benefit? Would it benefit the lower and middle classes? No. Would it benefit utilities? No, all of the money would be passed to the government as tax. In the same interview he bragged that his policies would bankrupt any utility that wanted to take advantage of new clean burning coal technologies that the federal government has been financing research on for decades. His Energy Secretary mused publicly that he wished we could have $8/gallon gasoline like they do in Europe. Who would that benefit? Would it benefit the lower and middle classes? No. Would it benefit oil companies? No, all of the money would be passed to the government as tax where it could be redistributed to favored industries unable to find traction in a free market.

In the attempt to hold oil and gas exploration and thus development and production down in order to limit consumption he limited exploration on federal lands.

His “Cash for Clunkers” program was said to get old cars off the road, but further examination revealed that the production of a new car uses more energy than is saved by taking an older car off the road. In addition to the fuel inefficiency of the program it lured over a half million people into increased consumer debt. Who benefited from that? Did the lower and middle classes who now had increased financial obligations for years benefit? No. Did taxpayers who financed the program benefit? No. Did the big auto lenders? Yes. Did the automakers and the United Automakers Union benefit? By $3 Billion.

The single best indicator of a nations standard of living is it’s per capita energy consumption and Barack 0bama did everything he possible could for eight years to reduce America’s standard of living. It was only the advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that prevented it.

And now Barack 0bama is claiming that his policies resulted it economy that we feel, and see today. All I can say about that is that the man has a lot of damned nerve.

But that’s just what an average guy thinks.