Thursday, February 23, 2012

President's approval ratings on economy rise as suburban poverty hits all time high: What gives?

A new AP poll shows President Obama's approval ratings on the economy are climbing. This is interesting considering just yesterday an article in MSN.money said there are now 2.7 million more impoverished households in the suburbs than in cities. This is based on a Brookings Institution analysis that revealed there were 15.4 million suburbanites living in poverty in 2010, a 53 percent increase since 2000. Poverty levels rose 11.5% from 2009 to 2010 in the suburbs, and inched up 5% in cities. The article mentioned how suburban food banks that were once supported by its own residents are now largely being used by those same people.

Gas prices are at record highs, but unlike when prices spiked under George W. Bush, you hear nary a criticism of President Obama's role in this. Prices are predicted to hit five dollars as early as this summer (and already have gone that high in Los Angeles), and the media keep silent. We have vast natural resources in America, yet our President refuses to tap into them while prices soar. Where is the outrage the media and the public levied at Bush? If there has been any economic recovery at all, imagine what this added gas price burden would do to it. Meanwhile the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, and "jobs added" have been largely in the public sector or temporary jobs found for the holidays. The numbers also don't reflect the huge number of people who have simply given up looking for a job and so are no longer counted in the totals.

The middle class is being pummeled by taxes, policies and regulations that continue to punish both the citizen and businesses -- who pass the costs on by either raising consumer prices or letting employees go. Still the President is calling for astronomical increases in spending at taxpayer expense while putting up roadblocks to businesses trying to survive. As CEO of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn, said, "This administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, progress and job creation in my lifetime and...we are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our escalating healthcare costs, and regulations coming from left and right."

Maybe those approving of President Obama on the economy are those members of unions who have received over 1,200 exemptions from the disastrous ObamaCare, while the rest of us are stuck with it. Maybe the approval comes from the 49 percent of the population that pays zero federal income taxes or the people of Solyndra who got millions in subsidies. Perhaps it's the left wing extremists at the EPA who put planet earth ahead of people, or just all the people on the public payroll who are giving the President a big thumbs up. Or maybe it's just those who simply base their opinions on the President's empty promises of nirvana. Who knows. Whoever it is praising the President on the economy, it's a safe bet to say the suburban soccer mom standing in line at the local food bank is not one of them.


Have a comment?  Click on the comments link in the bar below to share your thoughts. No registration necessary.





1 comment: