Obama's accomplishments

         I am quite certain that I could never convince Sally Sheridan that her deductions with regard to Obama’s successes are faulty, but I am compelled to respond. She would vote for him again on the basis of his accomplishments, first of all because he saved the American auto industry.  

      Not quite.  As I pointed out in my last letter, although General Motors is owned by the US taxpayer most of the company success has grown in foreign markets.  The Cadillac is made in Mexico, the Buick Regal in Germany, the Buick Riviera in China and according to Made in America Foundation GM violates import rules on many of the other models by stripping labels which are supposed to show where parts like the engines and transmissions are made.

         Obama’s car, the Chevy Volt costs $50,000 and has a real driving range of about 25 miles.  Most estimates say that every Volt costs the American Taxpayer $250,000, and now in his new budget the president proposes a $10,000 tax break for people who buy it.  That’s $10,000 we tax payers will give to those notorious one per centers because they’re the only ones who can afford a Volt.

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      Whether Obama has ended the wars in the Middle East remains to be seen.  I would remind Sally, however,  that the wars in Iraq were not in retaliation for 9/11. The first was at the request of Kuwait in response to the Iraqi invasion,  the second because Sadaam refused to comply with the terms of the surrender.

       She also admires Obama for having   “overseen 23 consecutive months of economic growth.”  We began tracking quarterly economic growth in 1947.  Obama is the first president who failed to achieve even one quarter of growth of at least 4 per cent.  Obama managed 3.9 in the first quarter of 2010, but growth has been sliding since then. According to this morning’s Sun, the unemployment rate in Yuma is over 20 percent.  Nationally only 64 percent of adult Americans are active in the labor force.  That wonderful 9 percent rate only counts people looking for work, not all of those out of work. 

            “He has made healthcare affordable for me and all Americans.” We haven’t seen what the effects of Obama care will be, but costs rise for whatever product the the government subsidizes.  My duplex rented for $225.  When Section 8 housing vouchers were available, the same apartment rented for over $600 a month. The reason healthcare is so costly is a result of government interference.  Read the book Code Blue.  Government interference in health care has been disastrous worldwide.

              Obama hasn’t saved the housing market either. According to this morning’s Sun, $4.9 million in Yuma properties, up 68 per cent from last year, go on auction block on Thursday.  The city of Detroit was unable to unload the thousands of tax delinquent homes, so now you can buy a house there for $500 if you agree to live in it for at least three years. 

             One thing that could have saved Obama would have been the approval of the Canadian pipeline.  I really think he wants to increase the unemployment numbers because he wants more people dependent on the federal government. It must be intentional.  He sees what’s happening in Europe.  He’s not dumb.