Back to Basics

The race is over, Jimmy Carter can rest easy. Until this feckless administration, the hapless 39th President of the United States was safely ensconced as the worst President in U.S. history. Now, Carter who gave us double digit inflation and interest rates, a national malaise and a military in decline has been surpassed in the race for the bottom.

President Barack Obama is now the undisputed “Worst President in U.S. History.” He can place this award on his mantle next to the Noble Peace Prize.

Obama has compiled a remarkable record of economic disasters in his 31 months as President. He has added $4.3 trillion to our national debt, quadrupled our budget deficit, championed an unpopular and unfunded socialized healthcare plan and rammed through an unworkable $800 billion stimulus plan. In the process, gasoline prices have skyrocketed, home sales have tanked, the dollar is being challenged as the global reserve currency and inflation is rearing its ugly head again. Our country is suffering from 9.1 percent unemployment with an underemployment rate of 16.1 percent. Under President Obama, the number of chronically unemployed people is at an all-time high, as is the number of Americans on food stamps ($45.3 million). Last week, the University of Michigan released their consumer sentiment survey for August. It was the lowest rating since 1980, when “Worst President” runner-up Jimmy Carter was in office.

In the midst of this economic nightmare, Obama reached a new low this month. He now becomes the first President in U.S. history to preside over a downgrade in our credit rating from AAA to AA+. Immediately, the U.S. dropped from being the safest investment in the world to ranking below a dozen countries such as Liechtenstein. The new lower rating placed the U.S. in an unimpressive group of nations including New Zealand and Belgium.

Whether the S&P made the right decision or not, there is no doubt that our debt is unsustainable and the recent deal to extend the debt ceiling was a joke on the American people. The compromise deal called for an increase of up to $9 trillion to our national debt and did not cut spending, but only slowed the growth in the size of the federal government. It offered no reform of entitlement programs and only a promise to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. The S&P was quite unimpressed with the “fiscal consolidation plan” agreed to by Congress and the President. In their view, it fell short of what “would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.”

S&P stated the obvious by downgrading our rating. In fact, the agency claimed the country’s economic outlook was negative and another rating downgrade could occur. According to the S&P, the total U.S. debt is set to surpass 88 percent of the gross domestic product by 2021, which would result in long term Treasury instruments becoming a much riskier investment.

The stock market reacted with a vengeance to this unprecedented news and there is real worry about how far it will fall. Last week, President Obama addressed the nation about the crisis. Instead of calming the market, he sent it much lower with his inane remarks. His words offer no substance, only practiced political rhetoric.

President Obama needs to stop talking and start acting.