Articles
Obama’s ‘Symbolic’ Peace Prize Costs Americans
10.20.09
by Penny Wise
Much has been written about Barack Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Most commentators, both friend and foe of Obama, liberal and conservative, and even some of the judges in Norway, wonder why Obama was awarded the prize after having been in office only nine months and with few concrete accomplishments.
The editors at Foreign Policy looked back at Obama’s 12 days as president before he was nominated for the award and concluded that Obama’s win was “symbolic.”
Even Saturday Night Live poked fun at the president’s lack of accomplishments in its opening skit of the season.
This can be funny stuff, but unfortunately, the American people are paying dearly for a president who attracts great praise but does not deliver anything but bills for unchecked spending. Here is a brief recap of Obama’s spending spree:
§ The budget deficit for 2009 has jumped to $1.42 trillion, which is up from $459 billion for all of 2008, and is “more than three times the most red ink ever amassed in a single year.”
§ The total outstanding national debt is $11.9 trillion and climbing. When Obama took office in January, the total national debt was $10.6 trillion. That is a 12% increase since Obama has been president.
§ Obama’s cap and trade tax program will cost Americans $80 billion a year and slow economic growth, even though there is evidence of a global cooling trend.
§ Health care reform will cost $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Businesses in New Hampshire could pay an additional $215 to $229 million a year.
§ A total of $133.9 billion paid to banks, $77.8 billion paid to the automotive industry, $25 billion paid to Citigroup, $20 billion paid to Bank of America, $69.8 billion paid to AIG, and $27 billion paid to home mortgage providers. That adds up to $353.5 billion in bailouts.
§ A taxpayer cost of $7,200 per car sold under the Cash for Clunkers program.
§ A taxpayer cost of $43,400 per home sold under the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit.
§ A total of $110.7 billion paid out by US government agencies under the Recovery Act, with another $676.3 billion to be spent.
The “reward” for American taxpayers, who will have to foot the bill for the Obama administration’s out-of-control spending, is rising unemployment. The national unemployment rate for September increased to 9.8%, with the hours – and earnings – of those employed still declining. Here in New Hampshire, the jobless mark hit 7.2%, with more than 53,000 Granite Staters looking for work.
Journalist David Frum writes that Obama “has collected acclaim, awards and prizes not for his accomplishments (which have always been rather scanty), but for his potential.”
With the national debt increasing by over $1 trillion since Obama took office, the American people cannot afford to continue to invest in Obama’s “potential” while receiving such poor returns. All the praise and prizes have had little impact on improving the lives of average Americans. It is time for the president and his administration to stop the spending spree and focus on real results.
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