'Recovery Summer'

"Recovery Summer"

Democrats’ Claims vs. America’s Realities (Pt. 3)

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

"The Recovery Act has worked."  --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (SFGate, June 5, 2010)


CLAIM #1 – “The Democratic-led Congress continues working to create American jobs and strengthen the economy because we must bring down the unemployment rate and restore American job security.” –Speaker Pelosi 

  • AMERICA’S REALITY:  Since the nearly $1 trillion stimulus plan became law in February 2009, the unemployment rate reached a 27 year high of 10.2 percent.  On September 3, 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s unemployment rate for August 2010 rose from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent.  Unemployment has been above nine percent for 16 consecutive months. 

 

CLAIM #2 – On January 22, 2009, Speaker Pelosi stated, “[The stimulus plan] is a crucial first step in a concerted effort that we have to jumpstart the economy.  It will create jobs immediately, and it will also lay the foundation for economic stability as we go forward.”

  • AMERICA’S REALITY:  On August 17, 2010, Reuters reported, “U.S. bankruptcy filings have reached the highest level since 2005…There were 422,061 bankruptcy filings between April and June, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, up 9 percent from 388,148 in the prior three-month period, and up 11 percent from 381,073 a year earlier.  For the year ended June 30, there were 1.57 million bankruptcies, up 20 percent from 1.31 million a year earlier.  Consumer bankruptcies rose 21 percent to 1.51 million, and business bankruptcies rose 9 percent to 59,608.  Quarterly filings surpassed 400,000 for the first time since a record 667,431 bankruptcies were begun in the fourth quarter of 2005...” 

 

CLAIM #3 – On March 10, 2009, Speaker Pelosi stated, “The choices that were made in it [stimulus plan] were to create jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs and jobs as soon as possible and jobs over a period of time to stabilize the economy.” 

  • AMERICA’S REALITY:  On August 5, 2010, FoxNews.com reported, “The number of Americans receiving federal aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, soared to a record 40.8 million in May…But according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the number of people on the food stamp rolls has been growing to record levels for 18 straight months.  Nearly $5.5 billion in aid went out to beneficiaries in May alone.  The number of May recipients marked a 19 percent increase from a year ago.” 

 

CLAIM #4 – On May 5, 2010, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated, “It is all about a four-letter word: jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. We are all about jobs.”

  • America’s Reality:  On August 30, 2010, the USA Today reported, “Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand…More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid…That's up at least 17 percent since the recession began in December 2007…Close to 10 million receive unemployment insurance, nearly four times the number from 2007.”

 

CLAIM #5 – On January 8, 2009, Speaker Pelosi stated, “[F]iscal discipline will be part of everything that we do.  And fiscal discipline requires us not only to rein in the spending, but to account for it and to make sure we're getting the results the American people or the taxpayer has paid for.”

  • AMERICA’S REALITY:  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that 2011 will be the third straight year of $1 trillion deficits.  According to estimates from the CBO and the Census Bureau, each American’s share of the government’s public debt burden is projected to increase by $250,560 over the next 40 years.  The national debt is currently over $13 trillion.