Hard to dismiss factoids

Two factoids in the news this week have been on my mind. The first is that median family wealth has declined 39% since President O’Bama took office. The second is that there are 4.6 million fewer jobs in the private sector now than three years ago. In my world, that spells lights out for O’Bama. Ronald Reagan trounced Jimmy Carter in 1980 by asking the simple question, are you better off now than you were four years ago? If I were advising Mitt Romney, I would tell him to pose that same question. Then, once put forth, sit down and let the community organizer explain why it was all Bush’s fault or why we are in trouble because of Europe or why we are turning the economy around, it just takes time. He has used all three so far. Only fools believe him. I was in a meeting today of the State Food Policy Council. One of our members is the head of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps). She told the group that 912,000 Alabamians are enrolled in her program. That is a quarter of the population of the State. One quarter. It is the highest rate of food assistance in the State’s history. And, our experience here is repeated in practically every state. Ironically, Wisconsin where the evil Scott Walker beheaded the state’s public sector unions, did not raise taxes and did not fire a single public employee, a quarter of the Wisconsin is not on SNAP. But he was hauled up on a recall that fell on its face. Seems rational thought still exists somewhere. I am a little surprised it was in Wisconsin. The 4.6 million private sector jobs contrasts with a decline of 400,000 public sector jobs. Yet, O’Bama tells us that the private sector is doing fine while we need to pump up the number of public sector jobs. He is living on another planet. I have concluded that to ask someone to do a job for which that person has no ability is cruel. The most humane thing we can do for the President is to retire him to a life of community activism. To expect him to execute the duties and responsibilities of President is cruel. It is like expecting me to pitch in a World Series or kick a winning field goal in the Auburn-Alabama game. It is not true that you can do anything you can dream. That is rubbish. And, we have perpetrated a crime against mediocre people. We have to sober up. This self-indulgent, new-age horse-shit that passes for societal assumptions has to be challenged. I am sure some enthusiastic guidance counselor told young O’Bama that he could be President one day. What a crime. Instead, that well-intended melon-head should have reminded him of the words of Dirty Harry: “a man has to know his limitations.”