Obama's Bogus State of the Union Promises
www.Heritage.org
Tonight, the American people will be watching President Obama’s fifth State of the Union address. How has he done on his promises over the past four years?
Take a look at some of the promises Obama made back in 2009 during his first State of the Union.
“I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.”
During his first State of the Union, newly inaugurated President Obama vowed to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. Instead, Obama has averaged deficits nearly three times that of his predecessor.
For those who were concerned with President George W. Bush’s $4 trillion national debt, this pledge may have seemed like the “hope and change” the American people voted for in 2008. However, the reality of America’s additional debt over the past four years under the Obama Administration is staggering—almost $6 trillion in four years, on track to triple the amount Bush accumulated over his eight years as President. Now that Obama is heading into his second term, we’ve seen quite a change from the Barack Obama who thought $4 trillion in debt was “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.”
“Over the next two years, this [stimulus] plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs.”
The President promised great things from the stimulus plan, but as Heritage’s J.D. Foster has said, we have to look at his record. He may have promised 3.5 million new jobs, but he’s 7.7 million jobs in the hole instead.
“…we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It’s a commitment that’s paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue.”
President Obama’s promise that Obamacare would provide health insurance for every American has been proven false. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 30 million Americans are projected to remain uninsured even after Obamacare is fully implemented.
The idea that Obamacare would improve the “efficiencies” of the health care system is laughable. Obama’s plan for "efficiencies" in the system was just slashing Medicare provider reimbursement rates to the tune of $716 billion to help pay for Obamacare. The mammoth law is going to take 127 million hours of paperwork per year for Americans to comply with it. And Members of Congress are already walking back their support for the law—they are grumbling about several parts of it and even repealed one part in the fiscal cliff deal.
“We will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.”
When President Obama starts talking about “investing” taxpayer money, beware. Successful companies do not need taxpayer investment. The now-infamous energy company Solyndra is the most popular example of “investing” in energy companies gone wrong. The government subsidies to the green energy company lost the American taxpayers $627 million. While Solyndra is the most famous green failure, Heritage has exposed 19 taxpayer-funded failures in the Green Graveyard series. According to Heritage research, the government “invested” $2.6 billion in companies that then went bankrupt.
We have a massive federal deficit and millions of missing jobs. Obamacare is a bureaucratic nightmare that isn’t helping people get health care. The President’s “investments” have flushed taxpayers’ hard-earned money down the toilet.
We can only imagine…what will he promise tonight?
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