Obama Policies Hurt Middle Class

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
Reno Gazette-Journal

In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama told us, “The real question is, ‘Will this country be better off four years from now?’ ”

Yet today, as the president speaks in Reno, he won’t dare ask the question, “Are we better off four years later?”

Nevertheless, President Obama should be held to his own standard. A sitting president is accountable for his record, especially to those who have been hurt most during his presidency: the struggling middle class.

He is accountable to the out-of-work mechanic who can’t pay the mortgage. He is accountable to the mother of three who stays up late figuring out how to make ends meet. And he is accountable to the college graduate who has moved back home, unable to find work or pay off his student debt.

“Building a strong middle class is key to making our economy strong,” said Obama in 2008. He was right, but his policies have been wrong.

Since President Obama took office, Nevada has lost over 70,000 jobs. Median household incomes have fallen over $5,000 since 2008. Two out of three homeowners owe more on their homes than they are worth.

When Democrats and President Obama forced their

$831 billion stimulus, more than $2 trillion ObamaCare bill and massive regulations on us, they said these big government programs would be good for the economy. But we are worse off thanks to these policies.

Because of his reckless spending, President Obama has racked up more debt than any president in history — over

$5 trillion. This pattern is unsustainable. Yet Democrats have no plan for fiscal restraint. The Democrat-controlled Senate has failed to pass a budget for three years.

If America continues on this path, government will consume the economy. Medicare and Social Security will go bankrupt. Our children will inherit a less prosperous country. Americans are crying out for a new direction.

Republicans, however, are prepared to lead in the right direction. Gov. Mitt Romney, our presumptive nominee, understands what it takes to get the economy moving and create jobs. He will make the tax code fairer, flatter and simpler. And he’ll make government smaller and smarter. He will end excessive regulation and pursue an energy policy that creates jobs .

In November, a vote for President Obama is a vote for more debt and high unemployment, higher taxes and more home foreclosures.

But a vote for Republicans is a vote for a new direction — for opportunity and prosperity. It’s a vote for policies that will secure a better future for our children and empower the middle class.

Read more: http://www.rgj.com/article/20120511/OPED04/305110036/Obama-policies-hurt-middle-class