Dear Editor,
Simply put, the more I learn of Justin Trudeau’s platform, the more it looks like a clone of Pres. Obama’s platform when he took office. Obama literally put the U.S. in debt equal to all the previous Presidents combined, going back to the founding of the country. [This may not be a coincidence since I’ve heard that many of Obama’s consultants are now advising the Liberal Party.] So, what has been the result of Obama’s ‘stimulation’ of the economy?
Probably the most hidden story is the surge in unemployment. Oh, I know that our TV networks ‘report’ that the U.S. unemployment rate is now very low. What they don’t tell you is that the unemployment rate does not include those who have given up looking for a job, or those who are working at McDonalds when they have a MBA or some other advanced degree. Thus, they can claim that out of 1000 people only 50 are unemployed (thus 5% unemployment) when in reality there are another 100 who have given up looking for work (which, in reality, makes it 15% unemployment).
When Obama started his ‘stimulus’ plan in 2009 the median household income in the U.S. was $56,500. Today, it is just under $52,000. [St. Louis Fed data ‘ see https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/MEHOINUSA672N] Before voting for a ‘stimulus’ scheme to get our economy going, ask yourself how well you would do with $4,500 less income.
Anyone who blames our government for the slowdown in the Canadian economy doesn’t understand basic economics. The reason for Canada’s slowdown is because we are very dependent on the U.S. economy (as well as to a lesser extent Europe’s similar economic situation), and Obama’s ‘stimulus’ plan as severely damaged the U.S. economy. When American are short $4,500 per family, they don’t have as much money to buy Canadian products, and that is our biggest export customer.
I don’t mean this to be in any way partisan ‘ these are just the economic facts. Think about this before you vote.
Paul Bowman
