American Economics For Dummies...And Canadians
I recently read the below editorial from a very passionate but grossly uninformed Canadian liberal named Richard Brunt entitled: You American's Have No Idea how Good You Have it With Obama. Mr. Brunt's letter strung together a series of disconnected economic tidbits which are in dire need of context. I must admit that I found the over zealous reception this letter received from the American left to be depressing although not surprising. There is so much in it to respond to however I'll do my best to educate our northern neighbor.
You Americans Have No Idea Just How Good You Have It With Obama
Many of us Canadians are confused by the U.S. midterm elections. Consider, right now in America, corporate profits are at record highs, the country's adding 200,000 jobs per month, unemployment is below 6%, U.S. gross national product growth is the best of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs, gasoline prices are falling, there's no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing, the deficit is rapidly declining, and the wealthy are still making astonishing amounts of money.
America is leading the world once again and respected internationally — in sharp contrast to the Bush years. Obama brought soldiers home from Iraq and killed Osama bin Laden.
So, Americans vote for the party that got you into the mess that Obama just dug you out of? This defies reason.
When you are done with Obama, could you send him our way?
Richard Brunt
Victoria, British Columbia
1. Corporate profits are at record highs, .
This cliché' of record high corporate profits is often repeated without reference. This myth is largely based on overseas revenue which has not yet been repatriated to the United States. Mr. Brunt fails to mention what Obama policy is responsible for this alleged record profits.
2. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs,...the wealthy are still making an astonishing amount of money. Mr. Brunt is correct but the strong dollar has nothing to do with President Obama's policies nor is this necessarily a good thing for the U.S. economy. Blame the strong dollar on the money printing policies of central banks around the world such as Japan and Eurozone countries. These policies have driven down their currencies and in the process has left the Greenback in its current strong position. However, this isn't good news for U.S. exports which suffer when the dollar is strong. The stock market has zero relationship to economic growth. The Federal reserve policies of quantitative easing (i.e. money printing) has inflated the stock market and other asset prices. This is a major reason why the wealthy are "making astonishing amounts of money". I'm sure this makes the left proud.
3. U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing....gasoline prices are falling. This is my favorite part of Mr. Brunt's letter since it clearly shows his lack of understanding. True, U.S. oil production has rapidly increased and U.S. oil imports are declining. However, this is happening in spite of Mr. Obama's policies. President Obama's administration is opposed to drilling on government owned lands. The increased oil production and exports are credited to activities on private lands. So you should give a pat on the back to the private sector for this and for lower gas prices, not President Obama's policies.
4. There's no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, the deficit is rapidly declining. I'm not sure where Mr. Brunt took his economics classes however there is no such thing as "no inflation" There are thousands of commodities and somewhere something is increasing in price. I'll write that statement off as incoherent. True the deficit is declining however Mr. Brunt should understand who controls the purse strings in our government and that would be congress. All spending bills originate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since the Republicans took over the House and Senate in 2014, the Obama administration's attempts to expand Government have been reigned in. When looking at deficits and spending, the party that controls congress is the most important factor. Also, consider interest rates to be like your body temperature. Too high or too low would not be good. Low interest rates discourage savings and drives funds away from fixed income securities like bonds into riskier one's. So, without getting further into the weeds, low interest rates aren't a net good for the economy and no reason to toot Obama's horn.
5. The Country's adding 200,000 jobs per month. Much of that job growth has come from the energy sector which as stated earlier is no credit to Obama due to his anti fracking policies. The current US GDP growth rate is an anemic 3.7%. After nearly 7 years in office that hardly something to celebrate. The last jobs report produced a very underwhelming 173,000 jobs.
6. America is leading the world once again and respected internationally. This might be the most laughable line in the entire piece. America is leading whom may I ask? This administration has manage to alienate several allies including Poland and the Czech Republic with regard to the missile sites in their respective countries. They have repeatedly disrespected our longstanding ally Israel. America under this administration has been reluctant to lead anything. And I would love for someone to tell me who respects the Unites States now who did not before?
I'll give Obama credit for giving the order to take down Osama which any President would have done. There are some things that American's are smart enough to know. It's easy to tell your buddy how cool his parents are when you don't live with them. Mr. Brunt's cheerleading for Obama is all the more shocking when you consider the damage that he has done to the Canadian economy by failing to approve the Keystone pipeline. However I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Brunt doesn't care much for the energy sector as most on the left do not. Our Canadian friend should inform black colleges of how good they have it with Obama. Perhaps then they wouldn't be suing his education department over the changing of student loan standards, which has hurt students at historically black colleges.
The Obama justice department's crusade against banks has resulted in tens of billons of dollars in fines and lost jobs in the sector.Canadians showing adulation for a leftist American president is understandable. After all their prospective is filtered through left wing Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the state controlled media outlet. So Mr. Brunt if you wanted us to send Obama your way, I wish you would have said something 7 years ago.
You Americans Have No Idea Just How Good You Have It With Obama
Many of us Canadians are confused by the U.S. midterm elections. Consider, right now in America, corporate profits are at record highs, the country's adding 200,000 jobs per month, unemployment is below 6%, U.S. gross national product growth is the best of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs, gasoline prices are falling, there's no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing, the deficit is rapidly declining, and the wealthy are still making astonishing amounts of money.
America is leading the world once again and respected internationally — in sharp contrast to the Bush years. Obama brought soldiers home from Iraq and killed Osama bin Laden.
So, Americans vote for the party that got you into the mess that Obama just dug you out of? This defies reason.
When you are done with Obama, could you send him our way?
Richard Brunt
Victoria, British Columbia
1. Corporate profits are at record highs, .
This cliché' of record high corporate profits is often repeated without reference. This myth is largely based on overseas revenue which has not yet been repatriated to the United States. Mr. Brunt fails to mention what Obama policy is responsible for this alleged record profits.
2. The dollar is at its strongest levels in years, the stock market is near record highs,...the wealthy are still making an astonishing amount of money. Mr. Brunt is correct but the strong dollar has nothing to do with President Obama's policies nor is this necessarily a good thing for the U.S. economy. Blame the strong dollar on the money printing policies of central banks around the world such as Japan and Eurozone countries. These policies have driven down their currencies and in the process has left the Greenback in its current strong position. However, this isn't good news for U.S. exports which suffer when the dollar is strong. The stock market has zero relationship to economic growth. The Federal reserve policies of quantitative easing (i.e. money printing) has inflated the stock market and other asset prices. This is a major reason why the wealthy are "making astonishing amounts of money". I'm sure this makes the left proud.
3. U.S. oil imports are declining, U.S. oil production is rapidly increasing....gasoline prices are falling. This is my favorite part of Mr. Brunt's letter since it clearly shows his lack of understanding. True, U.S. oil production has rapidly increased and U.S. oil imports are declining. However, this is happening in spite of Mr. Obama's policies. President Obama's administration is opposed to drilling on government owned lands. The increased oil production and exports are credited to activities on private lands. So you should give a pat on the back to the private sector for this and for lower gas prices, not President Obama's policies.
4. There's no inflation, interest rates are the lowest in 30 years, U.S. oil imports are declining, the deficit is rapidly declining. I'm not sure where Mr. Brunt took his economics classes however there is no such thing as "no inflation" There are thousands of commodities and somewhere something is increasing in price. I'll write that statement off as incoherent. True the deficit is declining however Mr. Brunt should understand who controls the purse strings in our government and that would be congress. All spending bills originate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Since the Republicans took over the House and Senate in 2014, the Obama administration's attempts to expand Government have been reigned in. When looking at deficits and spending, the party that controls congress is the most important factor. Also, consider interest rates to be like your body temperature. Too high or too low would not be good. Low interest rates discourage savings and drives funds away from fixed income securities like bonds into riskier one's. So, without getting further into the weeds, low interest rates aren't a net good for the economy and no reason to toot Obama's horn.
5. The Country's adding 200,000 jobs per month. Much of that job growth has come from the energy sector which as stated earlier is no credit to Obama due to his anti fracking policies. The current US GDP growth rate is an anemic 3.7%. After nearly 7 years in office that hardly something to celebrate. The last jobs report produced a very underwhelming 173,000 jobs.
6. America is leading the world once again and respected internationally. This might be the most laughable line in the entire piece. America is leading whom may I ask? This administration has manage to alienate several allies including Poland and the Czech Republic with regard to the missile sites in their respective countries. They have repeatedly disrespected our longstanding ally Israel. America under this administration has been reluctant to lead anything. And I would love for someone to tell me who respects the Unites States now who did not before?
I'll give Obama credit for giving the order to take down Osama which any President would have done. There are some things that American's are smart enough to know. It's easy to tell your buddy how cool his parents are when you don't live with them. Mr. Brunt's cheerleading for Obama is all the more shocking when you consider the damage that he has done to the Canadian economy by failing to approve the Keystone pipeline. However I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Brunt doesn't care much for the energy sector as most on the left do not. Our Canadian friend should inform black colleges of how good they have it with Obama. Perhaps then they wouldn't be suing his education department over the changing of student loan standards, which has hurt students at historically black colleges.
The Obama justice department's crusade against banks has resulted in tens of billons of dollars in fines and lost jobs in the sector.Canadians showing adulation for a leftist American president is understandable. After all their prospective is filtered through left wing Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the state controlled media outlet. So Mr. Brunt if you wanted us to send Obama your way, I wish you would have said something 7 years ago.
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