The Associated Press posted an article at My Way News that partially fact checked President Obama’s State of the Union Speech.
The first statement the article examined was the President’s statement, “At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.”
The article states:
Job growth has been healthy, but fueled in part by lower-paying jobs in areas such as retail and restaurants, which have replaced many higher-paying positions in manufacturing and construction. Part-time jobs also remain elevated: There are still 1.7 million fewer workers with full-time jobs than when the recession began in December 2007.
And the faster hiring hasn’t pushed up wages much. They have been growing at a tepid pace of about 2 percent a year since the recession ended 5 1/2 years ago. That’s barely ahead of inflation and below the annual pace of about 3.5 percent to 4 percent that is typical of a fully healthy economy.
That has left the income of the typical household below its pre-recession level. Inflation-adjusted median household income reached $53,880 in November 2014, according to an analysis of government data by Sentier Research. That is about 4 percent higher than when it bottomed out in 2011. But it is still 4.5 percent lower than the $56,447 median income in December 2007, the month the recession began.
Booming energy production is indeed a reality, but that’s a phenomenon many years in the making, with the development of cost-effective extraction from fracking and other means playing into the rise of the U.S. as an energy production giant.
It might be a relevant to also mention that the Obama Administration has blocked energy development on government land and attempted to block fracking. The Obama Administration has also blocked the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would create jobs. The Administration has caused a boom in part-time jobs by considering a thirty-hour week as full time, causing employers to cut back hours of workers. The growth of the economy has happened in spite of the President’s policies rather than because of them.
In the speech, the President stated, “I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college — to zero.”
The article reports:
THE FACTS: Zero for qualifying students; an estimated $60 billion over 10 years to the treasury.
The President stated, “We’ve set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history.”
The article reports:
THE FACTS: Waters is the key word here. Before expanding the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument last year from almost 87,000 square miles to more than 490,000 square miles, Obama had protected far fewer acres than his four predecessors, including President George W. Bush.
The President stated, “Thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives. Wages are finally starting to rise again. We know that more small-business owners plan to raise their employees’ pay than at any time since 2007.”
The article reports:
THE FACTS: A survey of small businesses by the National Federation of Independent Business does show that a rising proportion plans to raise wages. But plans to raise pay aren’t the same as actually raising them.
Average hourly earnings rose just 1.7 percent in December from 12 months earlier, according to the Labor Department. That’s about half the rate that is typical of a healthy economy and actually lower than the previous month. Economists generally expect wage gains to accelerate this year, as unemployment continues to fall and businesses are forced to offer higher pay to attract workers. But there is scant evidence that it is happening yet.
The President stated, “In Iraq and Syria, American leadership — including our military power — is stopping ISIL’s advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort.”
The article states:
THE FACTS: The U.S. also has been slow to set up long-promised training for the moderate Syrian opposition, and has yet to begin the actual vetting of the rebels. Also, despite persistent pleas from the rebels, the U.S. hasn’t sent the more lethal weapons they want. U.S. officials have expressed concerns that the weapons could end up in the hands of insurgents.
Military leaders, however, agree that coalition airstrikes and the military effort in Syria and Iraq have stopped the momentum of the Islamic State group, or ISIL, made it hard for the insurgents to communicate and travel, and hurt their oil revenues.
The article also mentions that in her response to the State of the Union Speech, Senator Joni Ernst described ObamaCare as one of President Obama’s failed policies. The article comments that ObamaCare has insured more people, but has caused disruption for others.
Generally speaking, the State of the Union Speech was not founded in reality. The President has not acknowledged the fact that under his Administration, the Democrat party has lost the House and the Senate, both of which they controlled when he took office. President Obama made no effort to bring both parties together, and in fact, taunted them at times. My impression was that the speech the President gave last night will divide Americans rather than unite them.