If you pointed to impartial statistics demonstrating that Democrat policies increase poverty and harm minorities and working-class Americans of every race, they would blame someone else.
The more knowledgeable liberals recognize their high-minded goals require sacrifices — African-Americans, low-income whites and Latinos. The less knowledgeable just regurgitate the party’s propaganda that it’s “Trump’s fault,” “George W. Bush’s fault” and the “GOP’s fault.”
But phony finger-pointing does not enjoy the voter traction it did just a few years ago. Since President Donald Trump and the GOP passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, nixed Obama-era overregulation and drew a line in the sand with thieving China, the quality of life for low-income Americans has dramatically improved. If there’s a single reason why Democrats hate the president, it’s because he proved without a doubt that their policies are anti-worker, anti-minority, and anti-poor.
African-American unemployment remains at the lowest in the nation’s history. Latino-Americans are the fastest growing home-buying demographic, wages are rising, and America has more available jobs than people to fill them. Hard to imagine, but a billionaire reality TV star with lavish hotels and resorts is the first president to do right by the lowest income Americans.
Facts are a problem for Democrats running in 2020. Democrats are hoping Creepy Joe Biden can infuse the left with the same enthusiasm as their standard bearer, Obama. But facts about their eight debilitating years may be a problem. When compared to President Trump’s record-setting economic positives, Obama managed to set a record of his own — the worst poverty in more than 50 years.
During the Obama Administration, the poverty rate stood at 15 percent or higher for three straight years. Approximately 50 million Americans suffered below the poverty line and Obama’s policies did zero to curb their long-term pain. Instead of addressing the foundations of economic development and job creation, Obama pushed dependence on the government over self-sufficiency.
“(Obama’s efforts) are basically to give more people more free stuff,” Heritage Foundation poverty specialist Robert Rector said. “That’s exactly the opposite of what (Pres.) Johnson said. Johnson’s goal was to make people prosperous and self-sufficient.”
Along with handing out free cell phones and trinkets, the Obama Administration attacked the minimum wage as a symbolic, although flawed, way of making low-income Americans believe something was being done. Today, the facts are that cities who have increased the minimum wage to $15 without a viable economic foundation saw people lose jobs and earn less. Businesses must be profitable enough to support increased wages.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported from 2009 to 2011, at least 31.6 percent of Americans fell below the poverty line for two or more months. And although the Obama Administration touted 12.6 million people getting their finances above the poverty line, 13.5 fell below it. Keep in mind that while Obama spoke about helping poor Americans out one side of his mouth, he inflicted harsh and expensive regulations on businesses.
Like the current class of Democrats, Biden included, their policies are anti-business — making them anti-worker. For example, the Green New Deal would upend the economy while adding $92 trillion in national debt. Of course, Democrats already knew this because not a single one of them voted for the policy when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought it to a vote.
In terms of overall Democrat policies, Forbes published an analytic assessment in 2014 that highlighted how left-leaning initiatives negatively impact low-income Americans. Climate change policies consistently place the highest burden on working Americans. Democrats still target industries such as oil to level high taxes. Those costs are passed along to consumers at the pump and cause heating oil to rise. For people struggling to support a family, these Democrat policies are particularly costly. Such policies have not shifted in any positive fashion during the last five years.
Although perhaps well-intentioned, policies to stem the tide of pollution have cost Americans millions of good-paying jobs. Democrats target the manufacturing sector in the U.S. who are then forced to make products inexpensively in China. After sending our good-paying manufacturing jobs to other countries, Obama and Democrats touted growth in the low-paying service sector. Working Americans got poorer.
During the early days of Democrats campaigning in the presidential primary, Americans hear consistent messaging about attacking big businesses, saving the world from climate change, and opening the borders for South American immigrants to flow in freely. All those things hurt lower-income Americans.
