Sen. Mitch McConnell Takes On Obama's Agenda At CPAC

Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke this morning at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC 2012). CPAC is a major annual "watering hole" for conservatives. While I watched via the Internet, a fellow conservative Sam Adams MMIV attended the speech at CPAC. Rather than just provide copy McConnell's speech, below are detailed "cliff notes."This will provide readers with links and support information related to Sen. McConnell's key points.

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Unemployment Reality
The Obama Administration Said Their Stimulus Package Would Keep Unemployment Below 8 Percent, But That’s Not What HappenedSEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Three years ago this month President Obama signed a trillion dollar Stimulus bill that we were told would keep unemployment below 8 percent and drop-kick us out of the recession.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks (As Prepared) At CPAC, Washington, D.C. 2/9/12)

The Obama EconomyThe unemployment rate has stood above 8% for 36 months (Feb. 2009 – Jan. 2012). (“The Unemployment Situation – January 2012,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12); (BLS, Accessed 1/24/12)

Average duration of unemployment was 40.1 weeks in Jan. 2012. (“Table A-12. Unemployed Persons By Duration Of Unemployment,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12)

428,000 jobs lost Feb. 2009 – Jan. 2012. (U.S. Dept. Of Labor, “Employment, Hour, And Earnings From The Current Employment Statistics Survey (National),” Accessed 11/28/11)

5,614,000 jobs lost Jan. 2008 – Jan. 2012. (U.S. Dept. Of Labor, “Employment, Hour, And Earnings From The Current Employment Statistics Survey (National),” Accessed 11/28/11)

The black unemployment rate is 13.6%. (“Table A-2. Employment Status Of The Civilian Population By Race, Sex, And Age,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12)

The Hispanic unemployment rate is 10.5%.(“Table A-3. Employment Status Of The Hispanic Or Latino Population By Sex And Age,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12)

The 20-24 years old unemployment rate is 13.3%. (“Labor Force Statistics From The Current Population Survey: Unemployment Rate 20-24 Years,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 2/7/12)

Stimulus Promise: It ‘Literally Drop-Kicks Us Out Of This RecessionVICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: In “18 months” stimulus will “create 3.5 million jobs… literally drop-kicks us out of this recession.” (Vice President Biden, Remarks At Recover Plan Implementation Meeting, The White House, 2/25/09)

Obama advisors Christina Romer & Jared Bernstein claimed that the “unemployment rate with… the recovery plan,” would not exceed eight percent. (Christina Romer & Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” P.4, 1/9/09)

President Obama’s Deficit Reality
President Obama Once Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First TermSEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Shortly after the Stimulus bill was signed, President Obama made another promise — he said he’d cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks (As Prepared) At CPAC, Washington, D.C. 2/9/12)

President Obama: ‘I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half’PRESIDENT OBAMA: “And that's why today I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, D.C., 2/23/09)

·    REALITY: “CBO projects a $1.1 trillion federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2012 if current laws remain unchanged.” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 To 2022,” Congressional Budget Office, 1/12)

·    REALITY: “If the CBO estimate is correct, it would mean that the United States recorded a deficit of more than $1 trillion for every year of Obama’s first term… The deficit was $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011. The largest deficit recorded before that was $458 billion in 2008.” (“CBO Projects $1.08 Trillion Deficit, 8.9 Percent Jobless Rate In 2012” The Hill, 1/31/12)

Federal Pay Freeze
‘Federal Compensation Has Soared In The Past Decade,’ And Sen. McConnell Says Taxpayers ‘Have Every Reason To Demand A Federal Pay Freeze’SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “When the American people read that the compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled over the past 10 years, and that the benefits for federal workers are about 60% higher than the taxpayers who pay for them, they have every reason to demand a federal pay freeze.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks (As Prepared) At CPAC, Washington, D.C. 2/9/12)

‘Gap Between Federal And Private Workers Has Doubled’“Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row. The compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled in the past decade.” (“Federal Workers Earning Double Their Private Counterparts,” USA Today, 8/13/10)

·    “The federal compensation advantage has grown from $30,415 in 2000 to $61,998 last year.” (“Federal Workers Earning Double Their Private Counterparts,” USA Today, 8/13/10)

“Federal compensation has soared in the past decade, especially in the past five years, at a time when private wages and employment have sputtered.” (“Federal Workers' Pay Gains Are The Slowest In 10 Years,” USA Today, 12/27/11)

·    “Federal workers made an average $75,296 in pay last year, plus $28,323 in medical, pension and other benefits, the USA TODAY analysis found. That's about 60% more than the average private wage…” (“Federal Workers' Pay Gains Are The Slowest In 10 Years,” USA Today, 12/27/11)

2,210,400 federal workers (except U.S. Postal Service). (“Data Retrieval: Employment, Hours, And Earnings: Federal, Except U.S. Postal Service,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 2/9/12)

“Under the Obama administration, layoffs from reorganizations have dropped by two-thirds to fewer than 300 a year... Workers are 13 times more likely to die of natural causes than get laid off from the federal government.” (“Federal Workers Starting At Much Higher Pay Than In Past,” USA Today, 12/27/11)

President Obama’s Spending Hike
Senator McConnell Notes Government Spending Increased By ‘More Than 20 Percent’ Under The Obama AdministrationSEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Under this President, government spending has gone up more than 20 percent.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks (As Prepared) At CPAC, Washington, D.C. 2/9/12)

Annual Government Spending Up 21% Under President Obama’s Watch$618.5 Billion Increase In Total Federal Government Outlays FY2008-FY2012.

·    “Outlays… Total… Projected, 2012… 3,601 [billion dollars].” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 To 2022: Table 1-2, Changes In Revenues, Outlays, And Deficits Between 2010 And 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, P.5, 1/12)

·    “Budget outlays FY’2008… 2,982.5 [billion dollars].” (“The President’s 2011 Budget: Historical Tables: Table 8.1-Outlays By Budget Enforcement Act Category 1962-2016” Office Of Management And Budget, 2/14/11)
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Sam Adams MMIV is the pen name for an un-named beltway source. Thanks to all the Adams patriots who speak up for America.

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