Barack Obama Urges Americans Not to Fear the Economy

In an interview above Air Force One, Barack Obama told reporters, "What I don't think people should do is suddenly stuff money in their mattresses and pull back completely from spending. I don't think that people should be fearful about our future." Our drive-by media was quick to access these statements as "hope" from President Barack Obama. A better question is, "Where are Americans fears coming from?"

Multiple news stories state that the Bush Administration caused the current economic issues. President Barack Obama, drive-by media, and Democrats point to the growing national debt and War on Terrorism for our current economic situation. It is true that our current economic situation started in August 2008. However, this was years after the start of the War on Terrorism and the growth of our national debt.

Our current economic situation's roots lie solely in the 2008 presidential election. Late 2007 and the majority of 2008 brought historic oil prices. Oil prices caused the cost of food and other necessities to increase. Rising prices put a crunch on the pocketbooks of American families; however, many American saw this as being done to them from forces they could not control. Americans had less money in their budgets but were not prepared to change their lifestyles.

Late in the summer of 2008, liberals everywhere thought they had found their Messiah in Barack Obama. Media began running stories about America's impending economic doom. Nancy Polosi spoke with The Today Show and stated that America was heading for economic doom and blamed Bush and the Republicans for the trouble. So close to a presidential election, were these statements concern or political posturing?

The Republicans did not help themselves. As usual, they stayed quiet and did not meet the accusations head on. Their lack of aggression led to the proposal of Stimulus Bill number 1. The majority of Americans did not support this bill. Harry Reid admitted this to one reporter stating that eight of ten calls to Congress were against the Stimulus Bill. Senator Harry Reid also stated that the bill would pass because Americans did not understand the situation.

Passage of Stimulus Bill number one allowed the United States government to buy stock in banks. The United States government's purchasing of private company stock further hindered Americans confidence in the market. Americans began finding ways to lower their bills. National media (i.e. CNN, MSNBC, The Today Show, etc.) began running stories like "Surviving the Economic Downturn" and "Lowering Your Family Budgets During a Depression". These stories further damaged consumer confidence.

Throughout this election, the cycle of bad economic news continued. This brings us to the election of President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama started his administration talking about how his administration would turn the country around. President Barack Obama also stated that it would take time.

President Obama's election brought steep drops in the Stock Market. Again, consumer confidence can be blamed for these drops. Like it or not, the stock market is driven by investors. Investors, for majority, are members of the "rich". Throughout his campaign, President Barack Obama stated his distain for the "rich".

In June 2008, The New York Times reported on a speech given by President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama spoke about what the economy needed, "change that will restore balance to our economy, that will invest in the ingenuity and innovation of our people, that will fuel a bottom-up prosperity to keep America strong and competitive in the 21st century".

President Barack Obama stated continuously that a "bottom up" economic system would be funded by raising taxes on the "rich" (American families making more that $250,000) and putting more Americans to work in government-funded programs. These statements caused more Americans, especially those now classified as "rich", to become fearful of the future. These Americans began pulling even more money out of the stock market, preparing their companies for higher taxes by cutting costs (often meaning jobs) and preparing for the President Barack Obama administration.

This cycle has only continued. Americans become more fearful, cut their spending, companies sales go down, companies cut costs and lay off people, government promises larger government and more deficit spending, President Barack Obama states how long recovery will take, American become more scared. This cycle was reiterated by MSNBC's Sunday Morning show this morning.

It appears that the President Barack Obama's administration may have recognized this trend. Leading to his change in tone aboard Air Force One. Why should Americans listen now? For many months, Americans have been told that we are heading for a depression. A depression that only the Democrats and President Barack Obama could fix. In reality, media and the politicians can affect consumer confidence and lower the economy. It is a much different story to restore this confidence. It will be interesting to see what statements President Barack Obama will make next.