Obama Stages Taxpayer-Financed Campaign Speech In Indianapolis

Star photo of BO campaigning in Indianapolis

The Omedia was out in full force to cover The One's stop in Indianapolis today to visit Allison Transmission and gloat about how a $62 million federal stimulus grant to the multi-national corporation will create 205 jobs at a cost of $302,000 per job, plus interest since the $62 million came from money the U.S. Treasury borrowed from foreigners, by 2013 to build hybrid propulsion systems for trucks.  Despite record-high unemployment, Obama tried to claim his administration has created 2 million jobs and even suggested the Japanese earthquake was partially to blame for the weak American economy not producing more jobs:

This morning, Republicans were pointing to an unemployment rate that ticked up a bit, to 9 percent nationwide. Obama, in Indianapolis, was celebrating a different number: 268,000 new private sector jobs added in April.


“That means over the last 14 months,” Obama said, “we’ve added more than 2 million jobs in the private sector.”

That came, he said, despite “serious headwinds” for the economy, including the Japanese earthquake and tsunami which has disrupted industry here , and “high gas prices that have been eating away at your paychecks.”

Despite those setbacks, he said, the economy is making progress.

“We can take a hit and we can keep on going forward.”

The fact is more people have lost their jobs over the last 14 months than have found new jobs. Many of the unemployed are no longer counted in the statistics because they are no longer eligible for unemployment benefits after being unemployed longer than the period allowed to draw benefits. Once again, Obama blames the American people for consuming too much oil and causing record-high gas prices rather than his administration's efforts to block new oil drilling in this country.

The nation, he said, cannot drill its way to lower gas prices.


Last year, he said, the nation reached its highest level of oil production since 2003. But with only 2 to 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, it’s not enough for a nation that consumes about 25 percent of the oil.

 
Obama wants to keep the world's largest oil reserves within the U.S. locked up, while he encourages other countries, like Brazil, to drill for more oil. His answer is to provide large tax rebates to people who purchase electric vehicles. His $7,500 tax rebate "would be paid for, he said, by ending 'unwarranted subsidies' for oil companies, who have raked in billions of profits despite the recession."  What I want to know is how much it cost taxpayers to pay for what was nothing more than a campaign re-election stop on his road to winning another four-year term to complete his plan to destroy what remains of the free enterprise system in this country and replace it with industries run entirely by government.