NFRW Political Briefing: Legislative News for the Week of August 7, 2012

Unemployment Rate Continues at All Time High

Since President Obama took office, the nation has lost 316,000 jobs and the unemployment rate has increased from 7.8 percent to 8.3 percent. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/4/12)

In July, the unemployment rate increased to 8.3 percent. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 8/4/12)

The New York Times reported that the "U.S. Economy Slowed to a Tepid 1.5% Rate of Growth." (Shaila Dewan, "U.S. Economy Slowed to a Tepid 1.5 Rate of Growth," The New York Times, 7/27/12)

The Washington Post stated that the "Growth at or Below 2 Percent Isn't Enough to Lower the Unemployment Rate." (The Washington Post, Twitter Feed, 7/27/12).

In addition, The Washington Post, on August 6, announced that the unemployment rate has been over 8 percent for 42 straight months, "a streak unparalleled in American history. No post-World War II president has ever been re-elected with unemployment over 7.2 percent" (Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, August 6, 2012).

President Obama's Economic Policies Fail to Win Over Voters

It appears that voters see the upcoming election as about one thing: Obama's ability or inability to improve the economy. With that in mind, in a July Washington Post-ABC News poll, only 44 percent of those polled approved of how Obama is dealing with the economy while 54 percent disapprove. Specifically, 41 percent strongly disapproved of the job Obama is doing on the economy and 21 percent strongly approved.

Sequestration Legislation Update

Under the past Budget Control Act, the spending authority of many federal departments and agencies will be automatically reduced on January 2, 2013, in order to comply with spending reductions between fiscal years 2013 through 2021 as required by the Budget Control Act.

The across the board funding cuts of certain federal entities, or "sequestration," will be split between defense spending and non-defense accounts. According to analysis by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the January 2, 2013, full implementation of the defense sequester would have a dramatic negative impact on our nation's ability to defend itself. Secretary Panetta points out that the sequestration's total cut will rise to approximately $1 trillion. Rough estimates show that after ten years of these automatic cuts, the U.S. would have the smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in the nation's history.

Sequestration is so serious at this point in time that even the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget argues that Congress should invest time in coming to an agreement to avoid sequestration.

How Obama's Hollywood Backers Have Outsourced Jobs

Jon Karl, of ABC News, pointed out it was another week, another Hollywood fundraiser for President Obama. From George Clooney's house in Los Angeles to Sarah Jessica Parker's townhouse in Manhattan, the Hollywood crowd has been a virtual ATM for the Obama campaign.

All that Hollywood cash, Mr. Karl reports, has helped pay for ads hammering Mitt Romney for maximizing profits by allegedly shipping American jobs overseas during his time at the helm of Bain Capital. But Hollywood knows a thing or two about outsourcing too.

Mr. Karl goes on to state that movie-making is big business and when it comes to maximizing profits, the President's top celebrity supporters have benefited from outsourcing Hollywood-style.

A fresh example begins with the movie "The Dark Knight Rises," starring Morgan Freeman (who recently gave Priorities USA, the Obama SuperPAC, $1 million). There is no more quintessentially American city than Gotham, but where were half of the Gotham scenes shot? In the United Kingdom and China. Going overseas may have meant fewer jobs for American workers, but means tax breaks and fewer union rules for the movie industry.

And then there's Hollywood legend Harvey Weinstein, who was hosting a recent high-dollar fundraiser for President Obama. Mr. Weinstein's long list of movie credits includes many films that although set in the United States, were filmed primarily in foreign countries. Outsourcing, pure and simple. ◼ National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) President: Rae Lynne Chornenky