Barack Obama has been a harmful president

Ok domestic policy first. I would like to address a couple main points, but first, let"s get the facts out there: The total federal debt now tallies more than $18 trillion. Just six years ago when President Obama took office, total debt stood at $10.6 trillion, which means it now has increased by almost $8 trillion"roughly 70 percent"during his tenure as president.The surge in total debt, which has hit 103 percent of gross domestic product, comes at a time when politicians are championing falling deficits and claiming them as evidence that government spending is under control [1]. A record number of people are dependent on government " that includes record numbers of people on food stamps and an astonishing number of people on disability. Nearly one in seven Americans are on food stamps " that"s over 23 million households. The cost of that program has doubled under Obama. As for disability, the new welfare magnet, 11 million Americans receive assistance through that program [2]. According to the AP, "Four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream." Further evidence of that is that homeownership is at a 20-year low. Our economic predicament is not an accident or a mere coincidence. Our growth rates are low because the burdens on doing business in America are at an all-time high. Keep in mind that the laws of economics do not change " at least while our DNA remains largely the same. People react just as they did in the past to incentives and to the massive disincentives of today. These are just a few of the disturbing statistics. If you wish, I can provide plenty more, but I do not wish to bore you, so I will continue. Besides greatly increasing government dependence and growing lack of jobs, Obama has heightened race tensions on numerous occasions. President Obama called on Americans "to do some soul searching" in the aftermath of the rioting that occurred in Baltimore. Obama offered a perfunctory condemnation of the rioters, but then, as the Washington Post reports, criticized "Americans, including the news media and some politicians, for failing to address the chronic problems of men, women and children who live in poverty and find their opportunities limited because of poor schools or long stints in prison." For Obama, "soul-searching" means granting the government more money to throw at the inner city. Real soul-searching means understanding why the men, women and children who live in poverty have limited their own opportunities by dropping out of school, using drugs, and committing crime. So rather than pointing out important facts like these, Obama decides to further the victim mindset and cause them to look on themselves even more as victims [3]. Then there is Obamacare. Sigh. Two new economic studies unpack Obamacare"s impact on the labor market. The first, from the American Action Forum, shows that the law is reducing the pay of workers at small businesses " those with 20 to 99 employees " by at least $22.6 billion every year. "On average, employees who work a full year for a business with 50-99 employees lose $935 annually due to ACA regulations, while employees of businesses with 20-49 employees, on average lose $827.50 annually," the study noted. Obamacare isn"t just reducing workers" pay " it"s putting them out of work. The AAF study concludes that the law"s regulations and increased premiums are likely responsible for American employers having shed more than 350,000 jobs. California, Florida, New York, Ohio, and Texas have each lost more than 20,000 jobs, thanks to Obamacare. Killing jobs and reducing pay is bad enough. But another report, from the American Health Policy Institute, finds that Obamacare will also shrink the labor force by reducing incentives to work. In other words, workers are going to get squeezed from both sides. There will be less demand for them even as Obamacare makes it less financially appealing to have a job. The AHPI report concludes that Obamacare imposes on businesses "additional costs of $4,800 to $5,900 per employee over the course of a decade." In the next ten years, the total cost of the law to American employers will be between $157 billion to $186 billion [5]. If you wish, there is more where that came from. Then there is the staggaring amount of blatantly illegal actions taken by our dear President. IRS targeting of conservative groups and attacks on the First Amendment like when the Obama Justice Department ordered criminal investigations of FOX News reporters for doing their jobs during the 2012 election year. President Obama, throughout his Presidency, has refused to enforce long-established U.S. immigration laws. For example . . . More than 300,000 captured illegal aliens had been processed and were awaiting deportation. But, incredibly, Obama stopped these deportations and ordered the U.S. border patrol to release many of these illegal aliens in violation of law and without explanation. Congress rejected Obama's so called DREAM ACT " which would have granted permanent residency to many illegal aliens. So Obama enacted his own version of the DREAM ACT by Executive Order, thus directly defying Congress. According to Obama's Executive Order, illegal aliens can stay in America if they are under the age of 30, have been in America for at least five years, are enrolled in school or have graduated from high school, and have committed no felonies [6]. There are so many more illegal and un-Constitutional actions he has take it would take up the entire debate space. I am enjoying this debate already, and look forward to seeing you try and defend these harmful actions and policies of one of America"s worst presidents. Good Luck! And again, if you want more clarification or more stats, or more information on any of the above topics, just ask, and I would be delighted to provide them. [1] http://dailysignal.com... [2] http://www.forbes.com... [3] http://www.powerlineblog.com... [4] http://www.heritage.org... [5] http://www.forbes.com... [6] https://www.committeeforjustice.org...