The Obama Administration And The Pinata

"I must confess when I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool." Col. Allen West

• I recalled that quote by Col. Allen West from last year, and the thought of a piñata came to mind.  But not in the sense you might think. As most people know, a piñata is a paper-mache container of candy or small gifts that's hung from a ceiling and is hit and broken by blindfolded people with sticks, usually during Latin American festivals.
• The piñata reminds me of Obama voters including those who still support progressive policies. The piñata---to me---is a metaphor for the Obama administration and it's long list of broken promises. Yet even the failed policies of this administration and those of Congress, there are Americans who keep trying to hit the piñata hoping more toys and goodies will fall from the sky.
• On those rare occasions, some people do get "lucky" when they strike the piñata and are showered with  all kinds of government freebies. We've seen this with the free cellphone program, the abuses in food stamps, disability payments, Medicaid and corporate welfare (Yes, crony capitalism exists. Believe me, the political class knows how to play that game too).
• More often than not, the piñata has been empty as many of the "blind" Obama supporters have found out. They've kept striking the piñata for over five years hoping for something good to fall from the sky. But nothing.
• African-Americans are still experiencing unemployment rates over 13% (in many urban areas, black youth unemployment is over 40%). Hispanic unemployment rates are still over 10% in many parts of the country.

• In April of this year, food stamp participation rose to almost 48 million as those who dropped out of the labor force participation fell to levels not seen since 1979.
• As of August 5, the House Ways and Means Committee reported seven out of eight jobs created by the Obama administration have been part time.
• In the last five years, the middle class watched their wealth shrink by 40%.
• Poverty rates are the lowest reported in the 53 years of poverty measurement.
• Of those students lucky enough to graduate from college---while being strapped with over $1T in student debt---one in two are unable to find a good paying job.
• In other words, amid the most massive welfare state ever created in this country, more Americans struggle with joblessness and near poverty.
• The piñata is a good metaphor for this administration because the only things that have fallen from it have been misery and taxes.