What the f–k is President Obama going to do differently with the economy if he’s reelected?
I’m phrasing my question in that crass way because that’s the approach actor Samuel L. Jackson took in a pro-Obama viral video last week. In doing so, Jackson — known for tough-guy roles that allow him to drop the f-bomb frequently — took presidential politics to the lowest level I can ever remember.
To be honest, the video was kinda funny — if you look past the desecration of the beloved holiday poem “The Night Before Christmas” and the fact that some of Obama’s followers apparently believe foul language is the way to get votes.
From what I can see, the video wasn’t officially sanctioned by the White House. But I haven’t seen anyone on the president’s team condemn it either.
The Jackson video is professional-looking and about four minutes long, which means that it cost real money to make.
The camera goes into little Susie’s bedroom — in what appears to be a very nice house — where we are told by Jackson that the girl is troubled that people who backed Obama in the first campaign, including her mom, dad and big brother, don’t seem energized this time around.
“Sorry, my friend, but there’s no time to snore, the out-of-touch millionaires just declared war, on schools, the environment, unions, fair pay,” Jackson says. “We’re all on our own if Romney has his way. He’s against safety nets. If you fall, tough luck. So I strongly suggest you WAKE THE F–K UP!”
At the very end of the video, Susie picks up the message — as, of course, every little girl should — and shouts: “WAKE THE F–K UP!”
So cute!
Now that I got that off my chest, I’m going to explain in one word to little Susie why people aren’t energized about Obama like they were the last time.
That word is “jobs” — f–king jobs, if you need the emphasis.
And right now, the word “job” is probably the most obscene one in the English language. It makes even employed people cringe.
Susie’s mommy and daddy are sitting on their asses on a couch they hope won’t be repossessed instead of going door-to-door for Obama because they are dejected. They are tired of all the years of jabbering about what needs to be done without any real action.
Her brother — shown in the video studying — is working that hard because he wants to have a career. And that’s not guaranteed anymore even for the most studious kids.
Susie is so young and naïve, but she’ll understand some day.
The US is still about 6 million jobs shy of employment levels in 2007. In the years since then — most of which were during the Obama administration — millions of new job seekers have tried to enter the work force and have found nothing. (I sympathize because I have one of them at home.)
The unemployment rate right now is a very lofty 8.1 percent. And it’s nearly twice that if you include people who can find only part-time work. Worse, joblessness might be over 20 percent if you also count laid off workers who’ve said “f–k it” and have stopped looking.
This Friday the Labor Department will announce the number of new jobs that were created in September.
Don’t expect too much. Wall Street thinks there will be a modest 120,000 new jobs, but the money people are always too optimistic. The unemployment rate is expected to jump to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent.
A research firm called Bright Labs, which says it has a good record on these things, thinks the figure could be as high as 243,000.
There will be only one more employment report before the election. So this Friday’s isn’t do-or-die, but it’s getting close.
The economy has been sinking steadily in the past few months, whether it’s because of the so-called fiscal cliff looming at the end of this year, our failure to really get out of the last recession or plain ol’ frugality by companies that can’t clearly see the future prospects for their businesses.
That, little Susie, is why your mom and dad are sitting in front of the TV instead of canvassing voters. They are trying to get some peace and quiet. So go away and take that crude Mr. Jackson with you!
Just last week, the Commerce Department reported that durable-goods order plunged to their worst levels since 2009, the nation’s gross domestic product growth decelerated to a barely expanding annualized rate of 1.3 percent, and inflation picked up — thanks more to mad scientist Ben Bernanke’s money-printing operation than to anything our elected officials have done.
So, back to my original question: What the f–k is President Obama going to do about all these problems if he gets four more years to try?
The answer: There’s really not much he can do.
Hollywood may not like it, but Washington is going to have to spend less on everything, including social programs. And Wall Street may not approve, but people who have money are going to have to turn more of it over to our government.
And that’s just the way it f–king is.
Most important, the economy needs to improve. If an expanding economy produces more tax revenue, fewer social programs will have to be cut and millionaires can keep more of their dough.
If I can make a suggestion: Everyone in Washington should shut the f–k up and do their jobs before the situation gets truly dire.