Another fallacy proven wrong

Today I'm going to put a stop to two fallacies we often hear from progressives:

1. That republicans are to blame for the recession we are currently in
2. That during Obama's first two years in office republicans are to blame for blocking progress

Now here's the truth about the above:

1. The economy was growing at record levels, unemployment was relatively non-existent at 4% (4% or less is considered no unemployment by economists), and government revenues had nearly doubled after the Bush tax cuts were put into effect. It wasn't until Democrats took control of Congress in 2006 that the economy started to slow down.

Likewise, it was not republicans but democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who were responsible for creating the housing bubble that eventually burst. They wanted to make sure Americans who couldn't afford housing could get a house and a piece of the American dream.

Yet as time went by, we realized that the these same folks who couldn't afford housing couldn't afford housing, and the housing bubble burst. This in turn resulted in the current recession we are in. As a result people lost confidence in the market, and stopped spending money.

Another thing is democrats are responsible for the prolonged recession, because of the uncertainty of whether or not taxes will be raised when the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011. Most business owners are not spending money, waiting to see what happens.

Plus they aren't sure what's going to happen with healthcare. Since the cost of healthcare might go up for businesses, they have to not spend now so they can make sure they can afford the future healthcare cost to them.

All of these democrat things have resulted in the recession and the prolonged recession. Republicans aren't completely innocent either, but it was mostly a progressive agenda that stopped the Bush economic boom.

2. It is impossible for the republicans to block the Obama agenda. This is true because not only did democrats control both houses and the office of the President, they also had a super majority. With a super majority, they could stop any filibuster power of the republicans.

Likewise, with a super majority, the republican party was basically irrelevant during the first two terms of Obama's administration, and this made it impossible for republicans to be obstructionists to his agenda.

So there.