Romney Campaign Press Release - The Obama Economy: Government In Every Industry

"President Obama was rightly criticized by small-business owners and entrepreneurs for saying 'you didn't build that, someone else made that happen.' Now he's taken it a step further by saying he wants to get the hand of government driving 'every industry' in America. From his failed stimulus bill and Solyndra-esque boondoggles to picking winners and losers at taxpayer expense in the auto bailout, President Obama has pushed aside free-market principles in favor of bigger and more intrusive government. The results have been disastrous for our economy and for middle-class families. This is just the latest evidence that President Obama hasn't learned from his mistakes and has no idea what it takes to create jobs and turn our economy around." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

After Telling Americans They "Didn't Build" Their Businesses, President Obama Promised Today To Bail Out "Every Industry":

President Obama, On His Bailouts: "I Want To Do The Same Thing With Manufacturing Jobs ... In Every Industry." "President Obama, while villifying Mitt Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout, bragged about the success of his decision to provide government assistance and said he now wants to see every manufacturing industry come roaring back. 'I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,' he said. 'Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.'" (Donovan Slack, "Obama: Let's Repeat Auto Industry Success With Every Manufacturing Industry," Politico, 8/9/12)

FLASHBACK: President Obama: "If You've Got A Business -- You Didn't Build That.  Somebody Else Made That Happen." OBAMA: "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn't get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet." (President Barack Obama, Remarks, Roanoke, VA, 7/13/12)

What Was The Result Of President Obama's Auto Bailout? Lost Jobs And Billions Of Dollars In Wasted Taxpayer Dollars:

FactCheck.org: "Taxpayers Still Own About 33 Percent Of GM Stock ..." "Taxpayers still own about 33 percent of GM stock, according to CBO (other calculations put the total closer to 32 percent). Either way, the final cost of the bailout depends largely on whether the price of GM stock rises or falls between now and when the government decides to sell its shares." (Brooks Jackson, "Is GM Becoming 'China Motors'?" FactCheck.org, 6/8/12)

• Taxpayers Are Still Owed $21.7 Billion On The Bailouts Of Auto Industry. (Treasury Department, 7/10/12)

The Obama Administration's Auto Bailout Left Nonunion Delphi Retirees With Cuts To Their Pensions And Insurance. "Emails between the U.S. Treasury Department and the agency that handled the retirement benefits for Delphi salaried retirees reveal a 'back-door deal' by the president's administration to not protect those nonunion members, a congressman said. President Barack Obama's 'administration decided to pick winners and losers' in the auto bailout that left the 20,000 Delphi salaried retirees, including 1,500 in the Mahoning Valley, without health and life insurance and pension cuts of 30 percent to 70 percent, said U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of Centerville, Ohio, R-3rd." (David Skolnick, "Delphi Retirees Rep: Emails Show 'Back-Door Deal' To Cut Benefits," Youngstown Vindicator, 8/9/12)

• "Some Salaried Retirees Saw Their Pensions Cut By As Much As 70 Percent, While Hourly Retirees Represented By Unions Had Their Pensions Made Whole." (Thomas Gnau, "Decision To Cut Pensions 'Political' Decision," Dayton Daily News, 8/8/12)

President Obama's Auto Task Force Pressed GM And Chrysler To "Close Scores Of Dealerships Without Adequately Considering The Jobs That Would Be Lost." "President Obama's auto task force pressed General Motors and Chrysler to close scores of dealerships without adequately considering the jobs that would be lost or having a firm idea of the cost savings that would be achieved, an audit of the process has concluded." (Nick Bunkley, "TARP Audit Questions Rush To Close Auto Dealers," The New York Times, 7/18/10)

The Obama Administration "Contributed To The Accelerated Shuttering Of Thousands Of Small Businesses" And Potentially Added "Tens Of Thousands Of Workers" To The Unemployment Lines. "'Treasury made a series of decisions that may have substantially contributed to the accelerated shuttering of thousands of small businesses ... potentially adding tens of thousands of workers to the already lengthy unemployment rolls,' said the report, released by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky." (Catherine Clifford, "Watchdog: Auto Dealers Shut Down Too Fast," CNN Money, 7/19/10)

And What Were The Results Of President Obama's Other Bailouts? Stimulus Waste, Bankrupt Companies, And Layoffs:

Vice President Joe Biden, On The Stimulus Package: "We Know Some Of This Money Is Going To Be Wasted." "U.S. Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged on Tuesday that some waste is inevitable in the spending of a $787 billion economic stimulus package, in a characteristically blunt assessment. 'We know some of this money is going to be wasted,' Biden said during a roundtable discussion in New York with business leaders aimed at promoting the two-year stimulus plan." ("Biden Says Some Waste Inevitable Part Of Stimulus," Reuters, 6/3/09)

• At The Energy Department Alone, More Than 100 Criminal Investigations Have Been Launched Into The Way Stimulus Money Was Spent. "The Energy Department's inspector general has launched more than 100 criminal investigations related to 2009 economic stimulus spending. In written testimony prepared for delivery to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, Inspector General Gregory Friedman said the investigations have involved 'various schemes, including the submission of false information, claims for unallowable or unauthorized expenses, and other improper uses of Recovery Act funds.'" (Darius Dixon, "DOE IG: 100+ Stimulus-Related Criminal Probes," Politico, 11/2/11)

Of The First 12 Obama Administration Loans To Clean Energy Companies, "Two Firms Filed For Bankruptcy, A Third Has Faced Layoffs And A Fourth Deal Never Closed." "The bonuses and bankruptcies come against a growing wave of trouble for companies financed with Energy Department dollars. Of the first 12 loan guarantees the department announced, for instance, two firms filed for bankruptcy, a third has faced layoffs and a fourth deal never closed."  (Ronnie Greene and Matthew Mosk, "Green Firms Get Fed Cash, Give Execs Bonuses, Fail," ABC News, 3/6/12)

President Obama's Failed Loan To Solyndra Will Cost Taxpayers More Than $500 Million. "Now, a year after the company's collapse, debate continues over whether the refinancing plan was legal or a wise investment. Last week, Solyndra's final liquidation plan estimated that the government will recover just $24 million of the $527 million that taxpayers lent to the company." (Joe Stephens and Carol Leonnig, "White House Analyst Warned Saving Solyndra Could Cost More Than Letting It Fail," The Washington Post, 8/1/12)

• Solyndra's Bankruptcy Cost 1,861 Workers Their Jobs. "On the day it closed, Solyndra said it was laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. But 1,861 workers lost their jobs as the solar panel manufacturer shut its doors, according to U.S. Labor Department documents provided to The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act." (Aaron Glantz, "Solyndra Layoffs Larger Than Previously Reported," The Bay Citizen, 6/13/12)