Joe Biden: The economy belongs to us, not Bush

CBS News

Vice President Joe Biden said in a live interview with Miami public radio station WLRN Thursday that the Obama administration - not the Bush administration - now has ownership of the struggling U.S. economy.

Biden said Americans have "good reason to be upset" because they lost jobs because of the recession, "something they didn't have a thing to do with creating."

"Even though 50-some percent of the American people think the economy tanked because of the last administration, that's not relevant," said the vice president. "What's relevant is we're in charge."

The economic recession began during the final year of the Bush administration, and polls show many Americans continue to blame Mr. Bush - not his successor - for the current economic situation. A CBS News/New York Times poll over the summer found that 26 percent of Americans mostly blame the Bush administration for the state of the economy, while just 8 percent blame the Obama administration. 

"Right now, we are the ones in charge, and it's gotten better but it hasn't gotten good enough," Biden told WLRN. "...I don't blame them for being mad. We're in charge. So they're angry."

Biden said it is "totally legitimate" for the 2012 presidential election to be "a referendum on Obama and Biden and the nature and state of the economy." He said Americans will need to make a choice between what the Obama administration is offering to address the problem and what is being offered by the eventual Republican nominee.

[DeusExVinnie]

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[eqreynolds]

With friends like Biden, who needs enemies?

[endrepubs]

Maybe Democrats should replace Obama with Howard Dean for the 2012 ticket. Dean has tremendous passion for the Democratic causes we need and he will fight like h.e.l.l for them. We need a real fighter against these current Republicans. Howard Dean would never back down to them. Being a doctor himself, I think Howard Dean could persuade Americans they desperately need a Public option. That is something else he would fight the Republican lie machine on.

[Atlanticum]

Hold the phone President Obama! Put parts of your recent job bill back in the desk drawer. I have a better one:

The Building, Construction, and Market Revitalization Jobs Bill

Need for the Bill:

A1. There is a glut of empty and unsightly housing and buildings, in both rural and urban areas. This glut destroys demand and depresses both the people and the economy.

A2. People are unskilled. There are few jobs. No job means no house. This destroys housing demand.

A3. Without housing demand, there is no demand for construction nor the manufacture of all the goods that go into a house.

A4. Tax rolls plummet to the bottom. Communities fail.

Solution:

B1. Take the able-bodied and currently unemployed and put them to work dismantling and destroying this excess and unsightly infrastructure with nothing more than hand tools.

B2. Partner with business to buy the abandoned homes and buildings outright at fire-sale rates, or at least destroy them at no cost to the owner. If there is a cost to buy it, give them a tax-credit in a future year.

B3. Give the workers a wage above the poverty level.

B4. As a side issue, test to find out what skills the workers are deficient in. Train them one day out of the week. Use unemployed teachers to train. If the workers refuse to work or go to training, give their jobs to someone else and deny unemployment.

B5. Develop and man regional recycling centers to recover the materials. Use the unemployed to work there.

Benefits

1. Puts unemployed to work, gives them spendable income. Keeps crime down.
2. Give people more skills.
3. Hires unemployed teachers and administrators, accountants, human resource personnel, etc.
4. Hires leaders to lead the teams and provide direction. Construction companies can deconstruct too.
5. Hires truck drivers to move the material and people to job sites.
6. Reduces building and home inventory and increases demand. Increases value of current housing.
7. New houses will be constructed to meet the demand. They will be smaller & energy efficient.
8. Unemployed people with new skills may then be hired to help meet the demand. Eventually buy their own.
9. Manipulate the trade laws to use mostly US manufactured products in new construction.
10. Manufacturers start making home products, builders are back to work, bankers are happy.
11. Nobody in their right mind would be against this plan, and all the unemployed will vote for you.

[captdot]

Oops! Joe let the cat out of the bag! Inheritance is one thing...making things worse is unforgivable! many of the measures of economic growth have been lowered in past months. They say we grew 1.3 %...what will the recalculated percentage be?

[AmericanLady100]

Joe Biden is correct that they're in charge of the economy, but when the House Republicans and others are obstructing legislation, such as the Jobs Bill, I don't know what to say anymore. Someone sent me a fake bumper sticker that said, "Republicans 2012, Keeping Millions Out of Work to Put One Man Out of a Job." I didn't have a retort. How can you when the Tea Party just recently nearly sent this country into default with their unwillingness to negotiate? Even Boehner was willing to negotiate and he had a very favorable deal for the Republicans and the Tea Party nixed it! It's about perceptions, people.

Republicans 2012
Keeping Millions Out of Work
to Put One Man Out of a Job

Please tell me, who do the Republicans represent anymore?

[knucklecheese]

They represent a very large contingent (obviously not yourself) of Americans who are willing to accept reality. See, obstructing legislation isn't always a bad thing. For instance, when an ill-conceived, more-of-the-same, ineptly compiled, nonsensical, fraudulent spending bill disguised as a "jobs initiative" comes up on the docket, it's a pretty good idea to obstruct its passage by any means necessary. This holds especially true when it is obvious that the real motivation behind said bill is to spend billions of taxpayer dollars (when we're already broke) in a thinly veiled effort to convince angry former supporters to re-elect a failed Administration.

[Argento-28]

Way to go Joe! That'll make a great re-election bumper sticker "Opps! 2012"

[wfw3536]

The economy isn't only about jobs, but what Obama doesn't get he and his administration are killing business with hundreds and hundreds of new regulations, and they continue this class war attack on business. Folks in business are heading for the hills as they have no confidence in this administration and instead of adding jobs or starting up new factories/ect they are actually cutting some jobs and just hoping things change after the 2012 election.

[doneinone]

Sounds like to me the DNC getting their ducks in a row to get a new candidate come January. Barry will have to do the noble thing and step aside for the sake of the party. Who will it be....Clinton, Cuomo?

[Anonywriter]

Hey, Joe! How is it better when unemployment has gotten worse?

[forsanity1]

You don't understand the economy. It isn't only based on one thing. Unemployment has always lagged behind other economic factors after a deep recession or depression.

Look at some non-partisan economic based sites and get some real information. Turning off the political pundits is a good thing for people who want facts. I hope you try.