Three Laws that Caused Obama Midterm Problems
This article was written by Paula Reid, a researcher for CBS Evening News and a licensed attorney.
The stimulus has not provided relief fast enough for many Americans. President Obama was did not pass the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) - that was George W. Bush - or the Arizona Immigration Bill, these laws still had a tremendous impact on his party's performance in the midterm election.
TARP loomed large in the midterm election Tuesday with 49 percent of Americans saying that the government's loans to banks and other financial institutions did not help prevent a more severe economic crisis. Forty-seven percent of Americans incorrectly think that TARP was passed under Mr. Obama. Thirty-four percent of Americans know that TARP was enacted by Bush and 19 percent admit to not knowing which president signed the bank bailout into law. Take a look at the numbers here.
Obama's "Shellacking" is Like Bush's "Thumping"
CBS News Complete Coverage: Election 2010
Regardless of who passed the law, the Obama administration is now responsible for executing the many programs funded by TARP including the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Unfortunately, HAMP has proven to be an ineffective remedy to the foreclosure crisis and has only distributed about 1.5 percent of the funds it has to help homeowners. In July a Congressional oversight panel found that of the $30.5 billion HAMP has to give, only $400 million has been distributed. Legal remedies for foreclosures are significant because, while relief barely trickles out of HAMP, more than 7.1 million homeowners have received foreclosure notices since TARP was authorized.
The majority of Americans are also unhappy with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - better known as the stimulus - which was passed by Mr. Obama. Sixty-two percent of Americans think that the economic stimulus package did not help the job situation.
Of course some think the stimulus was effective. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reports that second quarter 2010 GDP is 1.7 to 4.5 percent higher than it would have been without the stimulus; and the unemployment rate in 2010 would have been 0.7 to 1.8 percentage points higher than it is. The report also found that payroll employment is greater than it would have been without the stimulus.
While some think the job situation would be worse without the stimulus, life is still dire for many Americans. There are about five unemployed workers for each available job. Long-term unemployment remains a problem as 41.7 percent of the 14.8 million people who were unemployed in September 2010 had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer. The legislative remedies to unemployment may or may not be effective, but the electorate made it clear that they're not happy with the solutions offered so far.
Obama was critical of Arizona's immigration law, saying it would "undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe." But 59 percent of Americans approve of the Arizona immigration law and 54 percent disapprove of Obama's handling of immigration policy. Mr. Obama's criticism of Arizona's immigration law was out of step with most Americans and this, along with TARP and the Stimulus, contributed to significant Democrats losses in the midterm election.