Research Briefing

Four Years After Hollow Campaign Promises, Things Are Still “Especially Critical” For Nevada

 Obama: “At This Rate, The Question Isn't Just ‘Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?’, It's ‘Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Weeks Ago?’” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Reno, NV, 10/25/08)

OBAMA CAMPAIGNED SAYING THAT HELPING HOMEOWNERS WAS “ESPECIALLY CRITICAL HERE IN NEVADA”

PROMISE: Obama Promised Nevadans That He Would “Act Quickly To Help People Stay In Their Homes” “I'll also act quickly to help people stay in their homes, something that's especially critical here in Nevada where foreclosure rates are five times the national average. I'll help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages on affordable terms, and put in place a three-month moratorium on foreclosures to give folks the breathing room they need to get back on their feet. And I won't let banks and lenders off the hook when it was their greed and irresponsibility that got us into this mess.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Reno, NV, 10/25/08)

FAILURE: Obama’s “Mosaic” Of Housing Policies Is “Entering Its Fourth Year Of Weak Sales And High Foreclosures.” "The proposal, to be released in the coming weeks, is the latest addition to a mosaic of Obama administration programs aimed at boosting the housing market, which is entering its fourth year of weak sales and high foreclosures." (Lorraine Woellert, "Obama Pushes Proposal To Streamline Refinancing For Homeowners," Bloomberg, 1/25/12)

Under Obama’s Housing Programs “Fewer Than 1,000 Loans Have Refinanced.”  "Haven't similar programs been tried before? Yes. But those programs put in place a series of rules designed to ensure that government entities weren't taking on more risk by allowing investors and banks to offload risky mortgages onto the government. In 2010, for example, the Obama administration rolled out a program to let underwater borrowers refinance through the FHA, but that program required banks to first write down loan balances so that borrowers could qualify under existing rules. Fewer than 1,000 loans have refinanced through the program. Congress approved a more complicated version of this idea in spring 2008 called Hope for Homeowners, but it also resulted in just a few hundred refinances." (Nick Timiraos, "Six Questions On Obama's Mortgage Refinance Proposal," The Wall Street Journal, 1/25/12)

After Four Years, Housing Is Still “Especially Critical Here In Nevada”

“For 60 Consecutive Months, Nevada Has Had The Highest Foreclosure Rate Of Any State. That's Five Long, Painful Years.” (Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh, “No Silver Lining In Housing Market As Nevada Votes,” CNN, 2/3/12)

“More Than 6 Percent Of Nevada Housing Units (One In 16) Had At Least One Foreclosure Filing In 2011, Giving It The Nation’s Highest State Foreclosure Rate For The Fifth Consecutive Year” (RealtyTrac, “2011 Year-End Foreclosure Market Report: Foreclosures On The Retreat,” Press Release, 1/12/12)

• “[L]as Vegas Posted The Nation’s Top Foreclosure Rate For The Year Among Metropolitan Statistical Areas…” “With 7.38 percent of its housing units (one in 14) with at least one foreclosure filing in 2011, Las Vegas posted the nation’s top foreclosure rate for the year among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more.” (RealtyTrac, “2011 Year-End Foreclosure Market Report: Foreclosures On The Retreat,” Press Release, 1/12/12)

In Nevada, Nearly Two-Thirds Of Homeowners Are Underwater On Their Mortgages. "Data earlier this year from CoreLogic.com showed that nearly two-in-three Nevada homeowners owed more on their property than their homes were worth - a situation also known as being 'underwater.' Nevada was followed by Arizona (51 percent), Florida (47 percent) and Michigan (36 percent) in terms of underwater loans." (Aaron Blake, "Obama And The Politics Of The Housing Foreclosure Crisis," The Washington Post 's “The Fix ,“ 10/24/11)

IN 2008, OBAMA PROMISED NEVADANS THAT HIS HEALTH CARE PLAN WOULD LOWER PREMIUMS

PROMISE: Obama Said That Under His Plan, Americans Would See “Lower Premiums.” “If you have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Reno, NV, 10/25/08)

FAILURE: Factcheck.org: ObamaCare Is Actually Making Health Care "Less Affordable." "At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year's premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made - that the health care law would 'lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.'" (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," Factcheck.org, 1/4/12)

• The Washington Post 's The Fact Checker: “Insurance Premiums Have Gone Up . . .” "Moreover, at this point it is debatable whether the law has made health care more affordable. Insurance premiums have gone up, in part because of new benefits mandated by the law." (Glenn Kessler, "The Fine Print In Obama's 'Promises Kept' Ad," The Washington Post's " The Fact Checker," 1/6/12)

Kaiser Study Found That Costs Of Family Coverage “Climbed” 9 Percent In 2011. “The average cost of a family policy climbed 9 percent in 2011 to $15,073, according to a poll of 2,088 private companies and state and local government agencies by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, California, and the Chicago- based American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health-Benefit Costs Rise Most In Six Years,” Bloomberg, 9/27/11)

• Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage In 2011 Than They Did In 2010. "Although premiums rose, employers kept the percentage of the premium workers pay about the same: An average of 18 percent for single coverage and 28 percent for family plans. Still, with rising costs, workers paid more, up an average of $132 a year for family coverage. Since 1999, the dollar amount workers contribute toward premiums nationally has grown 168 percent, while their wages have grown by 50 percent, according to the survey." (Julie Appleby, "Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011," Kaiser Health News, 9/27/11)

• The Cost Of Single Employee Coverage Grew 8 Percent According To The Kaiser Survey. "Family plan premiums hit $15,073 on average, while coverage for single employees grew 8 percent to $5,429, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.)" (Julie Appleby, "Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011," Kaiser Health News, 9/27/11)

Nevada Received A Waiver From ObamaCare To Avoid “Destabilization”

The Obama Administration Gave Nevada A Statewide Waiver From ObamaCare To Avoid “Destabilization Of The Individual Market.” “The Health and Human Services Department announced late Friday that Nevada had secured a statewide waiver from certain implementation requirements of the Obama administration’s health care law, because forcing them through, the department found, ‘may lead to the destabilization of the individual market.’” (Karoun Demirjian, “Nevada Secures Partial Waiver From Federal Health Care Law,” Las Vegas Sun, 5/16/11)

• Nevada Received A Waiver Reducing The Requirement Of Revenue Spent On Medical Expenses From 80 Percent To 75 Percent Due To Fears It Would Drive Golden Rule And Aetna From The Insurance Market. “Nevada’s Insurance Division had appealed to the feds to reduce the federal requirement that health plans serving people who buy insurance on their own must spend at least 80 percent of the money they collect on medical expenses. Under the national rule, companies that don’t spend that percentage of revenue on medical costs have to cut policyholders rebate checks starting this year. Nevada asked that requirement be reduced to 72 percent for one year, arguing that top insurance providers would be so strapped to make the payments that they’d exit the state market. Health and Human Services didn’t fully buy that argument, but did agree to reduce the requirement to 75 percent for a year, expressing concern about what might happen to people with policies from insurers Golden Rule and Aetna if they didn’t.” (Karoun Demirjian, “Nevada Secures Partial Waiver From Federal Health Care Law,” Las Vegas Sun, 5/16/11)

IN 2008, OBAMA PROMISED TO CREATE GREEN ENERGY JOBS AND REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL

PROMISE: Obama Said He Would “Create Five Million” New Jobs And “End Our Dependence On Oil From Middle East Dictators.” “If I am President, I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new, green jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Reno, NV, 10/25/08)

FAILURE: Obama Has Taken Credit For 2.7 Million Green Energy Jobs That He Did Not Create. “The Brookings Institution study refers to 2.7 million workers currently employed by the clean economy — not the number of jobs created by Obama, which a viewer might interpret from the ad. The report found that ‘clean economy establishments’ added half a million jobs between 2003 and 2010, comprising six years of the Bush administration.” (“AdWatch: Obama’s 1^st Campaign TV Ad Defends His Energy Record Without Feel-Good Images,” The Associated Press, 1/20/12)

Obama’s $38.6 Billion Green Loan Program Created Only 3,500 Jobs, But Obama Had Predicted It Would Save Or Create 65,000. “The Washington Post reported in September that Mr. Obama’s $38.6 billion green loan program had created a mere 3,500 jobs over two years. He had predicted it would ‘save or create’ 65,000.” (Editorial, “The Non-Green Job Boom,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/28/11)

• Obama’s $500 Million Program Designed To Train Workers For Green Jobs “Has Come Up Far Short Of Its Goals.” “The Labor Department's inspector general says a $500 million program designed to train workers for green jobs has come up far short of its goals. A report finds that only about 8,000 people participating in the program have actually found work so far. That's just 10 percent of the target goal of placing 80,000 workers in careers in energy efficiency or renewable energy by 2013.” (“Report Says Green Jobs Program Far Short Of Goals,” The Associated Press, 10/3/11)

It Is “Absolutely Not True” That Obama’s Policies Have Helped Wean The U.S. From Foreign Oil. “When asked, though, whether the Obama administration's policies have helped wean the U.S. from foreign oil, [Oppenheimer & Co. energy analyst Fadel] Gheit was equally emphatic. ‘Absolutely not true,’ Gheit said. ‘It was all market driven and all through American ingenuity….It was no thanks to Washington, not thanks to lobbyists, not thanks to anybody.’” (Josh Gerstein, “What Obama’s First Ad Doesn’t Say,” Politico’s "Under The Radar", 1/19/12)

The Obama Administration Denied A Permit To Build The Keystone Pipeline. “The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will deny a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline, an important link between a U.S. market that's thirsty for energy and a rich source of petroleum in nice, stable, neighborly Canada.” (Editorial, “Pipeline Politics: Misguided Obama Blocks Keystone Pipeline,” Chicago Tribune, 1/19/12)

• “The Oil From Canada Could Ultimately Supplant Much Of The Oil The United States Imports From The Middle East And Other Unstable Regions. It Could Give The Country A Measure Of Energy Security.” (Editorial, “Pipeline Delay An Insult To Jobless,” The Detroit News, 11/14/11)