I hear, and also read online, so many Republicans in the US Congress, including Indiana's Mike Pence, Larry Bucshon and Todd Young, and also so many Republicans running for the US Senate and US House, including Indiana's Richard Mourdock and Jackie Walorski, and even Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, continually asserting that the Obama Administration has severely harmed US businesses, and specifically Indiana businesses. I don't hear this from very bright, fair-minded, very financially-savvy Republicans like Dick Lugar, Dan Coats and Mitch Daniels.
I think the best way to objectively test whether US businesses and Indiana businesses have been severely harmed economically by the Obama Administration’s economic and other policies is to compare the earnings of these US businesses at the end of the previous Bush/Cheney Administration with their current earnings during the Obama Administration. In both of these periods, Mitch Daniels was Indiana Governor and the very highly-regarded, brilliant Dick Lugar was one of the two US Senators from Indiana.
I have done this earnings comparison throughout the country by extensively reviewing the audited financial statements of more than 1,000 of these companies, which file with the SEC. And clearly, the earnings of these companies have improved dramatically during the Obama Administration.
Let me Hoosierize this finding by focusing on Indiana non-utility companies filing with SEC. I found 65 non-utility Corporations headquartered in Indiana, which had Ongoing Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of at least $5 mil in any of the most recent three years.
These 65 Indiana Corporations combined had an externally audited, under US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Total After-tax Net Income of $629.8 mil in 2008, the last year of the Bush/Cheney Administration, as compared with an audited under US GAAP Total After-tax Net Income of $12,565.5 mil in 2011, thus an after-tax profit improvement of a staggering $11,935.7 mil, or of a staggering 1,895% in the first 3 years of the Obama Administration. Yeah, that's almost $12 bil of profit improvement. Whew!
Below here is a breakdown of these audited under US GAAP After-tax Earnings or Losses for each of the most recent five years for each of these 65 Indiana Corps filing with the SEC. Most of these companies have a December fiscal year end (FYE).
You know, when you think about it, it only makes sense that these stellar Indiana companies had their earnings increase by a massive 1,895%, or by almost $12 bil from 2008 to 2011. After all, when you have President Obama working with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, with Indiana US Senators Dick Lugar, Dan Coats and Evan Bayh, and also with hard-working, very effective Indiana US House members like Joe Donnelly, Peter Visclosky, Andre Carson, Baron Hill and Brad Ellsworth, and they all have the same goal of fostering an economic environment where Indiana businesses can thrive, it only makes sense that they will all be very successful in this effort. And did these Indiana businesses ever massively recuperate, and in a very short period of time.
When you review the above total earnings changes of these 65 Indiana Corps by year, there is another incredible story being told.
In 2007, before the 2008 financial meltdown and near depression, these 65 Indiana Corps generated total earnings of $9,818 mil.
And then in 2008, when Republican George Bush was still President, and when the Indiana Governor was still Republican Mitch Daniels, the total earnings of these 65 Indiana Corps flat out plummeted to only $629.8 mil, a massive 94% earnings decline.
Then in 2009, when the President was a Moderate Democrat, the US House was controlled by Democrats, and the US Senate had a heavy majority of Democrats, the Obama Economic Stimulus started taking hold, and the end result was that these 65 Indiana Corps increased their total earnings from $629.8 mil in 2008 to a massive $10,070 mil in 2009, for a completely off-the-charts increase of $9,440.4 mil, or up 1,499% in only one year. Whew!
And this incredible earnings momentum continued in 2010, when the country still had a Moderate Democratic President, a US House still controlled by Democrats, and a US Senate still having a heavy majority of Democrats. The exceptional total earnings of $10,070 mil in 2009 stepped up further to $12,890 mil in 2010, for a very nice increase of 28%.
Then the Uncompromising, Very Conservative Republicans took control of the US House in 2011, and there also was a reduction in the majority of Democrats controlling the US Senate. The end result was a 3% total earnings decline for these 65 Indiana Corps in 2011 as compared with 2010.
Then in the first half of 2012, these 65 Indiana Corps had their total earnings drop even further, when the US House was still under Republican control and when the US Senate had a reduced majority of Democrats.
Further, the Total Audited After-tax Net Income of these 65 Indiana Corps of $12,565.5 mil in 2011 was 28% higher than the pre-Great Recession/Near Depression high total earnings of $9,818.0 mil in 2007 for these same 65 Indiana Corps.
But I do have to ask this question.....Why in the world have these Uncompromising, Ultra Conservative Indiana Republicans like Mike Pence, Larry Bucshon, Jackie Walorski, Todd Young and Richard Mourdock continued to repeatedly lambast President Obama for severely harming the US economy, and specifically devastating US businesses and Indiana businesses? After all, these 65 Largest Indiana companies filing with the SEC generated a Total Audited After-tax Net Income improvement of nearly $12 bil during the first three years of the Obama Administration.
Dick Lugar and Dan Coats are both clearly Right of Center Republicans, who are more than willing to work across the aisle to make the country better. And even the very effective Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels would also be considered much too Moderate for these Uncompromising, Very Far Right Republicans, who have absolutely no interest in working across the aisle to make the country better. Their political and operational philosophy is.....it's either their way or the highway.
The only way the US economy will be great again for everyone, and not just great for the very wealthy and for the Largest and somewhat Large Corporations, is for the country to not only reelect Moderate Democratic President Obama, but also to get more Moderates in the US House, in the US Senate and in the State Government, such as Indiana's Dave Crooks, Brendan Mullen, Joe Donnelly and John Gregg. Dick Lugar, Dan Coats and Mitch Daniels are much closer in their governing philosophy to these four very clearly moderate Democrats than they are to the above mentioned uncompromising, extremely conservative Republicans.
