After squandering nearly a trillion dollars of taxpayer money on his not-shovel-ready stimulus programs, economic growth not only came in below most estimates but went backwards in the first quarter of 2012. [emphasis added]:

The U.S. economy slowed its pace of expansion in the first three months of the year compared to the prior quarter, as government spending fell and a build up in inventories eased.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of all the goods and services produced in an economy, grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 2.2% in the first quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the agency’s first reading of growth for the quarter.

The gain came in below expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast first-quarter GDP would increase at a 2.6% rate. In the final three months of 2011, the economy grew at a 3.0% rate.

Even the corrupt media can’t hide the decline in their headlines. And it’s important to point out that previous growth was artificially inflated through rabid government spending, the kind of spending that can’t be sustained. It’s all been smoke and mirrors funded by taking money away from those in the private sector who actually could’ve used that money to fund a real recovery.

This is awful news for Americans suffering through the worst “recovery” since the Great Depression. We not only unnecessarily put ourselves and our children trillions of dollars in debt to fund a failed recovery, but as the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore made clear in this must-read column, none of this was necessary:

If you really want to light the fuse of a liberal Democrat, compare Barack Obama’s economic performance after 30 months in office with that of Ronald Reagan. It’s not at all flattering for Mr. Obama.

The two presidents have a lot in common. Both inherited an American economy in collapse. And both applied daring, expensive remedies. Mr. Reagan passed the biggest tax cut ever, combined with an agenda of deregulation, monetary restraint and spending controls. Mr. Obama, of course, has given us a $1 trillion spending stimulus.

By the end of the summer of Reagan’s third year in office, the economy was soaring. The GDP growth rate was 5% and racing toward 7%, even 8% growth. In 1983 and ’84 output was growing so fast the biggest worry was that the economy would “overheat.” In the summer of 2011 we have an economy limping along at barely 1% growth and by some indications headed toward a “double-dip” recession. By the end of Reagan’s first term, it was Morning in America. Today there is gloomy talk of America in its twilight.

It’s a tale of two philosophies, and Obama chose the one that has been proven a failure time and again, all in an effort to pay off his union pals and Soyndra-type campaign bundlers. 

The worse case scenario for the multi-millionaire Obama is that he loses his job next year. The rest of America, however, will be feeling the effects of this failure for generations to come.