With President Barack Obama's claim that his policies have led to creating 5 million jobs, I did a little fact-checking.

When Obama took office in January 2009, the private jobs figure, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, stood at 111 million. The jobs number as of July stands at 111.3 million. A gain of 300,000 private-sector jobs. When factoring in the public sector, the total jobs figure was 133.6 million and now stands at 133.2 million, a net loss of 400,000 jobs. A gain of 5 million jobs?

Let's talk income. The Department of Labor reports 58 percent of new jobs created have been low-wage jobs. One-third of displaced workers who lost their jobs and found another have taken pay cuts from 20 percent to 50 percent. Meanwhile, median household income has fallen 4.8 percent when adjusted for inflation, from $53,508to $50,964.

Everything is unraveling. According to the Bureau of Labor Statisics, the cost of living is soaring with gasoline prices averaging $3.50 a gallon, up from $1.84 in 2009. Beef is up more than 18 percent. The national debt is $16 trillion, up from $10.6 trillion when Obama took over along with the downgrade of our sterling credit rating for the first time in our history from AAA to AA.

Can this country withstand another four years of a leaderless unmitigated disaster called the Obama administration? Big Bird and I say a resounding "no."

Raul Martin

Bluffton