Is This Democrats’ Idea of “Doing Fine”?

June 8, 2012

Amidst Grim Jobs Data and Signs the Economy May Be Nearing Recession Territory, Obama Claims Job Creators Are “Doing Fine”

The Democrats’ absurd defense of their failed economic policies hit a new low today as President Obama claimed that job creators are “doing fine.”
Job creators are hardly “fine” in the Obama economy, with data showing the economy may be nearing recession territory.
The president’s comments signal that perhaps Democrats have embraced their new normal of economic misery, but America’s workers continue to suffer as unemployment remains sky-high.

The Democrats’ absurd defense of their failed economic policies hit a new low today as President Obama claimed that job creators are “doing fine”:

OBAMA: “THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS DOING FINE.” (Zeke Miller, “Obama: ‘The Private Sector is Doing Fine,” BuzzFeed, 6/8/2012)

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: U.S. ECONOMY IN A “RECESSION”:“Former President Bill Clinton told CNBC Tuesday that the US economy already is in a recession and urged Congress to extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year.” (Jeff Cox, “US Already in ‘Recession,’ Extend Tax Cuts: Bill Clinton,” CNBC, 6/5/2012)

OBAMA APPARENTLY MISSED THE MEMO: “WHITE HOUSE STRIKES WORD ‘RECOVER’ FROM RESPONSE TO JOBS REPORT”: “The anemic jobs report released on Friday was one thing. But here’s another worrisome economic indicator: Even the White House has stopped asserting that the economy is healing or recovering.” (Peter Baker, “The White House Strikes ‘Recover’ From Response to Jobs Report,” The New York Times, 6/1/2012)

OBAMA TWO WEEKS AGO: “SOMETIMES I FORGET” THE RECESSION: “And sometimes people forget the magnitude of it. You know, you saw some of that in the video that was shown. Sometimes I forget.” (Charlie Spiering, “Obama: ‘Sometimes I Forget’ the Recession,” The Washington Examiner, 5/11/2012)

MAYBE THIS IS WHY: “DAILY ECONOMIC BRIEFINGS DISAPPEAR[ED] FROM OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULE”: “At some point during the first two years of his administration, President Obama stopped receiving the daily economic briefing that he requested when he took office.” (Sam Youngman, “Daily Economic Briefings Disappear from Obama’s White House Schedule,” The Hill, 5/6/2011)

Job creators are hardly “fine” in the Obama economy, with data showing the economy may be nearing recession territory:

“ECONOMIC GROWTH REVISED DOWNWARD FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2012”: “The Commerce Department said the economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.9 percent from January to March, slower than the initial estimate of 2.2 percent, as consumer spending slowed, businesses pulled back on adding inventory and the trade deficit widened despite an increase in exports.” (Vicki Needham, “Economic Growth Revised Downward for First Quarter of 2012,” The Hill, 5/31/2012)

“MISERABLE MAY JOBS REPORT SUGGESTS U.S. IN RECESSION RED ZONE”:(James Pethokoukis, “Miserable May Jobs Report Suggests U.S. in Recession Red Zone,” The American, 6/1/2012)

“CHICAGO BUSINESS BAROMETER SIGNALS ECONOMY ON EDGE OF RECESSION”: “A closely-watched index gauging U.S. factory output fell to a near 2 1/2-year low in May, indicating the economy might be heading back toward a recession. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reported Thursday that its business barometer fell 3.5 points to 52.7 in May, the third straight monthly drop and lowest reading since September 2009.” (Howard Packowitz, “Chicago Business Barometer Signals Economy on Edge of Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/2012)

CHICAGO BUSINESS: “OUR FIRST WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS SINCE THE CARTER YEARS”: (“MNI Chicago Report,” Deutsch Borse AG and the Institute for Supply Management, 5/31/2012)

MAY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FELL TO FOUR MONTH LOW: (Timothy Homan, “Consumer Confidence Among U.S. Consumers Fell in May to Four-Month Low,” Bloomberg, 5/29/2012)

FEWER AMERICANS 25-54 WORKING THAN AT ANY TIME IN 23 YEARS BEFORE RECESSION: “The proportion of Americans in their prime working years who have jobs is smaller than it has been at any time in the 23 years before the recession, according to federal statistics, reflecting the profound and lasting effects that the downturn has had on the nation’s economic prospects.” (Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

The president’s comments signal that perhaps Democrats have embraced their new normal of economic misery, but America’s workers continue to suffer as unemployment remains sky-high:

PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS UP ONLY 82,000: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

40 STRAIGHT MONTHS OF UNEMPLOYMENT ABOVE 8%: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

DEMS SAID UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE AT 5.7% UNDER THEIR STIMULUS: (James Pethokoukis, “Miserable May Jobs Report Suggests U.S. in Recession Red Zone,” The American, 6/1/2012)

WITH ONLY 69K JOBS IN MAY, “DISMAL JOBS DATA WILL FAN FEARS THAT THE ECONOMY IS SPUTTERING”: “The U.S. economy suddenly looks a lot weaker. U.S. employers created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs data will fan fears that the economy is sputtering.” (Christopher Rugaber, “Updated: US Hiring Slow Sharply as Economy Looks Weaker,” Associated Press, 6/1/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ROSE TO 8.2%: “The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April, the first increase in 11 months.” (Christopher Rugaber, “Updated: US Hiring Slow Sharply as Economy Looks Weaker,” Associated Press, 6/1/2012)

“CORE 25-54 EMPLOYMENT RATES STILL NEAR HISTORIC LOWS”: (David Hogberg, “Core 25-54 Employment Rates Still Near Historic Lows,” Investors’ Business Daily, 6/1/2012)

REVISED MARCH AND APRIL DATA SHOW 49,000 FEWER JOBS: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE AT 14.8%: (Table A-15, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6/1/2012)

300,000 INCREASE IN THE LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 6/1/2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG HISPANICS UP 0.7% IN ONE MONTH TO 11.0%.(Stephanie Czekalinski, “Unemployment Up for Hispanics, Blacks,” National Journal, 6/1/2012)