Is This What “Doing Just Fine” Looks Like?

October 21, 2011

Despite State Unemployment Numbers Showing Sky-High Unemployment, Top Democrats Claim Job Creation Is “Doing Just Fine”

New state unemployment numbers out this morning point to continued weakness in America’s economy and provide the latest evidence of the failure of the Democrats’ economic policies.
These dismal jobs numbers confirm the trends in other depressing economic data that suggest full economic recovery remains in the distant future.
Despite this constant stream of dismal economic data, Democrats continue to defend their failed policies and call for more of the same. Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid shockingly claimed this week that private sector jobs are “doing just fine.” The 26 million unemployed and underemployed Americans would disagree.

BACKGROUND

New state unemployment numbers out this morning point to continued weakness in America’s economy and provide the latest evidence of the failure of the Democrats’ economic policies:

“REGIONAL AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WERE GENERALLY LITTLE CHANGED IN SEPTEMBER.” (“Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/21/2011)

14 STATES SAW RATE INCREASES, 11 STAYED THE SAME. (“Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/21/2011)

These dismal jobs numbers confirm the trends in other depressing economic data that suggest full economic recovery remains in the distant future:

1.63 MILLION PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS LOST SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE:(“Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics Survey,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/2011)

2.23 MILLION TOTAL JOBS LOST SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: (“Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics Survey,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/2011)

14 MILLION AMERICANS ARE UNEMPLOYED: (“Employment Situation Summary,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/7/2011)

TOTAL OF 26 MILLION AMERICANS ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED:(Ben Baden, “An Unprecedented 26 Million Americans Are Now Underemployed,” U.S. News and World Report, 10/20/2011)

“U.S. ‘MISERY INDEX’ RISES HIGHEST SINCE 1983,” A 28-YEAR HIGH: (“U.S. ‘Misery Index’ Rises Highest Since 1983,” CNBC, 10/20/2011)

FED BEIGE BOOK DISAPPOINTS, SIGNALS “WEAK” ECONOMY: (Agustino Fontevecchia, “Weak Fed Beige Book Suggests QE3 Is Around the Corner,” Forbes, 10/19/2011)

“JOBS MARKET SHOWED LITTLE IMPROVEMENT, SUGGESTING A CONTINUED SLOW PACE OF GROWTH AHEAD”: (Luca Di Leo, “Economy Shows Modest Growth,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/19/2011)

GALLUP: 48% SAY PERSONAL FINANCES ARE “GETTING WORSE”: “Americans are also less hopeful about their future personal financial situations. Nearly half (48%) say their personal financial situation is ‘getting worse,’ up from 41% in April and nearly tying the record-high 49% who said so in April 2008. A new low of 29% say their personal financial situation is getting better.” (Lymari Morales, “Americans Grow More Negative About Their Personal Finances,” Gallup, 10/19/2011)

“U.S. CONSUMER SENTIMENT UNEXPECTEDLY SLUMPED IN EARLY OCTOBER”:“U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly slumped in early October as worries about declining incomes drove consumer expectations back down to the lowest level in more than 30 years, a survey released Friday showed.” (“Consumer Sentiment Falls, Expectations at 30-Year Low,” Reuters, 10/14/2011)

CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS:(“Consumer Sentiment Falls, Expectations at 30-Year Low,” Reuters, 10/14/2011)

“U.S. INCOMES SEEN STAGNANT THROUGH 2021”: (Phil Izzo, “U.S. Incomes Seen Stagnant Through 2021,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/13/2011)

WORST DECLINE IN INCOME SINCE 1967: “From 2000 to 2010, median income in the U.S. declined 7% after adjusting for inflation, according to Census data. That marks the worst 10-year performance in records going back to 1967.” (Phil Izzo, “U.S. Incomes Seen Stagnant Through 2021,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/13/2011)

Despite this constant stream of dismal economic data, Democrats continue to defend their failed policies and call for more of the same. Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid shockingly claimed this week that private sector jobs are “doing just fine.” The 26 million unemployed and underemployed Americans would disagree:

DELUSIONAL DEMOCRATS IN DENIAL:

EARTH TO HARRY REID? REID SAYS IT’S “VERY CLEAR THAT PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS HAVE BEEN DOING JUST FINE,” SAYS GOVERNMENT JOBS MORE IMPORTANT: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday morning said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first responders.

” ‘It’s very clear that private sector jobs have been doing just fine, it’s the public sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that’s what this legislation is all about,’ Reid said on the Senate floor.” (Peter Kasperowicz, “Reid Says Government Jobs Must Take Priority Over Private Sector Jobs,” The Hill, 10/19/2011)

OBAMA: “ALL THE CHOICES WE’VE MADE HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT ONES”: “I guarantee it’s going to be a close election because the economy is not where it wants to be and even though I believe all the choices we’ve made have been the right ones, we’re still going through difficult circumstances.” (“Transcript: ABC News’ Jake Tapper’s Exclusive Interview with President Obama,” ABC News, 10/18/2011)

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FACT-CHECK DEMOCRATS: 59% OF AMERICANS SAY OBAMA’S POLICIES WILL FAIL, NEARLY DOUBLE THE LEVEL IN 2009: “According to the survey, 36% say they think the president’s policies will succeed, with 59% saying Obama’s policies will fail, up 12 points from last year and nearly double the 32% who said in 2009 that the president’s policies will fail.” (“CNN Poll: Record High Say Obama’s Policies Will Fail,” CNN, 10/17/2011)

AND DOUBLE DOWN ON MORE OF THE SAME:

OBAMA OFFERED $467 BILLION IN TAX INCREASES TO PAY FOR $447 BILLION IN STIMULUS 2.0: “The Obama administration is asking Congress to raise taxes by $467 billion over 10 years to pay for the President’s one-year $447 billion stimulus, which he announced during a speech Thursday before a joint session of Congress.” (Neil Munro, “Obama Asks Congress for $467-Billion Tax Increase to Fund Jobs Plan,” The Daily Caller, 9/12/2011)

WHITE HOUSE: “95 PERCENT” OF DEMOCRATS SUPPORT STIMULUS 2.0: (Sam Youngman and Russell Berman, “Rep. Cantor rejects Obama, says president’s jobs package is dead,” The Hill, 10/3/11)

“OBAMA VOWS VETO IF DEFICIT PLAN HAS NO TAX INCREASES”: “President Obama called on Monday for Congress to adopt his ‘balanced’ plan combining entitlement cuts, tax increases and war savings to reduce the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion over the next 10 years, and said he would veto any approach that relied solely on spending reductions to address the fiscal shortfall.

” ‘I will not support any plan that puts all the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans,’ he said.” (Helene Cooper, “Obama Vows Veto if Deficit Plan Has No Tax Increases,” The New York Times, 9/19/2011)

“HOUSE DEMS WANT DEFICIT PANEL TO FIND ‘SIGNIFICANT’ NEW REVENUES”:“The policy package — consisting of recommendations from the senior Democrats on 16 top committees and sent to the leaders of the deficit-slashing supercommittee — calls for significant new revenue hikes to reduce the deficit. …

” ‘The American people overwhelmingly agree that significant revenues must be included in any plan,’ Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a letter to the supercommittee that accompanied the proposals.” (Mike Lillis, “House Dems Want Deficit Panel to Find ‘Significant’ New Revenues,” The Hill, 10/13/2011)