Jobs Outlook Dim as Dems Rally Behind Stimulus 2.0
Dismal Economic Data Continue to Feed Americans’ Pessimism About the Economy, But Democrats Call for More of the Same
- Jobs numbers out Friday morning continue to signal a weak jobs market and stagnant economy, nearly three years after Democrats promised that their stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent.
- These disappointing jobs numbers follow other dismal economic reports that paint an ugly picture of the U.S. economy. The ranks of the “poorest poor” hit a record high, food stamp rolls are swelling and the Federal Reserve is downgrading economic growth estimates for the next several years.
- This disappointing return on the Democrats’ first stimulus hasn’t stopped Democrats from getting in line behind President Obama’s calls for stimulus 2.0. As of Thursday, 98 Democrats had co-sponsored the latest stimulus spending spree. How long before Democrats finally admit the first one didn’t work?
BACKGROUND
Jobs numbers out Friday morning continue to signal a weak jobs market and stagnant economy, nearly three years after Democrats promised that their stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent:
ECONOMY “WOBBLES” TO 80,000 JOBS CREATED IN OCTOBER: (Jeff Cox, “Economy Wobbles to 80,000 New Jobs, Rate Slips to 9%,” CNBC, 11/4/2011)
ECONOMY WOULD NEED 263,000 A MONTH TO GET BELOW 8 PERCENT BY ELECTION DAY: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, 11/4/2011)
REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 16.2 PERCENT: (Jeff Cox, “Economy Wobbles to 80,000 New Jobs, Rate Slips to 9%,” CNBC, 11/4/2011)
“TEPID GAINS,” JOBS MARKET “REMAINS A FAR CRY FROM INDICATING GROWTH”: (Jeff Cox, “Economy Wobbles to 80,000 New Jobs, Rate Slips to 9%,” CNBC, 11/4/2011)
DEMOCRATS INFAMOUSLY PREDICTED THEIR STIMULUS WOULD CAP UNEMPLOYMENT AT 8 PERCENT: “Back in early January, when Barack Obama was still President-elect, two of his chief economic advisers—leading proponents of a stimulus bill—predicted that the passage of a large economic-aid package would boost the economy and keep the unemployment rate below 8%. It hasn’t quite worked out that way.” (Stephen Gandel, “Obama’s Stimulus Plan: Failing by Its Own Measure,”Time, 7/14/2009)
These disappointing jobs numbers follow other dismal economic reports that paint an ugly picture of the U.S. economy. The ranks of the “poorest poor” hit a record high, food stamp rolls are swelling and the Federal Reserve is downgrading economic growth estimates for the next several years:
FEDERAL RESERVE PREDICTS YEARS OF HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, LOW GROWTH:“The Fed cut its forecast for economic growth next year to a range of 2.5% to 2.9% from 3.3% to 3.7% in June. It also said unemployment, now 9.1%, would still be about 8% by the end of 2013, vs. its previous projection of 7% to 7.5%.” (Paul Davidson, “Fed’s Outlook for the Economy is Revised Lower,” USA Today, 11/3/2011)
“POOREST POOR IN US HITS NEW RECORD: 1 IN 15 PEOPLE”: “About 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population, make up the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the official poverty level. Those living in deep poverty represent nearly half of the 46.2 million people scraping by below the poverty line. In 2010, the poorest poor meant an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four.” (Hope Yen and Laura Wildes-Munoz, “Poorest Poor in US Hits New Record: 1 in 15 People,” Associated Press, 11/3/2011)
45.8 MILLION AMERICANS ON FOOD STAMPS, 15% OF NATION: (Phil Izzo, “Some 15% of U.S. Uses Food Stamps,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/1/2011)
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME BELOW 2000 LEVELS: “One benchmark, income of the median household—meaning the one in the very middle of the middle—declined 3.2% to $53,518 during the 2007-2009 recession and fell a further 6.7% to $49,909 between June 2009 and June 2011, according to an analysis of monthly Census Bureau numbers. According to a study done by former Bureau staffer Gordon Green and others at data-crunching firm Sentier Research, the income of the typical American household, adjusted for inflation and in 2011 dollars, has dropped well below the January 2000 level ($55,836).” (Brenda Cronin, “Slow Recovery Feels Like Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2011)
OUTPUT 3% LOWER THAN AT THE END OF 2007: “No recession since the Great Depression was deeper or longer than the most recent. It has taken two years for the nation’s total output of goods and services to return to pre-recession levels, longer than after any recession since World War II. And on a per-capita basis, the Commerce Department said Thursday, output remains 3% lower than it was at the end of 2007.” (Brenda Cronin, “Slow Recovery Feels Like Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2011)
HOME PRICES HAVEN’T REBOUNDED AND 20% OF MORTGAGE HOLDERS OWE MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THEIR HOME: (Brenda Cronin, “Slow Recovery Feels Like Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2011)
DROP IN INCOME IS ACROSS THE BOARD: “Education, once a reliable means to employment and earning power, has been no insurance against declining incomes during the recovery. Between June 2009 and June 2011, the median income of households led by high school graduates fell 8.2%, Sentier estimates. Households led by people with two-year associates degrees saw incomes fall even more: 11.2%. And even those led by individuals with bachelor’s degrees were squeezed: down 5.9%.”(Brenda Cronin, “Slow Recovery Feels Like Recession,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/31/2011)
This disappointing return on the Democrats’ first stimulus hasn’t stopped Democrats from getting in line behind President Obama’s calls for stimulus 2.0. As of Thursday, 98 Democrats had co-sponsored the latest stimulus spending spree. How long before Democrats finally admit the first one didn’t work?:
98 DEMOCRATS OFFICIALLY COSPONSORING STIMULUS 2.0: (Thomas.gov, Accessed 11/3/2011)
AND MORE DEMOCRATS MAY BE GETTING READY TO SIGN ON: “Well, the co-sponsorship is really not reflective of the widespread support that exists in the Democratic caucus and in the country for the American Jobs Act.” (CNN’s “State of the Union,” 10/16/2011)
BUT CBO JUST ADMITTED IT’S “ ‘IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVE’ STIMULUS CREATED JOBS”: “SEN. TOOMEY: ‘I know it is your view that the recent huge increase in spending and the corresponding big deficits have generated more economic growth and more job creation that we would have had in the absence of those things. But surely you’d agree, that that essentially asks for a comparison to a counterfactual, and as such, it’s completely impossible to prove?’ DR. DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, director of the CBO: ‘Yes, that’s right, senator.’” (Remarks from Doug Elmendorf, “CBO Agrees With Toomey: ‘Impossible to Prove’ Stimulus Created Jobs,” Real Clear Politics, 10/27/2011)
BIDEN TELLS CNN: “NOBODY” CAN SAY STIMULUS “DID NOT DO VERY GOOD THINGS” FOR THE ECONOMY: (CNN’s “State Of The Union”, 10/23/11)