The Devil Wears Economic Failure

June 4, 2012

Grim New Jobs Data Cast a Shadow on Economic Recovery Under Democrats’ Failed Policies

New jobs data released last Friday provide further evidence of the failure of Democrat policies.
While America’s economy is “sputtering,” Democrats showed how out of touch they are with the economic anxiety felt by Americans by launching fundraising ads featuring elitist “alleged boss-from-hell” Anna Wintour, the inspiration for the movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” on the same day unemployment numbers were announced.
The Democrats’ previous rosy economic predictions just don’t add up anymore.

New jobs data released last Friday provide further evidence of the failure of Democrat policies:

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)

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

UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS UP TO 13.6%: (Stephanie Czekalinski, “Unemployment Up for Hispanics, Blacks,” National Journal, 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)

While America’s economy is “sputtering,” Democrats showed how out of touch they are with the economic anxiety felt by Americans by launching fundraising ads featuring elitist “alleged boss-from-hell” Anna Wintour, the inspiration for the movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” on the same day unemployment numbers were announced:

THE DEVIL WEARS ECONOMIC FAILURE – DEM LAUNCH FUNDRAISING PITCH WITH VOGUE EDITOR: “Not only that, but Anna Wintour? Really? Anna ‘Nuclear’ Wintour, the alleged boss-from-hell who was the inspiration for “The Devil Wears Prada.” Doesn’t that just re-emphasize the elite, Coastal, liberal image that Republicans love to mock Obama for? … Here’s a Wintour ad that the began running Friday and will be similar to the Parker ad.” (Joe Garofoli, “Why Would Obama Launch National Ad Campaign on MTV Movie Awards?,” The San Francisco Chronicle’s “Politics” blog, 6/01/2012)

“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)

WASHINGTON POST: “JOB RECOVERY IS SCANT FOR AMERICANS IN PRIME WORKING YEARS”: (Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

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)

“MISSING WORKERS” AMONG PRIME WORKING POPULATION: “By this measure, the jobs situation has improved little in recent years. The percentage of workers between the ages of 25 and 54 who have jobs now stands at 75.7 percent, just a percentage point over what it was at the downturn’s worst, according to federal statistics. Before the recession the proportion hovered at 80 percent. It reflects ‘missing workers’ who have stopped looking for work and aren’t included in the unemployment rate.”(Peter Whoriskey, “Job Recovery is Scant for Americans in Prime Working Years,” The Washington Post, 5/30/2012)

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)

HOME PRICES FELL YET AGAIN: “U.S. home prices fell in March, ending the first quarter at the lowest levels since the housing crisis began in mid-2006, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home-price indexes. During the first quarter, home prices reached new lows, falling 2% sequentially and 1.9% year-to-year. Prices are down roughly 35% from their peak in the second quarter of 2006.” (“S&P Case-Shiller: Home Prices Fell in March,” Dow Jones Newswires, 5/29/2012)

The Democrats’ previous rosy economic predictions just don’t add up anymore:

OBAMA IN 2009: “THIS IS MY ECONOMY? FINE. GIVE IT TO ME.” (Rachel Slajda, “Obama: It’s My Economy? Fine. Give It to Me,” Talking Points Memo, 7/14/2009)

“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)

FIRST TIME WHITE HOUSE HASN’T CLAIMED “RECOVERY” IN SEVEN MONTHS: “Each month when the Labor Department releases its employment report, the White House quickly blasts out a statement in the name of Alan B. Krueger, chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. And for seven months straight, in every statement since his appointment, Mr. Krueger began with almost exactly the same line.” (Peter Baker, “The White House Strikes ‘Recover’ From Response to Jobs Report,” The New York Times, 6/1/2012)