Dems in Denial: Their Policies Work for Washington But Fail Working Families

August 6, 2012

Americans Suffer Increased Unemployment While Dems Push More Failed Policies

Despite yet another devastating jobs report, Washington Democrats still insist “the economy is continuing to recover.”
The truth is unemployment remains sky-high and wages are falling in the Democrats’ so-called “recovery,” a stark contrast to the lofty promises Democrats made with their failed stimulus.
As if things aren’t already bad enough, Democrats are stubbornly clinging to their failed economic agenda and calling for even more job-killing tax hikes.

Despite yet another devastating jobs report, Washington Democrats still insist “the economy is continuing to recover”:

“THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CLIMBED TO 8.3 PERCENT, WHILE THE BROADER U6 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CLIMBED TO 15 PERCENT”: (Mamta Badkar, “David Rosenberg On The Jobs Report: ‘Nice Headline, Shame About The Details,’”Business Insider, 8/3/2012)

163K JOBS ADDED IN JULY FAR BELOW THE 220K THAT ECONOMY NEEDS TO GET BACK ON TRACK: “When measured against what is normal for an economy supposedly completing a third year of recovery, it is wholly inadequate.’” (Mamta Badkar, “David Rosenberg On The Jobs Report: ‘Nice Headline, Shame About The Details,’” Business Insider, 8/3/2012)

EMBARRASSMENT: OBAMA WHITE HOUSE INSISTS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 8.254%, NOT 8.3%: (David Jackson, “Obama Adviser: Jobless Rate is Really 8.254%,”USA Today, 8/3/2012)

DEMS PROMISED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD BE AT 5.6% BY NOW IF WE PASSED THEIR STIMULUS: (James Pethokoukis, “July Jobs Report: America’s Labor Market Depression Continues,” American Enterprise Institute, 8/3/2012)

THE “RECOVERY” IS BACK? WHITE HOUSE SAYS JOBS REPORT PROVES “THE U.S. ECONOMY IS CONTINUING TO RECOVER FROM THE WORST DOWNTURN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION.”(“White House says jobs data shows economy recovering,” Reuters, 8/3/2012)

AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE RECENTLY STRUCK “RECOVER” FROM ITS JOBS REPORT RESPONSES: (Peter Baker, “White House Strikes ‘Recover’ From Response to Jobs Report,” The New York Times, 6/1/2012)

FLASHBACK: AFTER STIMULUS, “OBAMA, BIDEN DECLARE ‘RECOVERY SUMMER’”: (Mike Allen, “Obama, Biden declare ‘Recovery Summer,’” Politico, 6/17/2010)

FLASHBACK: OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IN 2010: “WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY”: (Timothy F. Geithner op-ed, “Welcome to the Recovery,” The New York Times, 8/02/2010)

The truth is unemployment remains sky-high and wages are falling in the Democrats’ so-called “recovery,” a stark contrast to the lofty promises Democrats made with their failed stimulus:

OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON, AMERICANS ARE STRUGGLING IN THE OBAMA ECONOMY:

“‘ONE IN EVERY SEVEN AMERICANS IS EITHER UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED’”:(Mamta Badkar, “David Rosenberg On The Jobs Report: ‘Nice Headline, Shame About The Details,’” Business Insider, 8/3/2012)

“IF LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE HADN’T DECLINED SINCE JUST LAST MONTH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD HAVE RISEN TO 8.4%”: (James Pethokoukis, “July jobs report: America’s labor market depression continues,” American Enterprise Institute, 8/3/2012)

“IF THE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE WAS THE SAME AS WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE IN JANUARY 2009, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WOULD BE 11.0%”: (James Pethokoukis, “July jobs report: America’s labor market depression continues,” American Enterprise Institute, 8/3/2012)

“IN ‘REAL TERMS WAGES ACTUALLY CONTRACTED IN JULY’”: (Mamta Badkar, “David Rosenberg On The Jobs Report: ‘Nice Headline, Shame About The Details,’” Business Insider, 8/3/2012)

“HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT FELL 195,000, THE FIRST DECLINE IN THREE MONTHS”: (Mamta Badkar, “David Rosenberg On The Jobs Report: ‘Nice Headline, Shame About The Details,’” Business Insider, 8/3/2012)

AND THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE:

“U.S. RECOVERY WEAKEST OF ANY IN THE WORLD SINCE 1970”: “In a new research note, JPMorgan points out that since 1970, Japan, Finland and Sweden have all gone through what the U.S. is currently going through. And all three of them had recoveries stronger than America’s. The above chart compares the economic recovery — as measured by real GDP per capita — of each nation at different points after the trough of their recessions. And the U.S. is in dead last after 12 quarters from the bottom.” (James Pethokoukis, “U.S. recovery weakest of any in the world since 1970,” American Enterprise Institute, 8/2/2012)

WALL STREET JOURNAL: “IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW UNUSUAL THIS KIND OF WEAK RECOVERY IS”: “Deep recessions like the one from December 2007 to June 2009 are typically followed by strongerrecoveries, as there is more lost ground to make up.” (Editorial, “The 1.5% Presidency,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/27/2012)

THE REAGAN RECOVERY WAS DIFFERENT: “The most recent comparable recession occurred in 1981-1982 . . . the Reagan expansion exploded with a 9.3% quarter and kept up a robust pace for years. By the 12th quarter of expansion, growth popped up to 6.4.%. At this stage of the Reagan expansion, overall GDP was 18.5% higher versus 6.7% for the Obama recovery, according to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee.” (Editorial, “The 1.5% Presidency,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/27/2012)

As if things aren’t already bad enough, Democrats are stubbornly clinging to their failed economic agenda and calling for even more job-killing tax hikes:

LA TIMES: “FOR OBAMA, IT’S RIGHT BACK TO TAXES AFTER JOBS REPORT”:(Michael A. Memoli, “For Obama, It’s Right Back to Taxes After Jobs Report,” Los Angeles Times, 8/3/2012)

89% OF DEMOCRATS VOTED AGAINST PREVENTING TAX HIKES(Roll Call 545,Clerk of the U.S. House, 8/1/2012)

710,000 JOBS COULD BE DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS’ TAX HIKE PLAN: (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012, Appendix C)

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION: 940,000 SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET HIT BY DEMOCRATS’ LATEST TAX HIKE: “Congress’s Joint Tax Committee—not a conservative outfit—estimates that in 2013 about 940,000 taxpayers will have enough business income to meet Mr. Obama’s tax increase threshold.”(Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

MORE THAN HALF OF NET BUSINESS INCOME WILL BE HIT BY HIGHER TAX RATES UNDER OBAMA PROPOSAL: “And of the roughly $1.3 trillion in net business income, about 53% will get hit with the higher tax rates. This is because millions of businesses report their income as sole proprietors and subchapter S corporations that file under the individual tax code.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

1.8% DROP IN WAGES: “Real after-tax wages would fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers’ living standards relative to what would have occurred otherwise.” (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012)

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: OBAMACARE TO DESTROY 800,000 JOBS:QUESTION: “…that means that in your estimation, the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000 in 2021; is that correct?” DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, CBO Director: “Yes.” (Remarks from Douglas Elmendorf, House Budget Committee Hearing, 2/10/2011)

NFIB STUDY: 150K SMALL BUSINESS JOBS COULD BE DESTROYED BY OBAMACARE’S HEALTH INSURANCE TAX: (“NFIB Research Foundation Study: Health Insurance Tax to Cost 125,000 to 249,000 Private-Sector Jobs,” NFIB, 11/9/2011)

CBO: $1 TRILLION IN OBAMACARE TAX HIKES OVER 2013-2022: (Douglas Elmendorf, “Letter to the Honorable John Boehner,” Congressional Budget Office, 7/24/2012, p.6)