Obama’s New Normal

After Years of Failed Policies and Little Change in the Economic Outlook, Democrats are Offering More of the Same Job-Destroying Policies

• Americans have heard a steady “drumbeat of bad news” about the economy this week.
• However, the Obama administration keeps pushing the same, failed economic policies.
• An Obama official outrageously claimed that Americans can avoid the impact of one of Obama’s worst job-destroying policies, the ObamaCare individual mandate, by making less money. Seriously.

As markets prepare for Friday morning’s release of new employment data, they do so having already heard a “drumbeat of bad news” about the economy over the last week:

“MORE JOB SEEKERS GIVE UP, REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT”: “Where did all the workers go?

“The labor force — those who have a job or are looking for one — is getting smaller, even though the economy is growing and steadily adding jobs. That trend defies the rules of a normal economic recovery.” (Paul Wiseman, “More Job Seekers Give Up, Reducing Unemployment,” Associated Press, 6/2/2011)

“ECONOMIC OUTLOOK  DARKENS,” “DRIVING STOCKS TO THEIR BIGGEST DROP IN A YEAR”: “The drumbeat of bad news about the U.S. economy got louder on Wednesday, rattling financial markets and driving stocks to their biggest drop in a year.

“The U.S. factory sector, which has been an engine of the recovery, notched its biggest one-month slowdown since 1984 as companies hit the brakes on hiring and production. Another report showed private-sector hiring dropped precipitously in May, prompting economists to ratchet down their expectations for the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday.”(Jonathan Cheng and Justin Lahart, “Economic Outlook Darkens,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/1/2011)

“DOUBLE DIP IN HOUSING PRICES EVEN WORSE THAN EXPECTED”: “U.S. single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey said Tuesday. … The price index was below the low seen in April 2009 during the financial crisis. The glut of houses for sale, foreclosures, tight credit and weak demand have kept the housing market on the ropes even as other areas of the economy start to recover. … ‘This month’s report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation,’ David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement. ‘Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.‘” (“‘Double-Dip’ in Housing Prices Even Worse Than Expected,” Reuters, 5/31/2011)

The gloomy economic reports haven’t stopped the Obama administration from pushing the same policies it was advocating two and a half years ago. Democrats are pretending that their next big spending package will succeed where the last several all failed:

OBAMA STILL PUSHING NEW “INVESTMENT” (READ: SPENDING) AS CURE TO ECONOMIC ILLS: “Cantor said the president pushed them on his theme of investment in the future, but Cantor said ‘to a lot of us that’s code for more Washington spending, and that’s something we can’t afford right now.'”(Russell Berman, Sam Youngman, and Molly K. Hooper, “Ryan to Obama: Leadership Should Come from the Top,” The Hill, 6/1/2011)

AND MORE TAXES ON FAMILIES AND JOB CREATORS: “Asked later by The Hill if Obama had signaled any willingness to bend on taxes, Cantor laughed before saying, ‘No.'” (Russell Berman, Sam Youngman, and Molly K. Hooper, “Ryan to Obama: Leadership Should Come from the Top,” The Hill, 6/1/2011)

OBAMA PICK FOR COMMERCE SECRETARY “COULD FORESHADOW A RENEWED WHITE HOUSE PUSH FOR CAP AND TRADE”: “President Obama’s nominee for Commerce secretary, John Bryson, is good news for the environmental community and his nomination could foreshadow a renewed White House push for cap and trade.

“Bryson has a long history in the environmental community. He was one of the original co-founders of the Natural Resources Defense Council. From 1976 [t]o 1979, Bryson was chairman of the California State Water Resources Control Board. Then, from 1979 to 1982, he was president of the California Public Utilities Commission.” (Amanda Carey, “Obama’s Commerce Nominee Comes With a Green Past,” The Daily Caller, 6/1/2011)

The White House, meanwhile, is claiming that if Americans want to avoid the impact of their job-destroying policies, they should—no joke—just “make less money.” Apparently Democrats expect American families and businesses to keep paying the price for their anti-jobs agenda: high unemployment and stagnant economic growth:

WHITE HOUSE: IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE, THEN EARN LESS MONEY: “[Acting Solicitor General Neal Kumar] Kaytal responded by noting that the there’s a provision in the health care law that allows people to avoid the mandate.

” ‘If we’re going to play that game, I think that game can be played here as well, because after all, the minimum coverage provision only kicks in after people have earned a minimum am

ount of income,’ Kaytal said. “… [J]ust as the restaurant owner could depart the market in Heart of Atlanta Hotel, someone doesn’t need to earn that much income.” (Phillip Klein, “Obama Solicitor General: If You Don’t Like Mandate, Make Less Money,” The Washington Examiner, 6/2/2011)