Where is the US economy headed?

@cicerone imposter,

To remind you of actually what has happened, ci, unemployment under Bush was mostly in the 4 to 6% range, and his last year in office, 2008, the rate was 5.8%, this despite inheriting a declining economy because of the burst of the dot com bubble at the end of Clintons terms and also having to overcome the negative impacts of 9/11. Considering the situation Bush had to deal with, his tax cuts seemed to minimize the negative damage of those situations to keep the economy growing and moving at an acceptable level. The last full month of Bush's tenure recorded a 7.4% unemployment rate.

Now, since Obama took office in 2009, unemployment has gone from 7.7 to as high as 10.1%, is still 9.5% after hundreds of billions of tax dollars of supposed stimulus, and even worse the U6 unemployment rate is about 17% and shows no signs of improving significantly. Obama claimed his stimulus plan would prevent the unemployment rate from going over 8%, but obviously that has not happened. Even some Democrats are calling for him to get rid of his economic team, which should tell you what even your side of the aisle thinks of Obama's policies.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104719.html#axzz0xkhJbd6l
http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp

1 Reply

@okie,

okie, This is from Wiki:

Quote:

The International Labour Organization (ILO) predicted that at least 20 million jobs will have been lost by the end of 2009 due to the crisis — mostly in "construction, real estate, financial services, and the auto sector" — bringing world unemployment above 200 million for the first time.[84] The number of unemployed people worldwide could increase by more than 50 million in 2009 as the global recession intensifies, the ILO has forecast.[85]

In December 2007, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.9%.[86] By October 2009, the unemployment rate had risen to 10.1%.[87] A broader measure of unemployment (taking into account marginally attached workers, those employed part time for economic reasons, and some (but not all) discouraged workers) was 16.3%.[88]

I will scan and post the graph that shows the growth in unemployment since January 2008 when Obama took the white house. You cannot blame Obama for the trend in unemployment; he has hardly been in office, and no miracle worker can reverse the trend created by his predecessor. If you fail to understand these simple ideas, you're dumber than dirt.

From Wiki:

Quote:

Net job gains and losses by month in the United States

* September 2008 – 280,000 jobs lost
* October 2008 – 240,000 jobs lost
* November 2008 – 333,000 jobs lost
* December 2008 – 632,000 jobs lost[228]
* January 2009 – 741,000 jobs lost
* February 2009 – 681,000 jobs lost
* March 2009 – 652,000 jobs lost
* April 2009 – 519,000 jobs lost
* May 2009 – 303,000 jobs lost
* June 2009 – 463,000 jobs lost
* July 2009 – 276,000 jobs lost
* August 2009 – 201,000 jobs lost
* September 2009 – 263,000 jobs lost
* October 2009 – 111,000 jobs lost[229]
* November 2009 - 64,000 jobs created[230]
* December 2009 - 109,000 jobs lost[230]
* January 2010 - 14,000 jobs created[230]
* February 2010 - 39,000 jobs created
* March 2010 - 208,000 jobs created
* April 2010 - 290,000 jobs created
* May 2010 - 413,000 jobs created
* June 2010 - 125,000 jobs lost
* July 2010 - 131,000 jobs lost (143,000 Federal Census jobs lost) [231]

* 2008 (September 2008 – December 2008) – 2.6 million jobs lost
* 2009 (January 2009 – December 2009) – 4.2 million jobs lost[232]
* 2010 (January 2010–present) - Approximately 708,000 jobs created

2 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Cyclo,

You appear to be a bit paranoid on this matter. It appears to me you are overlooking a few fundamental facts. (1) The Republicans were and are opposed to nearly every facet of the health care legislation enacted into law earlier this year. They opposed the elimination of Medicare Advantage; the mandates for insurance coverage; the federal Bureaucracy that will oversee coverage requirements for all insurers and the huge new entitlements involved. (2) Republicans opposed most elements of the recent financial regulation legislation, arguing that it omitted Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae entirely; does even more than Sarbanes Oxly to add useless cost to the operation of publicly traded companies; and holds all businesses hostage to the prospect of tens of thousands of pages of new extra legislative regulations to be issues by the newly created bureaucracies. In this way it takes us a long way towards a government managed economy - something they oppose as a fundamental principle. (3) Republicans (so far successfully) oppose the administration's energy policies. They oppose huge (and largely hidden) subsidies for renewable energy and the idiotic cap & trade scheme proposed to expand them. They want to see accelerated investment in nuclear power and measures to decrease our dependence on imported petroleum, not administrative management of energy policy by the EPA.

Given the broad fundamental differences in their political outlook, how could they do anything but oppose the rather radical (compared to recent decades) proposals of this administration?

There is an odd strain of childish irresponsibility and zealotry visible in the propaganda of the administration and many of its supporters. Every challenge they have encountered is, in their eyes, solely the result of the misdeeds of their predecessors. Any opposition to their proposals is necessarily based on the evil conspiracies of bad people who oppose them: there is no possibility of reasoned opposition on the part of reasonable people who happen to disagree. Some of this stuff is a perennial accompanyment of the political rhetoric of both parties. But the current crowd of progressive advocated has taken it all to new depths.

You should do better than that.

2 Replies

okie, This kind of news has been on-going since GW Bush created the Great Recession.

Quote:

Scarcity of jobs puts more at risk of foreclosure
AP

By ALAN ZIBEL and CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Business Writers Alan Zibel And Christopher S. Rugaber, Ap Business Writers – 2 hrs 1 min ago

WASHINGTON – The jobs crisis is putting more Americans at risk of losing their homes.

One in 10 households has missed at least one mortgage payment, and more than 2 million homes have been repossessed since the recession began. Few expect the outlook to improve until companies start to hire steadily again and layoffs ease.

And while there was some good news Thursday — a modest decrease in the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time in a month — the figure is still too high to bring down the unemployment rate.

So the housing crisis goes on, even though the average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell again this week to an all-time low of 4.36 percent.

"Ultimately, the housing story, whether it is delinquencies, homes sales or housing starts, is an employment story," said Jay Brinkmann, the top economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It's just one of the problems confronting Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke as he speaks Friday at a closely watched conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Fed has mostly exhausted its ammo to give the economy a jolt.

Just under 10 percent of homeowners are delinquent on at least one mortgage payment as of June 30, according to a quarterly report on delinquencies released by Brinkmann's trade group. That's more than double the level before the recession.

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@georgeob1,

Quote:

You should do better than that.

That's odd, here I was just thinking to myself, "George should to be able to make an argument without Appealing to Extremes, but just look at this last paragraph."

Quote:

But the current crowd of progressive advocated has taken it all to new depths.

Once again odd, because I was just noticing that the Republicans in both the House and the Senate have taken the use of procedural tricks and gimmicks by the minority party to new depths. Literally double anything that either party did before in a single session, ever. In the Senate, every single vote is Filibustered, except for naming Post Offices. Every one. Can you recall a past in which either party behaved that way?

In the House, there is no unanimous consent. The Republicans force a recorded vote on every vote they can. They motion to adjourn 4 to 6 times a day, and every time they do a vote must be taken to defeat them. They motion to Recommit every facet of every single bill that comes up. It is a gigantic waste of the people's time and money. Can you recall in the past either party behaving in this fashion?

You ought to open your eyes a little bit and understand that Liberals are annoyed by this behavior for a good reason. Any fool knows that Republicans and Democrats have different politics and argue over the major issues passionately, and the Republicans have been very, very good at hanging together as a party to get what little strength they can out of their extreme minority status.

It isn't evil; they aren't evil. They're just dicks, who have no plan other than to foul the other team. At all. And who refuse to own up to any responsibility for anything that happened over the last 8 years.

Cycloptichorn

0 Replies

@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

I will scan and post the graph that shows the growth in unemployment since January 2008 when Obama took the white house. You cannot blame Obama for the trend in unemployment; he has hardly been in office, and no miracle worker can reverse the trend created by his predecessor. If you fail to understand these simple ideas, you're dumber than dirt.

Uh, Obama was inaugurated in January of 2009. Obama has now been in office over a year and a half, long enough to spend hundreds of billions on supposed stimulus that has failed to accomplish its purpose, and grow the deficit and debt to unprecedented proportions. So when you say he has hardly been in office, he is nearing completion of half of his term now. You cannot continue to blame his failures upon Bush forever. You can, and you have, but it has been ringing hollow for quite a while already.

1 Reply

@okie,

That even makes it worse for GW Bush. The big loss in jobs started during GW Bush's tenure. It shows that the first four months of Obama's administration were the four worst job loss months. What kind of miracle did you expect from Obama? CLUE: he's not god.

Gotcha!

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@georgeob1,

Much of the healthcare problems comes from tobacco companies' products, use of hormones in cattles, chickens, antibiotics for animals in unsanitary conditions, pesticides on fruits, etc. which have contributed a fair share of cancer, obesity, creation of super bugs immune to anti-biotics and various ailments from huge agri-businesses using cheap chemical artificial ingredients to replace expensive organic ingredients.

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@cicerone imposter,

Thanks for the info.

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@talk72000,

I think the Democrats caved far too easily on a compromise that is tarted up Romneycare.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

Your inability to remember recent history is an abomination on these threads, because you end up posting ignorant b.s. and creative writing that has no foundation in reality.

Add his inability to remember his own posts as well as inability to figure out what they mean.

1 Reply

@plainoldme,

plainoldme wrote:

Add his inability to remember his own posts as well as inability to figure out what they mean.

I already proved your accusations wrong and asked for an apology, pom, to which you never respond. It is you that cannot read my posts accurately, or you twist them intentionally.

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@okie,

Quote:

I already proved your accusations wrong and asked for an apology, pom

The only thing you proved is that you are a coward and a liar.

Why should I apologize for calling you on your lies?

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@plainoldme,

I don't know what happened to the firebrands among the Democrats. There used to be a lot of them.

1 Reply

@okie,

okie, I scrolled back through about five pages, but couldn't find anything resembling your proof that pom's accusations are wrong.

Please enlighten me where and how you did it?

2 Replies

@cicerone imposter,

When I post his contradictions, he either ignores my post or makes some fumbling statement that perhaps it wasn't clear that he meant . . . then supplies his own loophole. The man is a coward.

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The planned mosque and Islamic center blocks from ground zero got a new boost Wednesday from a coalition of supporters that includes families of Sept. 11 victims.

New York Neighbors for American Values rallied for the first time at a municipal building near ground zero.

"I lost a 23-year-old son, a paramedic who gave his life saving Americans and their values," Talat Hamdani said, and supporting the Islamic center and mosque "has nothing to do with religion. It has to do with standing up for our human rights, including freedom of religion."

Among the nearly 2,800 people killed when the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001 were more than 30 Muslims, she noted.

Opponents of the Islamic center project argue it's insensitive to the families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close. Supporters cite freedom of religion.

The new coalition was started by members of 40 civic and religious organizations that "spontaneously called each other, because we had the feeling that something very negative was happening," said Susan Lerner, executive director of the New York office of the watchdog group Common Cause.

The controversy was triggered by "irresponsible politicians" using it as an election issue, she said. Names mentioned at the rally included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, and the highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Gingrich has suggested that building the mosque near ground zero is akin to putting a Nazi sign "next to the Holocaust Museum." Reid has broken ranks with President Barack Obama by saying he thinks the mosque should be built elsewhere.

Coalition members are now contacting officials, asking them to support the project as a reflection of religious freedom and diversity, and the rejection of "crude stereotypes meant to frighten and divide us."

They plan a candlelight vigil near ground zero on Sept. 10, the eve of the ninth Sept. 11 anniversary.

"This is not just about Muslims; this is about who we are as Americans," said Lerner, adding that to oppose the Islamic center is "a slippery slope. There will always be people who are offended standing next to people who are different from others."

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of New York's Shalom Center, said the project will show the world a form of Islam that espouses peace — not the Islam of the terrorists.

"It is right; it is wise to build it," he told hundreds of people gathered under the arches of Manhattan's Municipal Building, a short walk from ground zero.

Several coalition members noted that the mosque site's developer, Sharif el-Gamal, modeled it after the Jewish Community Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It serves anyone who wishes to participate, they said, and so will the Muslim center near ground zero.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

You cannot blame Obama for the trend in unemployment; he has hardly been in office, and no miracle worker can reverse the trend created by his predecessor.

Obama and The Democrat congressional majority failed in 2009 to begin correcting the mistakes made by Bush and the Democrat congressional majority in 2007 and 2008. Worse, Obama and the Democrat congressional majority has expanded those mistakes, and has added many new ones of their own. It would not have required a "miracle worker"--or even a space scientist--to begin correcting Bush's mistakes early in 2009.

Therefore, you and everyone else can certainly blame Obama and his Democrat congressional majority for failing to do the obvious to reverse that trend:
REDUCE BUSH'S AND THE DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL MAJORITY'S SPENDING AND LENDING, not increase them!

1 Reply

@ican711nm,

The Republicans did their best to frustrate Democrats in trying to fix the problems created by GWB. It is like interfering with the doctor during an operation and crying that the doctor killed the patient.

1 Reply

@talk72000,

Even with all the GOP interference, the democrats were able to reverse the worst of job losses that followed for several months after Obama took office, and many economists believe that Obama also prevented a total meltdown of our economy.

Unfortunately, the republicans still try to stifle benefits for the unemployed that includes conservatives, because they feel it's transferring wealth to people who's not working. .

I'm just wondering how many of the republicans who sees the gamesmanship by the GOP to cut off their benefits will be voting for republican candidates in November?

1 Reply

Where is the US economy headed?

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