October's Dismal "New Normal" Jobs Report

James Pethokoukis analyzes the data here.  Read the whole thing, but here is the bottom line:

Anemic economic growth of around 2% not only puts the U.S. economy at heightened risk of recession, but is also too slow to a) generate enough jobs to quickly close the jobs gap, and b) boost take-home pay. Anyone satisfied with or hyping this report does a great disservice to the America worker.
 

 


Plus:  Additional thoughts from Ed Morrissey.

In just four more days, we can set a new course.

Actually Happened

The Sickly, Stagnant September Jobs Report

Pethokoukis:  Only in an era of depressingly diminished expectations could the September jobs report be called a good one. It really isn’t. Not at all.

And here is the chart again (where Obama claimed we would be with Stimulus and where we are):

Mute Button

A new ad from the Romney Camp:

If Obama Could Get Everyone To Give Up, We Would Have a 0% Unemployment Rate

Pethokokis:  The awful, awful August jobs report.



Key point:  "If the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%."

Happy Anniversary

While you did not hear this in Obama's speech last night, yesterday was the one year anniversary of Solyndra's bankruptcy filing.

689 Reasons to Defeat Barack Obama

That's it?

Stimulus Fail

Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds has been pretty consistent lately in saying that it is always a good time to run this chart:



I have to agree.

Stimulus: $32 million Loan Guarantee to Brazilian Company Supported 250 American Jobs . . .

for three days. 

The New Normal

Pethokoukis: 

Only in a world of lowered, New Normal expectations was the July jobs report anything less than another disaster for U.S. workers. Nonfarm payrolls rose 163,000 last month as the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%. In addition, employment for May and June was revised by 6,000 jobs. 

– Not only is the 8.3% unemployment rate way above the 5.6% unemployment rate that Team Obama predicted for July 2012 if Congress passed the $800 billion stimulus plan. It’s way above the 6.0% unemployment rate they predicted if no stimulus was passed.

Great Expectations: 2008 Obama Supporter Interviews 2012 Self

Hat tip to Vodkapundit.

Only 1001?

1001 Reasons to Vote Against Barack Obama.  Feel free to add to the list.

Credit to Instapundit for the link (who in turn gives credit to Bill Whittle). 

Obama Predicted a Strong Economy, But Blames His Failures on Bush

That pretty well sums things up.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

Disaster

Hotair reports:  Analysts expected the US economy to add 150,000 jobs in May. Instead, we saw only a net gain of 69,000 jobs, and the jobless rate went up slightly to 8.2% . . . .  U-3 (the topline jobless rate) went from 8.1% to 8.2%, the first increase of any kind in that measure since June 2011. The U-6 figure, which comprises all unemployed and marginally attached workers, rose from 14.5% to 14.8%.

James Pethokoukis:  Miserable May jobs report suggests U.S. in recession red zone. 



"And, as the above chart shows — originally from Obama economists Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein in January 2009 –the current 8.2% unemployment rate is 2.5 percentage points above where Team Obama predicted it would be right now if Congress passed his trillion-dollar stimulus plan."

Meanwhile, President Obama responded to today's jobs report by attending SIX fundraisers.

Forget Bain

Obama's public-equity record is the real scandal.

Despite a growing backlash from his fellow Democrats, President Obama has doubled down on his attacks on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. But the strategy could backfire in ways Obama did not anticipate. After all, if Romney’s record in private equity is fair game, then so is Obama’s record in public equity — and that record is not pretty.

Since taking office, Obama has invested billions of taxpayer dollars in private businesses, including as part of his stimulus spending bill. Many of those investments have turned out to be unmitigated disasters — leaving in their wake bankruptcies, layoffs, criminal investigations and taxpayers on the hook for billions. 

Click the link for a list representing just some of these Obama public-equity failures.  Then there is this:

. . . fully 71 percent of the Obama Energy Department’s grants and loans went to “individuals who were bundlers, members of Obama’s National Finance Committee, or large donors to the Democratic Party.” Collectively, these Obama cronies raised $457,834 for his campaign, and they were in turn approved for grants or loans of nearly $11.35 billion. Obama said this week it’s not the president’s job “to make a lot of money for investors.” Well, he sure seems to have made a lot of (taxpayer) money for investors in his political machine.  

Hat tip to Instapundit. 

Stimulus Fail

"Heavily Democratic states with lower poverty rates, lower unemployment rates, lower bankruptcy rates, and lower foreclosure rates received most of President Barack Obama's $825 billion Stimulus."

Stimulus Fail

Veronique de Rugy provides this chart showing what the president warned unemployment would be without the stimulus versus actual unemployment with the stimulus.