Three Legged Elephant: Welcome to The Obama Recovery?

The Obama Economic Recovery Continues To Lumber Forward With All The Momentum Of A Blind, Three-Legged Elephant." (Editorial, "The Obama Recovery," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8/8/10)
DISMAL STATE JOBS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DREADFUL EMPLOYMENT SITUATION
"It Was 'Dumb' For President Obama And His Aides To Promise That Unemployment Would Not Surpass Eight Percent If The Stimulus Act Passed, [Rep. Barney Frank] Said Tuesday. . . ' That Was A Dumb Thing To Do.' (Michael O'Brien, "Frank: Obama Admin 'Dumb' To Predict No Higher Than 8% Unemployment," The Hill, 8/19/10)

BLS Reported Today That 14 States Saw Rate Increases In July, And 18 States Had No Change. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary," Press Release, 8/20/10)

• The Unemployment Rate In Several States Has Remained Painfully High. "Nevada again reported the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.3% in July. The rate in Nevada also set a new series high. (All region, division, and state series begin in 1976.) The states with the next highest rates were Michigan, 13.1%, and California, 12.3%." ibid

According To BLS, 13 States Lost Jobs In July. ibid

In Harry Reid's Nevada, Layoffs Continue To Roll Through The Economy. Unemployment in Las Vegas closed in on 15% in July, as the city and Nevada overall both surged once again to record jobless levels. Joblessness locally jumped 0.2 percentage points, to 14.8% in July, as employers slashed 5,700 positions in the month." (Jennifer Robison, "Nevada Unemployment Climbs In July," The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8/20/10)

• "Statewide, Unemployment Ticked Up 0.1 Percentage Points In July, To 14.3%. Nevada's Employers Reported 9,600 Fewer Jobs."ibid

ECONOMISTS NOW WARNING THAT ECONOMY WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE
CBO Projects Sluggish Growth Through 2011 "All of those forces, along with the waning of federal fiscal support, will tend to restrain spending by individuals and businesses--and, therefore, economic growth--during the recovery. CBO projects that the economy will grow by only 2.0%  from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011; even with faster growth in subsequent years, the unemployment rate will not fall to around 5 percent until the end of 2014." ("The Budget And Economic Outlook: Update," Congressional Budget Office 8/19/10)

"Not Since The Government Began To Measure The Ups And Downs Of The Business Cycle Has Such A Deep Recession Been Followed By Such Anemic Job Growth." "Jobs came back at a faster pace even in March 1933 after the economy started to "recover" from the depths of the Great Depression. Of course, that job growth didn't last long. That recovery wasn't really a recovery at all. The Great Depression continued. And that's exactly my point. The Great Recession continues." (Robert Reich, "Forget a Double-Dip, We're Still in One Long Big Dipper," The Huffington Post, 8/14/10)

David Rosenberg, Chief Economist At Gluskin, Sheff & Associates, Believes That There Is A "Significant Chance" The Economy Could Begin Retracting By The End Of The Year. "I don't see what the underpinnings are for the economy are. When I take right now a look at the numbers, we're looking at third quarter growth close to zero. It looks like second quarter is going to get revised from 2.4 down to as low as one or 1.5. I'm thinking flat for the third quarter -- I mean there's no growth in consumer spending and that's 70% of GDP ... This will be the big surprise: I think there is a significant chance in the fourth quarter that the economy could be contracting again." (The Wall Street Journal, "The Big Interview," 8/13/10)

• "I'd Say That If You Don't Believe There Is Going To Be A Double Dip Maybe That's Because The First Recession Never Ended. . . If There Is Gonna Be A Double-Dip The Odds Are Actually Very High." ibid

AND THE PUBLIC HAS LOST FAITH IN OBAMA AND HIS POLICIES
AP-Gfk Poll: President Obama's Approval Rating On Economy Have Sunk To New Lows. "President Barack Obama earned his lowest marks ever on his handling of the economy in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, which also found that an overwhelming majority of Americans now describe the nation's financial outlook as poor. A frustrated electorate could take it out on the party in power -- Obama's Democrats -- in the November elections." (Liz Sidoti, "Poll: Obama Gets Lowest Grade So Far On Economy," The AP, 8/18/10)

56% Of Voters Disapprove Of President Obama's Performance On The Economy Including 41% Who Strongly Disapprove.(Poll, "The AP-Gfk Poll," The AP, 1007 Adults, +/- 4.5% MOE, 8/11-8/16/10)

• 65% Of Voters Know Someone Personally That Has Lost Their Job. ibid

• 61% Of Voters Disapprove Of The Way That The Democrats In Congress Are Handling Their Jobs.ibid

"WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY": 64% Of Respondents Say That In The Next Year The Economy Will Stay About The Same Or Get Worse, Only 34% Believe That It Will Improve. (Hart/McInturff Poll, "NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey," 1000 Adults, MOE +/- 3.1%, 8/5-8/9/10)

40% Of Respondents Say That The Country Is In Worse Shape Or About The Same Since Obama Took Office. ibid

A Plurality Of Respondents, 38%, "Not At All Confident" Obama Has "The Right Set Of Goals And Policies In Order To Be President." ibid

And A Plurality, 39%, Say That They Are "Not At All Confident" That President Obama Has "The Right Set Of Goals And Policies To Improve The Economy." ibid

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