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Joe Biden: Need to “RAMP UP” Obama Economic Stimulus Program
Vice President Joe Biden, accompanied by Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer, speaks about the economy with reporters, Friday, June 5, 2009, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington
The unemployment numbers are NOT very good and Obama/Biden know they cannot blame Bush about the economy forever.The jobless rate in May shot up from 8.9 percent to 9.4 percent and 345,000 more jobs were slashed from company payrolls.
So, why not resort to what Obama does best – a speech and a campaign event?
Interesting how the White House trots out Biden on a Friday while Obama is overseas and receiving lots of media exposure.
What does this mean?
The economy still sucks and Obama’s economic stimulus program is not working – just like the GOP maintained.
Technorati Tags: Joe Biden
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Day By Day by Chris Muir June 5, 2009 – Call, Incoming
Day By Day by Chris MuirI would be calling for help as well. The federal government just announced the unemployment rate increased again to 9.4 per cent for May. This is the highest rate in 25 years.If laid off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.4 percent, the highest on records dating to 1994.
The Labor Department also says a total of 14.5 million people were unemployed in May.
Job cuts were smaller than the 520,000 economists expected, while the unemployment rate was higher than the 9.2 percent forecast.
While President Obama is making campaign speeches overseas, his economic policies are not bringing need relief to American workers.
And, rival POLS for the 2012 Presidential election are already starting to CARP.
Alaska governor Sarah Palin let loose Wednesday on the Obama administration for enacting fiscal policies that “fly in the face of principles” and “defy Economics 101.”
In a speech introducing Michael Reagan — the son of former President Ronald Reagan — to an audience in Anchorage, Palin warned that the government is planning to “bail out debt ridden states” so it can “get in there and control the people.”
“Since when can you get out of huge national debt by creating trillions of dollars of new debt?” Palin asked. “It all really is so backwards and skewed as to sound like absolute nonsense when some of this economic policy is explained.”
“We need to be aware of the creation of a fearful population, and fearful lawmakers, being led to believe that big government is the answer, to bail out the private sector, because then government gets to get in there and control it,” she said. “And mark my words, this is going to be next, I fear, bail out next debt-ridden states. Then government gets to get in there and control the people.”
“Some in Washington would approach our economic woes in ways that absolutely defy Economics 101, and they fly in the face of principles, providing opportunity for industrious Americans to succeed or to fail on their own accord,” she said. “Those principles it makes you wonder what the heck some in Washington are trying to accomplish here.”
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Technorati Tags: Day By Day, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama
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Poll Watch: 31 Per Cent Say Obama Economic Stimulus Helped The Economy, 27 Per Cent Say Hurt The Economy
Ridgway, the seat of Elk County, Pa., is seen nestled amid the green of the Allegheny Mountains, Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Officials and residents of the struggling manufacturing community are learning that they will receive no immediate money from the economic stimulus plan despite the 13.8 percent unemployment rate. Counties suffering the most from job losses are receiving the least help so far from President Barack Obama’s plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an Associated Press analysis has found
So says the latest Radmussen Poll.The question:
So far, has the economic stimulus plan helped the economy, hurt the economy or had no impact on the economy?
- Helped – 31%
- Hurt – 27%
- No Impact – 31%
- Not Sure – 11%
This approval of Obama’s economic stimulus package is down seven points from when it was first approved in February.
In the meantime, Americans overwhelmingly say former President Bush is too blame for ongoing economic problems.
President Obama contends he inherited the nation’s ongoing economic problems and that his actions since taking office are not to blame. Sixty-two percent (62%) of U.S. voters agree with the president that the problems are due to the recession that began under the Bush administration.
Just 27% of voters say the problems are being caused more by the policies Obama has put in place since taking office, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Ten percent (10%) are not sure which president is more to blame.
However, Americans are growing restless and those numbers will likely change, if by the end of the summer, the economy has not dramtically improved.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Economic Stimulus -
Epiphany: President Obama Says America is Out of Money
Then, why Mr President have you pushed and signed into law massive government spending programs if America is out of money?In a sobering holiday interview with C-SPAN, President Obama boldly told Americans: “We are out of money.”
C-SPAN host Steve Scully broke from a meek Washington press corps with probing questions for the new president.
SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?
OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we’ve made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we’ve seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades.
So we’ve got a short-term problem, which is we had to spend a lot of money to salvage our financial system, we had to deal with the auto companies, a huge recession which drains tax revenue at the same time it’s putting more pressure on governments to provide unemployment insurance or make sure that food stamps are available for people who have been laid off.
So we have a short-term problem and we also have a long-term problem. The short-term problem is dwarfed by the long-term problem. And the long-term problem is Medicaid and Medicare. If we don’t reduce long-term health care inflation substantially, we can’t get control of the deficit.
So, one option is just to do nothing. We say, well, it’s too expensive for us to make some short-term investments in health care. We can’t afford it. We’ve got this big deficit. Let’s just keep the health care system that we’ve got now.
Along that trajectory, we will see health care cost as an overall share of our federal spending grow and grow and grow and grow until essentially it consumes everything…
SCULLY: When you see GM though as “Government Motors,†you’re reaction?
OBAMA: Well, you know – look we are trying to help an auto industry that is going through a combination of bad decision making over many years and an unprecedented crisis or at least a crisis we haven’t seen since the 1930’s. And you know the economy is going to bounce back and we want to get out of the business of helping auto companies as quickly as we can. I have got more enough to do without that. In the same way that I want to get out of the business of helping banks, but we have to make some strategic decisions about strategic industries…
SCULLY: States like California in desperate financial situation, will you be forced to bail out the states?
OBAMA: No. I think that what you’re seeing in states is that anytime you got a severe recession like this, as I said before, their demands on services are higher. So, they are sending more money out. At the same time, they’re bringing less tax revenue in. And that’s a painful adjustment, what we’re going end up seeing is lot of states making very difficult choices there…
SCULLY: William Howard Taft served on the court after his presidency, would you have any interest in being on the Supreme Court?
OBAMA: You know, I am not sure that I could get through Senate confirmation…
Mr President, you have gone back to smoking crack if you think your health care reform program, Obamacare will ACTUALLY cost the taxpayers LESS than today. It will cost FAR MORE because universal care, unless you ration care and curb utilization, by any standards it will mean more Americans seeking care and more costly treatment. Ask the British and the Canadians about their systems.
Now, if you want to destroy the private medical delivery system in America and allow the Washington bureaucrats decide what care Americans can receive and what doctors patients can see, then you might be able to hold costs increases to a minimum but it will NOT lower the costs or solve the actuarial problems with the Medicare trust fund. But, then, again the quality of care will suffer and moe people will be waiting to see a doctor.
How about supporting some common sense health care reforms and getting REAL with the American public that they will have to pay more though their Medicare payroll taxes to support the current program. How about a little honesty.
And, how about ending your socialist, pie in the sky dream of uinversal health care for America and concentrate the government on helping American business to put people back to work. You know, stimulate business, more employment and hence more tax revenues.
Is this too simple for you?
Technorati Tags: Obamacare, Barack Obama, Medicare
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Shocker: American Dollar Craters as Obama Debt Mounts
News Item: Dollar hits new multimonth low vs euro, pound, yenThe dollar kept falling Friday, notching fresh multimonth lows against the euro, pound and yen as a warning that Britain’s debt level may result in its credit rating being cut ricocheted into worries about the massive U.S. deficit.
The 16-nation euro rose to $1.4015 in morning trading from $1.3889 in New York late Thursday—its first time above $1.40 since Jan. 2.
The British pound rose to $1.5916 from $1.5890, peaking at $1.5945 earlier in the session, its highest point since Nov. 6.
Meanwhile, the dollar edged up to 94.51 Japanese yen from 94.23 yen—after earlier falling to 93.82, its lowest point since Feb. 23.
“The problem for the U.S. is particularly acute because of its reserve status,” said UBS analyst Brian Kim in an e-mail to investors Friday. Major holders of U.S. debt, such as Middle Eastern sovereign funds and the Chinese government, have not been shy about calling the U.S. out for what it sees as policies that will trigger inflation, shrinking the value of their Treasury holdings.
Well, no shit, Sherlock.
With the massive Obama government spending and debt there will be massive inflation and stagnant economic growth – just like the Jimmy Carter STAGFLATION in the 1970’s.
The solution then, as it is now, was the election of a conservative President (President Ronald Reagan), limited government, reduced federal spending and tax cuts.
Technorati Tags: Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Dollar, Inflation
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PORKULUS Watch: Early Road Aid Leaves Out High Unemployment Areas
Ridgway, the seat of Elk County, Pa., is seen nestled amid the green of the Allegheny Mountains, Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Officials and residents of the struggling manufacturing community are learning that they will receive no immediate money from the economic stimulus plan despite the 13.8 percent unemployment rate. Counties suffering the most from job losses are receiving the least help so far from President Barack Obama’s plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an Associated Press analysis has found
Why, of course and why many said the Economic Stimulus or PORKULUS Bill was JUST government spending and really not an economic stimulus.Counties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help from President Barack Obama’s plan to spend billions of stimulus dollars on roads and bridges, an Associated Press analysis has found.
Although the intent of the money is to put people back to work, AP’s review of more than 5,500 planned transportation projects nationwide reveals that states are planning to spend the stimulus in communities where jobless rates are already lower.
One result among many: Elk County, Pa., isn’t receiving any road money despite its 13.8 percent unemployment rate. Yet the military and college community of Riley County, Kan., with its 3.4 percent unemployment, will benefit from about $56 million to build a highway, improve an intersection and restore a historic farmhouse.
Altogether, the government is set to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest.
The AP reviewed $18.9 billion in projects, the most complete picture available of where states plan to spend the first wave of highway money. The projects account for about half of the $38 billion set aside for states and local governments to spend on roads, bridges and infrastructure in the stimulus plan.
The very promise that Obama made, to spend money quickly and create jobs, is locking out many struggling communities needing those jobs.
Flap is certainly NOT seeing any benefit of the PORKULUS Bill here in California. Taxes have gone up, as the unemployment rate soars.
Mr. President, where is the hope that is on the way?
Technorati Tags: Economic Stimulus Bill, Porkulus, Barack Obama
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American Economy Falls MORE Than Expected – GDP Falls Sharply
The United States economy shrank at an annual rate of 6.1 per cent in the first quater of 2009.The U.S. economy shrank at an annual pace of 6.1% in the first quarter — almost as much as it did in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a government report Wednesday.
The drop was much worse than expected. According to economists surveyed by Briefing.com, expectations were for a drop of 4.7% in gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation’s economic activity.
The first quarter decline was the second biggest drop recorded in 26 years, behind only the fourth quarter reading. GDP fell 6.3% in the last three months of last year.
The analyses of the economy are all over the place. But, after massive amounts of government spending and debt by the Obama Administration, there appears to be little improvement.
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Poll Watch: 85 Per Cent Worry About Inflation, 34 Per Cent Expect Interest Rates to Rise
Most Americans know inflation is right around the corner with the massive government spending plans of President Obama and the congressional Democrats.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of Americans say they are concerned about the possibility of inflation in the current economy, with 55% Very Concerned, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Just 11% say they are not very or not at all concerned about the prospect of rising prices. These numbers are identical to findings last August, despite the high level of government spending President Obama has announced in recent months.
Credit remains tight in the country, and the government plans to print more money. Both are generally considered key factors that lead to inflation. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech today, however, that he is confident the Fed can prevent inflation from happening.
Eighty-four percent (84%) of Americans say they are paying more for groceries now than they were a year ago, and 66% expect to pay even more 12 months from now.
The Federal Reserve has given no indication that it intends to raise interest rates to combat the possibility of inflation, but 34% of Americans think they will be paying higher interest rates a year from now. Twelve percent (12%) say interest rates will be lower, and 45% say there will be no change.
Forty-three percent (43%) also say there has been no change from a year ago in the interest rates they now pay. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they pay more now, while 25% say they are paying less.
It is not a matter of IF but WHEN inflation hits. And, if the American economy is hit with a doubble wammy of low economic growth and inflation, then we have Jimmy Carter type stagflation.
Remember what happened the last time, too?
Republican candidate Ronald Reagan replaced one term President Carter.
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Treasury Secretary Geithner Does NOT Rule Out Replacing More CEOs – Meanwhile Unemployment SOARS
First it was General Motor’s CEO Rick Waggoner who resigned at the behest of President Obama and now MORE CEOs may go according to Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner.Days after GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner was forced out by the Obama administration, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner left open the possibility that such moves could happen again.
In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, Geithner acknowledged the government has had to do “exceptional things” – citing AIG as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“We have changed management aboard,” he said. “And where we’ve done that, we’ve done it because we thought that was necessary to make sure these institutions emerge stronger in the future.”
The federal government should just stop monkeying around with the private business sector. If the business is failing get out of the way and let it fail.
Don’t bail out the business and then micromanage it from the Treasury Department.
Obama and the Democrats in Congress have failed to stem unemployment since the iunauguration with their tax and spend policies. What makes anyone think they can run the automotive industry or any business sector?
The number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, while those filing continuing claims hit an all-time high for the 10th straight week, according to a government report released Thursday.
In the week ended March 28, 669,000 people filed initial jobless claims, up 12,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure of 657,000, the Labor Department reported.
It was the largest weekly increase since October 1982, and it surprised economists surveyed by Briefing.com, who had forecast initial claims to decline to 650,000.
The number of people continuing to file for jobless benefits rose 161,000 to 5.7 million in the week ended March 21, the latest week for which data was available. It was the highest number since the government began keeping records in 1967, and the 10th consecutive week that continuing claims rose to a record high.
This move by Geithner and Obama is unprecedented and should be stopped cold by the Congress by a rejection of Obama’s budget.
Technorati Tags: Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama
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Shocker: Obama Will BANKRUPT USA – Senator Gregg
Not really a shock.The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee says the Obama administration is on the right course to save the nation’s financial system.
But Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire also says President Barack Obama’s massive budget proposal will bankrupt the country.
Gregg says he has no regrets in withdrawing his nomination to become commerce secretary. He pulled out after deciding he could not fully back the administration’s economic policies.
The senator said Obama’s spending plan in the midst of a prolonged recession would leave the next generation with a country too expensive to live in.
Obama and the Democrats must stop the spending and stop it NOW. Someone will have to eventually pay and that somebody is our children and grandchildren with a reduced quality of life.
Just say NO to more government spending.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Judd Gregg
