At the White House Friday morning President Obama praised the private sector addition of 67,000 jobs in August, the eighth straight month of job growth. "That’s positive news, and it reflects the steps we’ve already taken to break the back of this recession. But it’s not good enough," the president said.
This is great news! So, finally the President believes that his economic policies are moving the country in a positive direction. So, that must mean since he is claiming this credit, this must be his economy now. Right?
Increasingly, more and more Americans are asking the question…when does the Obama Administration take responsibility for the economy? The “let’s blame Bush” crowd is still in full force although their voices are being rendered mute by their futile arguments.
So, let’s see what some of America’s economists and political commentators are saying about this Administration’s handling of the economy. Have a “good” read, and then give your thoughts on what is an acceptable date for this to become Obama’s economy.
Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley: 67,000 jobs in August may be better than expected, but it’s still awful. 125,000 are needed just for the growth in potential workforce. And the trend is moving in the wrong direction. Revised figure shows private sector created 107,000 jobs in July. In other words, things are getting worse, not better.
Steve Steckler, Chairman and founder, Infrastructure Management Group (IMG): President Obama is more responsible for the bitterness among voters than the failures of the economy because he promised he could fix it when he couldn't. In fact, you can't even say Obama and congressional Democrats were ignoring the economy because they claimed that almost every piece of legislation they pushed was going to help it, from wasteful green energy subsidies to badly-done health care reform. So much for that.
So now, more than a year after it dismissed them as ineffectual, the White House is turning to tax cuts for businesses, especially employment taxes, and preparing to live with a more realistic definition of "rich" ($1 million instead of $200,000) when it comes to whose taxes will be increased next year. It's amazing how a stagnant unemployment rate and a 10-percent gap in party preference polls will improve a president's attitude. Republicans have been arguing for a payroll tax holiday since the inauguration.
Samuel Sherraden, Policy Analyst, Economic Growth Program - New America Foundation: In his speech this morning, President Obama pointed out that private sector employment increased every month this year for a total of 750,000 jobs from January to August. But to keep pace with population growth, the economy must create 150,000 jobs per month or 1,200,000 jobs so far this year. The shortfall of private sector job creation and steady population growth has resulted in 450,000 more unemployed persons now than there were at the beginning of the year.
Patrick Dorinson, Commentator and Publisher of The Cowboy Libertarian: To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Obama’s economic team. But I repeat myself.”
If they had any honor or dignity they would immediately offer their resignations. And after that they should be forced to work in an unemployment office for a year so they could see for themselves the human tragedy they have prolonged and deepened by their ineptitude.
While they are at it take Paul Krugman and all the other geniuses who call themselves economists with them. Thank God Christina Romer will head back to that great liberal theme park, Berkeley, where the only damage she can do is teach her theories not put them into practice.
Rory Cooper, Dir., Strategic Communications, Heritage Foundation :Unemployment rises to 9.6% and President Obama hails it as "positive news"? How disconnected from reality is the Obama White House?
When President Obama sold his "stimulus plan", he promised it would "save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010." Back then, employment was roughly 134.3 million. That meant Obama's jobs target for December 2010 was 137.8 million. So today's report (130.3 million jobs in August) means the Obama jobs deficit stands at 7.5 million. Numbers don't lie.
The best day of employment in the president's term was the day he was sworn in to office. Since then, Obama, Pelosi and Reid have passed one economy-crushing spending bill after another. And with absolutely no positive effect, their only answer is more spending and massive job-killing tax hikes in January.
When will the insanity end? It's time to stop the pending Obama tax hikes, reduce government interference in the economy and let private-sector job creators start creating jobs again.
Dean Baker, Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research : This is serious nonsense. Of course it is better that the economy is adding jobs than losing jobs, but this is not even keeping pace with the growth of the labor market.Given the severity of the downturn, we should be seeing job growth of 400,000 to 500,000 a month at this point.
That would require a much more ambitious stimulus package than President Obama put forward.(Sorry boys and girls, the private sector remains crippled by the crash of an $8 trillion housing bubble and no amount of voodoo is going to get the necessary spending from households and businesses any time soon.) A big jobs package may not have a prayer in Congress at the moment but it would make more sense for Obama to say what is needed and make an election issue out of it then to try to tell people that 9.6 percent unemployment is good news.
Bradley A. Blakeman, CEO, Kent Strategies LLC, Georgetown Professor : America continues to lose jobs not gain jobs. The Labor Department is reporting today that the country lost 54,000 jobs in August. As if that were not enough bad news, we found out as well that the national unemployment rate rose from 9.5% to 9.6%. The president today had high praise for job growth, but to use a phrase from the president, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig”. The creation of 67,000 thousand private sector jobs is certainly better than nothing, but it amounts to no real appreciable improvement for a GNP and working population the size of the United States.
Alvin S. Felzenberg, Author, "The Leaders We Deserved" Americans are not just concerned they are worried. The government can help by stopping the spending and increasing consumer and business confidence from Wall Street to Main Street by seeking bold relief in the way of tax cuts and incentives. Today there is no incentive for the private sector to rebound without confidence in tax policy and government regulation.
Barring a change in policy, changes in personnel will do Obama little good. After the advisers have been changed and the problems persist, voters will conclude that the only remedy left is a change of presidents. Jimmy Carter's experience here can be instructive to Obama here. I well recall when he journeyed to the "top of the mountain" to contemplate stagflation and other maladies, delivered the "malaise" (but without the word), and fired half his cabinet. All that got him were a primary challenge from Ted Kennedy and an opportunity for Ronald Reagan to produce one of his best lines: "Recession is when your neighbor loses a job. Depression is when you lose yours. And Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."
Karen Kerrigan, President, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council: President Obama needs an "era of big government is over" moment - but it must be authentic. He needs a team of people at the White House and in his administration who understand business and the competitive dynamics that loom in the global marketplace. Our competitors are moving quickly away from the stifling big-government policies that the President is rapidly attempting to implement.