I hate to be the one to say it, but I told you so. I even wrote it early this morning; that Obama’s rhetoric in his speeches does not match realities on the ground and that includes his performance.
Buzzfeed even noticed the lack of mention of the Unemployed:
CHARLOTTE, NC — President Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night didn’t include language targeted at the nation’s unemployed.
Despite boilerplate language about the job losses four years ago and his plans to create jobs, Obama did not specifically address the millions of Americans still struggling to find a job or a job that meets their needs.
Obama’s speech also avoided any mention of the unemployment rate, which is still above 8 percent and fell in August because 368,000 Americans left the workforce. Obama was briefed on the August jobs report yesterday afternoon, hours before he took the stage in Charlotte.
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the nation created only 96,000 jobs in August, well below what analysts expected, while the previous two months of job gains were also revised downward. On the surface the jobs report is a mixed bag for Obama, but nearly every underlying statistic reveals lingering economic weakness.
“If last night was the party, this morning is the hangover. For every net new job created, nearly four Americans gave up looking for work entirely. This is more of the same for middle-class families, who are suffering through the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. After 43 straight months of unemployment above 8 percent, it is clear that President Obama just hasn’t lived up to his promises, and his policies haven’t worked. They aren’t better off than they were four years ago. My plan for a stronger middle class will create 12 million new jobs by the end of my first term. America deserves new leadership that will get our economy moving again.”
– Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 96,000 in August, the Labor Department said, versus expectations of 125,000 jobs or more. The manufacturing sector, much touted by the president in his convention speech, lost 15,000 jobs.
– Since the start of the year, job growth has averaged 139,000 per month vs. an average monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011.
– As the chart at the top shows, the unemployment rate remains far above the rate predicted by Team Obama if Congress passed the stimulus. (This is the Romer-Bernstein chart.)
– While the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% from 8.3% in July, it was due to a big drop in the labor force participation rate (the share of Americans with a job or looking for one). If fewer Americans hadn’t given up looking for work, the unemployment rate would have risen.
– Reuters notes that the participation rate is now at its lowest level since September 1981.
– If the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%.
– If the participation rate had just stayed the same as last month, the unemployment rate would be 8.4%.
– The Labor Department also said that 41,000 fewer jobs were created in June and July than previously reported. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from 64,000 to 45,000, and the change for July was revised from 163,000 to 141,000.
– The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who want full-time work, is at 14.7%.
– The employment-population ratio is perhaps the broadest measure of the health of the labor market. It just shows how many Americans — not in the military or in prison — as a share of the population actually have some sort of a job. That number fell last month to 58.3%, just off its Great Recession lows.
– Each month, The Hamilton Project examines the “jobs gap” — the number of jobs that the U.S. economy needs to create in order to return to pre-recession employment levels while also absorbing the people who enter the labor force each month. If we added 96,000 jobs every month, we would not close the jobs gap until after 2025, as this chart shows.
– The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 hours in August. The manufacturing workweek declined by 0.2 hour to 40.5 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours.
– The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.
– In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 1 cent to $23.52. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings rose by just 1.7 percent.
– In August, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees edged down by 1 cent to $19.75.
As President Obama likes to say on in his campaign speeches; when his supporters boo Mitt Romney or the Republicans — “Don’t Boo, VOTE!” Well, I think it is quite obvious that it is time for Americans to vote differently. Because it is quite obvious to this writer that President Obama has done nothing to match his flowing rhetoric in his speeches.
We can surmise that Obama’s lackluster performance last night was due in part to an early look at a jobs report that not even his most dogged media shills can spin. Mitt Romney put out a statement that read: “If last night was the party, this morning is the hangover. For every net new job created, nearly four Americans gave up looking for work entirely. This is more of the same for middle class families who are suffering through the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. After 43 straight months of unemployment above 8%, it is clear that President Obama just hasn’t lived up to his promises and his policies haven’t worked. We aren’t better off than they were four years ago. My plan for a stronger middle class will create 12 million new jobs by the end of my first term. America deserves new leadership that will get our economy moving again.”
The job numbers will likely harden the perception that the president is in over his head. The voters do not see a “recovery.” A call for “more time” is unconvincing if one has the sense neither that four nor 40 years would make a difference under this president.
Romney will continue to hammer away at the president’s failures. But he would be wise to push (as he is doing in 15 new ads in eight states) his own plans for middle-class Americans, and most especially domestic energy development. Voters are certain things are bad; they now need to be reassured Romney will be better. With these jobs numbers the public might well conclude: How could he do any worse?
To this I can only add a very hearty Gentile Protestant Christian —- Amen. 😉 😀
This is not much of s surprise at all, after all; Obama basically conceded defeat on the economy, of which Romney reminded everyone.
Quoting:
A majority of voters believe the country is worse off today than it was four years ago and that President Obama does not deserve reelection, according to a new poll for The Hill.
Fifty-two percent of likely voters say the nation is in “worse condition” now than in September 2008, while 54 percent say Obama does not deserve reelection based solely on his job performance.
Only 31 percent of voters believe the nation is in “better condition,” while 15 percent say it is “about the same,” the poll found. Just 40 percent of voters said Obama deserves reelection.
I remember back when Obama was trying to pass healthcare. I remember thinking at the time; “Why is he doing this? Why isn’t he trying to fix the economy first?” I also remember thinking, if he does this backwards like this, he is going to lose the people. Sure enough, I was right. Now, as a Conservative; I know darned well, that the President cannot actually fix the economy. However, what a President can do is create a climate of confidence, that will make small business owners want to hire people. Like reducing taxes, removing unnecessary red tape and regulations.
Another reason why Obama has ruined the business climate in America is because of spending. Now this is where I go off yowling and sounding like a Ron Paul follower, which I am really not; but the guy does have a point about this subject. I will explain it again for the 500’th time. When America spends money, it usually means that it prints more money, so that it can spend it. What this does is devalue our currency, when the currency is devalued, it costs more to buy products. This is called inflation, it was a problem in the 1970’s and it is now a problem again. To it’s credit, the United States brought it’s inflation problem under control in the 1980’s and because of that, the 1980’s was a time a great prosperity in this Country, this continued into the 1990’s as well.
Then the spending started again, under Clinton, and then, under Bush and now again under Obama. This is why we are in the spot that we are in, is because of the reckless spending by the Bush Administration on wars and also because of the Obama Administration’s strange idea that you can spend yourself out of a recession, which is quite idiotic.
Again, this is why that there are no jobs. Because when the Government spends, it puts the private sector at disadvantage. Now, if you are a Marxist and believe that the Government is the end all for everything, you like this. However, if you are a person that believes in limited Government, and that capitalism and private industry is the backbone of America; this, to you, is a very bad thing.
Another thing too, and I mentioned this earlier in my piece and that is taxes. It is my understanding that businesses taxes under Obama have increased. No matter what form that they might take, tax increases on businesses of any sort, small, large, medium —whatever, are a death knell to business growth. It only stands to reason that if a business owner is going to have to pay more taxes, that he is not going to be able to hire that extra employee. This is just common sense.
Which is something that is sorely lacking in the Democratic Party these days.
The Weekly Standard notes that jobless claims have been revised up and makes the following observation:
Americans need to work and not merely to pay the bills. They define themselves by their work and take pride in their work and in doing a good job. “I can outwork anyone,” is a common American boast. John Henry vowed he could drive more steel than a steam engine and he “died with a hammer in his hand.” The government can hand out unemployment checks but even if they cover the bills, it isn’t the same
Mark this on your calendars, because this is the first time that this non-wilsonian conservative will say of the wilsonian Weekly Standard; and that is they hit it out of the ballpark on this one here.
Of course, it would intellectually dishonest of me to not remind them and my readers that we are in this mess because of the idiocy of BOTH PARTIES. With Bush’s wars and Obama’s idiotic keynesian spending; it is a wonder that were not living in subjugation to China now.
So, yeah, that’s the reality of America and its my reality for the last eight years.
I have to like Chuck Baldwin, he does not mince words:
It has happened again. We go through this every four years, and every four years the vast majority of “conservatives” fall for it. This is such a broken record. What did Forrest Gump say: “Stupid is as stupid does”? And wasn’t it P.T. Barnum who said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”? Well, here we go again.
Neocon RINO George H.W. Bush picks “conservative” Dan Quayle. “Conservative” G.W. Bush picks neocon RINO Dick Cheney. Neocon RINO John McCain picks “conservative” Sarah Palin. Now, neocon RINO Mitt Romney picks “conservative” Paul Ryan. As long as there is one “conservative” on the ticket, mushy-headed “conservatives” across the country will go into a gaga, starry-eyed, hypnotic trance in support of the Republican ticket. I’m convinced that if Lucifer, himself, was the GOP Presidential candidate, he would get the support of the Religious Right and Republican “conservatives” as long as he selected a reputed “conservative” to join his ticket. And, by the way, the notable “conservative” wouldn’t think twice about joining such a ticket, either, I’m convinced.
Let’s just get this on the record: since 1960, there have only been two Presidential nominees (from the two major parties) who were not controlled by the globalist elitists. One was a Democrat, John F. Kennedy; the other was a Republican, Ronald Reagan. Kennedy was shot and killed; Reagan was shot. Every other President, Democrat or Republican, has been totally controlled, which is why none of them have done diddly-squat to make a difference in the direction of the country. On the issues that really matter, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are just more of the same!
He goes on to say that Ron Paul is the only one; and I disagree with that. However, I will say this; he is right about Romney and Ryan. Which is I am voting for:
I hate repeating myself, but for the sake of blogging about something, I am going to have to repeat myself….again. However, for short, it’s just more of this here.
But for those of us, who want a longer version of the story; I give you this:
When you print more money, you devalue currency, and when you devalue currency, the price of everything goes up. This, in turn, causes employers to have to pay for more everything, and this also causes them to look at their bottom line. This is the vicious cycle of inflation. Which is caused by a fiat currency, which is not backed by Gold. I said this on my old blog, a million times back when Obama was being elected and afterwards.
So, here we have the story about August unemployment numbers being bad. Again, as I report this, remember what I said above:
New Gallup unemployment data suggest an increase in the government’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August when it is reported on Friday, Sept. 7. During recent months, Gallup’s measurements have been more optimistic than those of the BLS. Barring a sharp reversal in this relationship, the government’s unadjusted unemployment rate might be expected to stay the same or increase in August.
Gallup’s Daily tracking of the unemployment situation is based on interviews with more than 30,000 adults over the 30 days ending Aug. 15, and shows essentially no change in the unadjusted unemployment rate at 8.3% compared to 8.2% in July. In turn, this suggests that the government’s unadjusted unemployment rate could increase to 8.7% in July from 8.6% in June. The government’s measurement of the unadjusted unemployment rate has been known to differ with Gallup’s findings, but a drop of 0.3% in July is necessary to bring the government’s unadjusted rate down to Gallup levels.
More interestingly, there were no BLS seasonal adjustments in August 2011. If this remains the same in 2012, the Gallup seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August would be 8.3% while that of the BLS would be 8.7%, assuming a similar increase to that shown in the Gallup data. Further, Gallup’s data show the labor force participation rate to be increasing in August. In turn, that could have an additional negative impact on the unemployment rate for August if the government’s data show a similar pattern.
Click to make bigger
Trying to guess the U.S. unemployment rate has been a thankless task in 2012, even using Gallup’s 30,000 interviews as a basis for estimation — even worse than trying to guess the results of the government’s establishment survey. However, like ADP’s (Automatic Data Processing) estimates of the establishment survey results, Gallup’s numbers have been close to the household survey results much of the time.
Regardless, barring heroic adjustments or a sharp change in direction, Gallup data suggest the seasonally adjusted U.S. unemployment rate for August will increase — possibly substantially — when announced in early September.
So, if you cannot find a job, this is why: Employers are having to look at their bottom lines. They have to take in account for the fact that they have to pay for supplies, taxes, insurance, and equipment; this does not leave much left over for extra employees. This is not rocket science my friends; this is textbook small business administration. It is too bad that progressives, Democrats and the Obama Administration simply do not seem to understand this concept.
FightBigotry.com’s founder and treasurer is Stephen Marks, a well-known Republican opposition researcher whose 2008 book Confessions of a Political Hitman detailed his work in what he called “the dark side of politics.” In 2000, he launched an attack ad under the misleading name “Americans Against Hate,” attempting to tie Al Gore to controversial comments by Rev. Al Sharpton. Another Marks spot in 2004 attempted to link John Kerry to convicted murderer Willie Horton. He was forced to retract a claim in the book about then-Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), acknowledging that “the information was not accurate.”
About the Video:
Beyond the obvious race-baiting, the ad is riddled with factual errors. Holder’s March 2011 statement was criticizing a Congressman for equating an a 2008 New Black Panther Party incident with the much more violent assaults against voting rights advocates in the 1960s – not about “pursuing the New Black Panthers.”
And what this group terms a “racist altercation with police” involved a Harvard University professor being stopped by police for trying to enter his own home. Even conservative Fox News legal analyst and former New Jersey state Judge Andrew Napolitano called it an “improper arrest.”
Okay now for my thoughts:
To Steven Marks, you have the right to do this — but… What does it honestly do for the Conservative movement and the Republican Party? I mean, the stuff is class A, USDA choice, weapons grade, dog-whistle material. I mean, what is the motivation? Is it to inform people, or is it to stir up hostility among white people against Obama?
Simply put, this is nothing more than a losing gambit; for all concerned — White People, The Conservative movement, The Republican Party, Mitt Romney and his supporters. The truth is folks, we can run on Obama’s record; as it is said that he is going to lose big anyhow, we do not need to bring race into this election at all. It is unneeded baggage and it will only hurt us in the long run.
While I am empathetic and sympathetic to the things said in this video, as I am a white person myself; I simply do not believe that this is really needed at all. It does nothing for the Conservative cause and it does well play into the talking-point that Republicans are racist. This is simply something that we just do not need at all.
Now, did you read that? Let me ask you this; what if we Conservatives mocked a dead liberal like that? Just a note: Andrew Breitbart did say some nasty things about Ted Kennedy, which is why I was not a huge fan of his. But, still, what if we Conservatives mocked a dead liberal blogger, or public figure who was liberal? We would be poo poo’ed from one end of spectrum to the other! Not only this, but if someone said something as nasty as what this “no more Mr. nice blog” said and it was about a liberal; the Non-Fox media would be all over it. However, because it is a liberal blogger, and a nasty son-of-a-bitch one at that, not a word is said about it.
My friends, this right here; along with a good deal of other issues, is why this skeptical left-of-center, American populist kind of a guy simply walked away from the Democrats in 2008 and has not looked back since. They have nothing anymore, nothing that this skeptical person wants to buy anymore. All they have is nastiness, like this; class warfare, and racial resentment. They have no solutions, they have nothing for the middle class and the working man. They are the party of the minority and the identity politics crowd; the part of hand outs and freeloaders.
It is truly a sad thing to behold, all the years of work done by great statesmen, like Roosevelt, Truman and many before them; is being squandered by people who simply hate this Country, its morals and its legacy. These are the ones who gave us LBJ and his disastrous “great society.” They are the ones who gave us Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and now this disastrous neo-leftist Barack Hussein Obama.
The Democratic Party, which President Ronald Reagan referred to as the “Honorable Party” has given way to the neo-leftist party. They proved that to me, when the Obama campaign basically used Chicago-style tactics of death threats and dirty pool against a fellow Democrat. This is why I left them; because the honor left that party long ago. Not only that, but the Democrats scheme to bring down our capitalist system though the passage of a clause of to a bill, which turned out to be a rather benign piece of legislation into a ticking time bomb.
Yes, that my friends, is the party that I made the horrible mistake of voting for until 2008, when I finally stopped making excuses for them and realized that party had finally become — and that is a cesspool of hate, racial resentment, class warfare, murder (of babies), God denial and more. I simply had enough and switched to the side that honors God, America and the individual. No, I do not mean the Republican Party — I mean the side of Conservatism.
It is a choice that I do not regret.
Update: Apparently one of the liberals objects to my linking to him. Two words: Tough rocks. He also seems to have a bit of reading comprehension problem; which is typical of the left. He also sent one of his sock puppets to argue with me. Sorry, I don’t argue with idiots, and ya’ll bunch of idiots. But, thanks just the same for the traffic. 😀
To which one can only reply, “Why the hell didn’t you do it?
Talk is cheap. If Pelosi’s Congress had actually pursued charges against the very real criminality in the Bush White House and had Rove’s pudgy ass frogmarched down Capitol Hill, it might have made the thieves and scoundrels think twice before embarking on their next caper. And even if it didn’t stop the GOPers, it would have at least made clear Democrats were as willing to fight as hard against the GOP agenda as the left did to put them into a majority.
That they didn’t is at least partly why they’re struggling right now to recapture the enthusiasm of the base.
I have to give the woman credit, when she is right — she is right. The no-nothing Democrats, during Bush’s term is why there was a good deal of lackluster support of the Democrats, during the era of Bush. This is why Obama shot forward, because the Democrats knew that if they did not pick someone like Obama, that they would lose to the Republican again in another election. This is sort of the problem that they have right now; just like during the Clinton era — their President is in trouble and the bench is empty. Except, back then they did have Gore, and Edwards and Hillary and Kerry. Now…. they have nobody at all.
It should be a lesson to them, overreach, when it suits your own political interests is never, ever a good idea. Yes, I know the Republicans have done it too and they paid for it in elections too. Now, it is the Democrats turn. I predict that this election coming in 2012 is going to be a wake up call for the Progressive community and to the Democratic Party. They are going to have to make some tough decisions about the future of that party. Because America is not happy with them, neither is their base. The old way of doing things in that Party is not going to work anymore. They need new ideas. The Democratic Party needs to come back to center and start over. This far-leftist way of doing things as failed and failed badly.
It is time for that party to change, and quickly, before that party is relegated to the dustbin of history.
