Posted on 06/07/2009 8:20:06 PM PDT by Starman417
Andy McCarthy demolished White House Official Austin Goolsbee's interview this morning:
I caught a panel on which Obama economic advisor Austin Goolsbee conceded that the administration had previously predicted unemployment would top out at around 8%, that it was now up to 9.4%, and that double-digit unemployment was a distinct possibility in the near future. Goolsbee didn't resort to the administrations's blather about "saving or creating jobs," but he did repeat its fustian about how last month's loss of 345,000 jobs (resulting in a half percentage point jump in the jobless rate) is somehow good news because it beat predictions (I don't recall him saying whose) of even more dire loss numbers. It made me wonder why, if those predictions either existed or were serious, the Obama administration would have previously predicted that unemployment would top out at 8%?Goolsbee then laughably intimated that the steep jump in the jobless rate could be attributable to hopeful signs that the economy is improving. Huh? See if you can follow this: he says flashes of hope that we are on the verge of a revival have purportedly caused previously uncounted jobless people to seek (but not find) work — that is, they waited out prosperous times, deciding to leap into the job hunt only when hundreds of thousands of heretofore gainfully employed people got pink-slipped and began competing for a declining pool of jobs.
Goolsbee wasn't done with his idiocy. He does the typical Obama move....blame Bush:
We are only in this situation because somebody else kicked the can down the road, and that’s really an understatement. They shook up the can, they opened the can, and handed to us in our laps. Senator Shelby knows that to be true. When George Bush put money in to General Motors, almost explicitly with the purpose, how many dollars do they need to stay alive until January 20th, 2009? There was no commitment to restructuring, to making these viable enterprises of any kind.
The Senior White House economic advisor to President George W. Bush, Keith Hennessey, lays out the facts and shows that not only was Goolsbee's accusations wrong but inflammatory. It's a long and detailed post and I would recommend you go read it but here's the summary:
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net ...
I heard him today, I go so sick of him slamming Bush, I wish they’d invite me as a guest, I’d probably start yelling on television
Bush shook up the can, opened it, and then handed it to Obama? Really?! Is he “series”?
More like Obama kicked Bush in the teeth, grabbed the can, took off running, then dropped the can and it exploded.
Austan Goolsbee - arrogant jerk
Goolsbee has been a Research Fellow at the American Bar Foundation
He is Senior Economist to the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI).
Goolsbe is the former host of the television show History’s Business on the History Channel, and he appeared as a surrogate for the Obama presidential campaign.
Goolsbee married Robin Winters on November 1, 1997. She was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company at the time and earlier the director of business development at MTV International
In April 2006, Goolsbee began writing for the Economic Scene column in the New York Times. This column was later moved to Sundays and renamed the Economic View. Before that he wrote the Dismal Science column for Slate.com
Goolsbee was the senior economic advisor to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign until a Canadian memo was leaked regarding a visit Goolsbee paid to that country’s officials at their consulate in Chicago in April 2008. Critics claimed that at the meeting Goolsbee said that Obama did not really oppose NAFTA as claimed in the Ohio debate.
******
Friday, October 17, 2008
Question: Do you think our economy is fundamentally changed forever as a result of this crisis?
Austin Goolsbee: Yes, but not in the negative sense of, “Hey, we’re in a crisis and will we never get out of it” ... I would anticipate that once we get through this crisis we will fundamentally change the oversight of financial institutions in a pretty substantial way and that will last for a long time ...
If the government sat around and waited too long — which, disturbingly, the Bush administration has kind of taken that as their approach — … or, in the worst-case scenario, if the government started doing things that were counterproductive, it could last for a very long time.
Obama’s view is on policy grounds — direct tax credits to companies for creating new jobs, direct spending from the government on critical things for the economy — be they investing in the economic infrastructure of the country [or] money for college to help make college more affordable ...
In the short run, these key additional stimulus measures — money for infrastructure, money to the states, immediate tax relief for middle-class people — try to prevent an admittedly serious downturn from turning into something a lot worse.
The fundamental problem of the current financial crisis is that our banks and financial institutions are under-capitalized. Putting money directly into the banks on a strictly temporary basis is the most direct way to recapitalize banks. You have to be very mindful, [one], that the government is getting its money worth. Two, you’ve got to make sure that if the government is putting in money, they’re not just taking the money and lining their own pockets ... And three, you have to have an orderly plan for the government to get out of that business, because the track record of long-term investing for the government into the banking system is not good. The government ends up steering the loans to places that are more politically palatable rather than profit-making.
Anybody got that picture of Bagdad Bob....
The list, ping
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-07-voa22.cfm
US Unemployment Rate Gallops Ahead of Expectations
By Michael Bowman
Washington
07 June 2009
People line up at the Anaheim Orange County Job Fair and Expo in Anaheim, CA, 03 Jun 2009
The White House says America’s employment picture is worse than the Obama administration had anticipated just a few months ago. The somber admission follows the latest jobless report showing the highest unemployment rate the United States has seen in more than 25 years.
U.S. unemployment jumped a half percent in May, to 9.4 percent prompting this comment by Austan Goolsbee, a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors:
“The economy clearly has gotten substantially worse from the initial predictions that were being made, not just by the White House, but by all of the private sector,” said Austan Goolsbee.
Economists point out that the current jobless rate is already higher than the hypothetical rate that was used to calculate the health of banks and other financial institutions in so-called “stress tests” earlier this year. And, the upward unemployment trajectory is expected to continue in coming months, even if the overall economy begins to recover.
Very good article. Thanks FromLori.
Goolsbee is the White House clown economist who spews his crap like a water sprinker. The guy is a riot.....
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