Posted on 04/03/2015 3:08:49 PM PDT by Kaslin
In the seventh year of Barack Obama's administration, the economy is still getting failing grades that have been the hallmark of his trouble-filled presidency.
While he continues to go about the country telling voters that his policies are working, this week's dreary economic data tell a far different story.
The bleak headlines in the nation's major newspapers tell the story in its bluntest terms. "Stocks fall on disappointing economic data," said USA Today.
"U.S. stocks fall on weak economic data," blares The Wall Street Journal, with this subhead: "Private payrolls rise less than expected in March, adding to concerns about U.S. growth."
What these stories say is that the economy is growing even more slowly than before; incomes remain largely flat; factories are getting fewer orders than they'd hoped; and many Americans now say they worry about money and are keeping a tighter grip on their wallets.
Meantime, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen made it clear in her news conference last week that she continues to be concerned about the economy's slowdown, and was in no hurry to raise interest rates anytime soon.
Let's take these one at a time.
Our economy grew at little more than 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the U.S. Commerce Department's final estimate -- leading many economists to lower their growth estimates for the first quarter of 2015.
Wall Street economists now estimate that "economic output will rise in the first quarter at an annual rate of just over 1 percent," the New York Times reported last week.
Barclays lowered its first quarter growth rate forecast to 1.2 percent, as did Macroeconomic Advisers, a respected forecasting firm. It had been predicting 2.4 percent growth in the first quarter.
This is a pathetic growth rate, compared to the strong recovery in the 1980s when quarterly GDP rates soared between 4 and 8 percent, fueled by across-the-board tax cuts enacted under the Reagan administration.
The most troubling sign of the economy's weakness came this week when the Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing growth plunged in March to its slowest rate in nearly two years -- the result of declining durable goods orders and "stagnant employment."
Meantime, the monthly jobs survey by Automatic Data Processing Inc, and forecasting firm Moody's Analytics reported Wednesday that employers added only 189,000 jobs last month, well below the 225,000 most economists were forecasting.
There were other signs of an economic slowdown, too, including a decline in construction spending, falling sales among automakers, including Ford and GM, and a weak real estate market.
Forecasters have said that lower gasoline prices would lead to increased consumer spending, but that has not proved to be the case. Income-strapped consumers are holding on to their money as fears spread of a slowdown in the economy.
Consumer spending barely rose by a minuscule 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.2 percent decline in both January and February, the Commerce Department said.
If anyone, besides Obama, thinks people are feeling more confident about this economy, the latest poll by the Gallup organization should disabuse them of that.
This week, it asked Americans if this statement applied to them: "In the last seven days you have worried about money." Over a third of those polled said it did.
That's not hard to understand when economic data last month showed that wages barely rose and for very many Americans, good, full-time jobs were still hard to find.
Forget those phony, seasonally-adjusted job numbers that come out of the Labor Department which refuses to count millions of discouraged workers -- who've stopped looking for a few weeks -- as unemployed.
The jobless rate wasn't 5.6 percent as the government tells us, but 6.4 percent, according to this week's daily poll by Gallup. And for those who need full-time work but have to settle for part-time jobs, Gallup puts the underemployed rate at a shocking 15.5 percent.
Little wonder then that Obama's job approval polls have been stuck in the mid-forties for a long time, according to its daily tracking surveys.
Economic confidence surveys aren't anything to write home about, either. "The index has been slightly negative in five out of the past six weeks," Gallup says.
Seven years is a very long time to wait for a significant improvement in the economy, especially when the record books tell us that the average length of recessions we've had over the decades is about two years.
Economists say there are two kinds of recoveries. One is a V-shaped recovery where the economy soars straight up into a robust, high growth rate, job creating trajectory.
That's what happened in the Reagan recovery when in a single month (September 1983) his policies created over one million jobs.
Then there is the so-called Obama recovery where the economy remains sluggish year after year, growth remains perpetually anemic, capital investment is mediocre, and it never fully recovers. Indeed, when Federal Reserve chair Yellen talked about the economy last week, she still talked about it in terms of the recovery -- as in a work in progress.
Her reluctance to say when the Fed will begin raising interest rates, and take the Obama economy off its life support system, speaks volumes about its weakness.
Instead, she said that "the appropriate time has not yet arrived."
Translation: The Obama economy is still far too anemic to stand on its own two feet without the Fed propping it up.
Meantime, let's face it. This economy isn't going to ever regain its full health and vigor until the voters put someone else in the Oval Office who knows what it takes to get the engine of growth running at full throttle again.
Obama’s spokesmouth, Josh Ernest clearly stated that this is Bush’s fault on Fox News this morning. Further comments are obviously racially motivated.
...cause when a pt worker goes from 30 hours a week to 10, they still have a “job”...
...and it they don’t their front row press briefing seat will be given to somebody from JET...
Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder:
“So for that reason, despite the fact that we’re looking at an absolutely horrendous long-term fiscal outlook”
I, like Mark, and I think most of us around the table, believe that at least a modest, now this is where people will disagree, but at least a modest increase in the deficit is targeted very strongly on job creation.”
We know that the Stimulus bill 'a modest increase in the deficit' was deficient as predicted, will the new Fed Chair Yellen finally acknowledge Democrat Economic Policies are mere vote buying schemes?
I believe that is what will happen. Maybe a dem should win? How much lower can we go? I’m already paying 60+ percent in taxes. Fed 39%, Ca state 10-11 %, Ca state sales tax 9+ %, SS Tax 12K. I’m ready for my welfare checks!
Well, Barry inherited this mess.
We now have a new normal.
You are also doing very well in the labor market.
If you are an illegal alien.
A stagnant economy makes it more likely that the the dollar will lose its reserve status. Then, the Fed would have to raise interest rates to attract investors. Other options could include nationalizing 401ks or starting an overseas or civil war.
A robust economy could avert most of these ills. We all know that this is 0bama and the globalist elite plan to pillage the nation.
The way things are going now, America could follow the example of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A paper tiger beset by factional division, civil war, debt and ripe for a neo-colonization by creditor nations (mostly China).
1) The Affordable Health Care Fiasco is scaring the HELL out small and medium sized businesses....the REAL drivers of the economy both in hiring and middle class wealth creation..
2) The current Tax Code(how many pages??) is a disaster for the businesses...flat tax would solve a sh-t load of problems.
3) Too much government spending/regulations are strangling the creation as well as innovation of new products/businesses.
5.56mm
Low information voters hiring low information candidates.
Hell, the Free Sh** Army is happy.
The original mess would have come around without Barry. This mess now is all his of course.
Any new home construction going on where you live? I’m in bucks county PA right now and there are several projects going on. One that was dormant for years. Just wondering.
That is called a Depression. It is actually the New Great Obama Depression. Soup lines have been replaced by EBT cards and the economically displaced are held in place by SSI payments & Welfare benefits.
I think it is a mixed bag nationwide. My feeling is that rural, exurban and most urban areas are not doing well with some exceptions (NYC, DC, Boston, etc.).
That number of 189,000 “new jobs” last month has been adjusted to only 126,000 ‘new jobs’. The 189,000 number is 50% HIGHER than the 126,000 number.
All of this and the 5.5% unemployed remains the SAME???
The must teach a different math in the Madrassa in Indonesia.
There isn’t a thing Obama can say that is the truth.
.....and in the interests of public hygiene and for the children and oppressed minorities....
...all chocolate rations will be double wrapped in waxed cardboard and aluminum foil....
...and for measures of economy and to expedite the orders (for the children and oppressed minorities) the weight of said safety wrappings will be included in the total weight
My husband was laid off in November 2013. We moved from California to Texas in August 2014 hoping he could find employment and for a lower cost of living. My husband just got a job however he only works 35hrs per week, no benefits and makes $60.00 less per hour. We are not on any government programs.
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