Free Republic

What is the price tag for the audacious Obamanomics experiment? How much has it all cost -- the bailouts, the debt, the stimulus plans, the printing of cheap money, Obamacare and all the rest? The answer to that question is just shy of $12 trillion. That's the sum of the $8.3 trillion added to the national debt since Sept. 15, 2008 (the day Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy) for all the government spending and the $3.5 trillion of easy money flushed into the economy by the Federal Reserve through the initial monetary expansion -- QE1, QE2 and QE3. That's nearly $12,000,000,000,000....

Breakdown by Category 82,679,000 Medicaid51,471,000 Food Stamps22,526,000 Women, Infants and Children Program20,355,000 Supplemental Security Income13,267,000 Public Housing or Housing Subsidies 5,442,000 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families 4,517,000 Other Forms of Federal Cash Assistance Population Estimates (2013 estimates) California 38,332,521Texas 26,448,193New York 19,651,127Florida 19,552,860 Those four states have a population of 103,984,701. Those on welfare nearly totals that amount. Full Time Employment BLS figures show 115.735 million "usually" working full time at the end of 2012. There are currently 118.489 million "usually" working full time. Obamacare Welfare Expansion Inquiring minds may be asking "How did Obamacare effect welfare numbers?" Let's take...

Here's a series of charts from reader Tim Wallace on various aspects of employment, labor force, and population. The charts use seasonally unadjusted data, July of 2014 compared to July in prior years. click on any chart for sharper image Age 16 and Over Age 16 and Over Full-Time Employment Percentage Age 25-54 Age 25-54 Full-Time Employment Percentage Age 55 and Over Age 55 and Over Full-Time Employment Percentage Mish Notes Because of the aging workforce, the first chart in each series has a slight negative bias. For example: Note a relatively small decline in population in age group 25-54...

Brace yourself… Skepticism, doubt and criticism of Obamanomics (all of which are, undoubtedly, based in racism) will be cast aside. Why? Because, according to the 20-something-year-old White House intern that is in charge of the official White House twitter account, “Our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.” I know, right? Pretty awesome statistic. (Gloss over the fact that the President is referring to private enterprise as “our businesses”.) But before you rush out to slap an Obama ‘16 sticker on your car (are those stickers available yet?), you may want a little bit...

I just don’t get it! Why can’t we give the poor guy a break? The President’s popularity has totally plummeted in the polls rivaling or even exceeding the worst of President George W. Bush. Why are all the pundits giving the poor man an “F” for performance? America, it’s time to stand up and give Barack Obama his just due. A higher grade for his report card is amply justified. When the First Lady said that the pie wouldn’t be expanded but redistribution was the goal most chuckled. All socialists try to bring down the upper class, to revitalize the...

Jonsey wrote: John, Merry Christmas (God forbid, I should say Happy Holidays or Sarah P might have a heart attack). In your article, you forgot one thing: Paul Krugman won a Nobel prize for economics and you didn't. He is one smart gentleman. Do have a glorious Christmas and may your heart be softened may you speak of and about the President. Happy Christmas Eve. Maybe I'll say a prayer for you at Midnight Mass. – Who Made Krugman the Expert? Cronies Did Dear Comrade Jones, I don’t forget that Krugman has a Nobel prize. I discount the award to...

Retailers and investors are bemoaning the fact that Black Friday sales failed to put stores back in the black for the year. In fact, this year, it might as well be called Red Friday, in regards to the ledger balances that stores were reporting Monday morning. Many excuses have surfaced, including the populist notion that stores angered their would-be shoppers by opening on Thanksgiving Day. In reality, given the economic “health” of America in the age of Obamanomics, a holiday spending splurge was never really in the cards for 2013. While some people like to direct their anger toward the...

Jared Bernstein, the man who was formerly responsible for advising Vice President Joe Biden on economic matters (wow . . . that would be a daunting task), has said that if Obama is a socialist, he’s not a particularly good socialist. In fact, he said the President would have to be considered the “worst socialist ever” because the financial markets have been climbing during his Presidency. And to think everyone used to call me names for suggesting socialism is a tool used to prevent mass prosperity. Biden's Former Economic Adviser: 'If Obama's a Socialist, He's the Worst Socialist'Al Sharpton, who...

Not only does he not have debt, a mortgage or rent, he does not earn a salary. Nor does he buy food or clothes, or own any product with a lower case "i" before it. Home is a cave on public land outside Moab, Utah. He scavenges for food from the garbage or off the land (fried grasshoppers, anyone?). He has been known to carve up and boil fresh road kill. He bathes, without soap, in the creek.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Another trading day and another low for Bank of America's stock. Shares of Bank of America dropped more than 3% Tuesday, hitting a new 52-week low of $5.03 -- its lowest level since March 12, 2009. After the close of trading Tuesday, Bank of America was one of 37 financial institutions downgraded by S&P. Beyond the S&P downgrade, trading could become even more complicated in Bank of America's stock, if it falls below $5. Under that threshold, many broker-dealers will not allow investors to buy or short a stock on margin, according to a spokesperson for...

This is what the US economy has been reduced to: McDonalds reports that as part of its employment event to hire 50,000 minimum wage, part-time (mostly) workers, subsequently raised to 62,000 it received a whopping 1 million applications, or a Tim Geithner jealousy inducing 6.2% hit rate (h/t X. Kurt. OSis). Alas, the US economy is now so pathetic that the bulk of the population will settle for anything. Literally anything. And the saddest part: over 938,000 applicants were turned away. Here's hoping to Burger King needs a few million janitors in the immediate future too. And yes, aside from...

Obama Officials Tried to Convince S&P Not to Issue Credit Warning Published April 20, 2011 | FoxNews.com Even though the White House has publicly downplayed the credit warning issued Monday from a leading agency, Obama administration officials were privately trying in recent weeks to convince Standard & Poor's not to lower its outlook for U.S. debt from "stable" to "negative," Fox News has confirmed. But after a series of meetings between the Treasury Department and S&P, the ratings agency ignored the pressure and told administration officials late Friday that the U.S. government was at risk of losing its sterling credit...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that the Tea Party needs to commit to being problem-solvers in the new Congress. On "Face the Nation," Graham was asked about the prospects for bipartisanship come January. "The House is in revolt," he said of the difficulty of extending the Bush-era tax cuts. "People are pissed off in the House at the estate tax. That's going to carry over a bit." Graham said that big government and spending is on the "run and retreat," but that the coming months will test the grass-roots movement that helped turn the tide in the midterm election. "The...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Saturday that the failed Democratic effort to pass the DREAM Act in the lame duck session dealt a blow to future talks on a wider immigration bill. “It was an exercise to try and taint Republicans with Hispanic voters, knowing that the DREAM Act under these circumstances could never pass,” Graham told reporters in the Capitol after the bill sputtered on the floor. “What they have done on the DREAM Act is hurt overall comprehensive immigration reform,” he said. The DREAM Act, which would give legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the country...

The Senate Saturday repealed the military's ban on gays serving openly in the military, by overturning the policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Senators voted 63-33 to advance the bill to the floor, passing a 60-vote procedural hurdle. Final passage Saturday afternoon was 65-31.

Per CNBC TV.

Unemployment rate hits 8.9%