The July Jobs Report is a Total Disaster for U.S. Workers

Let's put this July jobs report in perspective.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy supposedly grew 163,000 jobs last month.  Except that's not exactly true.

Rush Limbaugh was on a roll about these numbers yesterday.  He called Obama "a closed-minded economic bigot."  Here's his take:

Sadly, folks, there were 195,000 fewer people employed in this country in July than there were in June. It might have been 172,000 new jobs.  That's even debatable.  But it was a net wash because -- these are numbers from the BLS report.  I'm not making it up.  Obama's Department of Labor's own numbers, 195,000 fewer people employed in the United States in July than there were in June.  We lost jobs.  We also lost more people from the labor force.  The national unemployment rate went up, 8.2 to 8.3%. One-hundred and fifty thousand people simply dropped out of the labor force.  Actually that number is 155,000, which means that this 172,000 new jobs that he's trumpeting are actually a wash, folks.  No net new jobs, 195,000 fewer people employed, 150,000 simply dropped out of the labor force.  That's the pattern. 

If you figure in all the people that have just quit looking for work and have dropped out or gone on disability then our unemployment is closer to 15%.

Ed Morrissey:

July saw a slight move up in U-6, which had been coming down earlier in the year to the mid-14 range.  That measure of un/underemployment has now risen to 15.2%, increasing in both adjusted and unadjusted measures.  It’s the highest rating in this measure since February, and it’s now up more than a full point since April. 

Historically, no sitting president has won re-election with numbers like this.

Chris Cillizza:

Because the July jobs report affirmed the now-certain reality that the unemployment rate won’t drop below eight percent between today and November. And no sitting president since World War II has been re-elected with the unemployment rate above 7.2 percent. 

The numbers are daunting for Obama. The unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 42 straight months— its longest period ever.

Remember, Obama said he would get unemployment down under 6% if Congress passed the stimulus.  He's quite a long way from that.

James Pethokoukis on the jobs report:

Not only is the 8.3% unemployment rate way above the 5.6% unemployment rate that Team Obama predicted for July 2012 if Congress passed the $800 billion stimulus plan. It’s way above the 6.0% unemployment rate they predicted if no stimulus was passed.

In his remarks yesterday, "the smartest president ever" redefined economic policy as we know it to work with his theory of trickle-up economics:

And keep in mind, we're talking about folks like me going back to the tax rates that existed under Bill Clinton.  If you remember, that was when we created 23 million new jobs, we went from deficits to surplus, and folks at the top did well, too -- because when middle-class families have money in their pockets, they go out and buy that new car, or that new appliance, or that new computer for their kids, or they go out to a restaurant, or, heaven forbid, they take a vacation once in a while.  And that money goes back into the economy, and businesses do well because they've got more customers.

So the rich get richer because the middle class spends money?  And the middle class gets this money where?  Food stamps?  After all, that's Nancy Pelosi's theory.  She explained her food-stamps-as-stimulus theory back in 2010.  That these people are running the country just scares the hell out of me.

Rush Limbaugh again:

Did you catch that?  The money starts with the middle class, and as long as the middle class has money, then they go out and spend it, and that's how the rich get rich.  Wow!  Wow!  Folks at the top did well, too, because when middle-class families have money in their pockets, they go out and buy that new car, that new appliance, or that new computer for their kids when they've got money in their pocket. So we gotta get money into the hands of the middle class.  How we gonna do that?  We're gonna do food stamps.  Trickle up.  So we got a brand-new economic definition here from Mr. Wizard of Smart.  

It's just incredible.  How can the polls even be close?  As Mark Steyn said, "This should not be a close race."

Every number, every statistic, every graph, every calculation you look at shows Obama's ruinous effect on our economy from the explosion of the entitlement state to unemployment and more.

And stop to think for a moment about all the job killing regulations that are to come via the EPA and ObamaCare (for starters).  Think about Taxmageddon coming in January. ObamaCare is already killing jobs.  Think about another four years under Obama's energy policy (gas prices are now more than double what they were when he took office).

In light of all that, if Obama wins in November, we may look back at this jobs report and think these were the good old days.


(Graphic from James Pethokoukis)

We've Moved Way Past "Hammock"

James Pethokoukis has six charts that ought to scare you to death.

I heard Allen West say the other day that welfare was meant to be a safety net, not a hammock.  According to these charts, it's not only become a hammock but a TempurPedic mattress.

This chart shows the explosion of the entitlement state:

Look at the other charts and keep in mind, this is BEFORE Obamacare hits.

(H/T:  Memeorandum)

The Spin Begins

My mother said to me the other day, "I'll be so glad when this election is OVER!  It seems like it's been going on for a year!"

I hate to tell her, but it hasn't even started yet.  We've only been dealing with the Republican primary so far.  Just wait until the general election! 

True, Obama has been campaigning for re-election since 2008, but only now are we beginning to see general election 2012 ads cropping up on television.

I've even seen a few "Obama 2012" stickers on a couple of cars in town.  Whenever I see those bumper stickers I just can't fathom it.  Given this man's record, how can anyone still support him?  I tried to get Mr. SIGIS to explain it to me but he couldn't.

It's true that much of the population depends on the liberal mainstream media to inform them.  Much of the general population just doesn't care - they hate politics and politicians and will vote however their editorial page tells them to vote.  In truth, the number of political junkies like me (and you - you're reading this, aren't you?) are much lower in number than those who just vote blindly.

Yet still.  Consider Obama's first campaign ad.  Investor's Business Daily fact checks the energy statements in the ad:

The Obama re-election campaign is already shaping up as the most deceitful in American electoral history. "For the first time in 13 years our dependence on foreign oil is below 50%," the commercial declares, accompanied by goose-bumpy music.

Major economic downturns, in fact, unfailingly produce declines in oil imports. And so do higher gas prices — which went from an average of less than $2 a gallon at the time Obama took office to nearly $4 in the middle of last year and remain well above $3 today.

How could gasoline demand not drop with so many people out of work, businesses dying and jittery investors sitting on a trillion dollars?

Of course "our dependence on foreign oil" is lower.  It's not because we're producing more domestically; we're not.  It's because of the reasons stated above.

This is typical Obama spin.

It's sort of like saying "You will be able to keep your doctor," when ObamaCare was rammed down our throats.  Sure, you'll be able to keep him as long as he's able to stay in practice but once ObamaCare really kicks in, he will probably pack his little black bag and fade into the sunset.  Either that or he'll be so backlogged behind the deluge of patients waiting to see a doctor, any doctor, that you'll be a distant memory.

Deceitful.

"Oh," but you say, "All politicians do that!"  And I won't argue that to some degree.  I take issue with those as well.

Consider this from ABC News:

Turning to the economy, the ad hails “2.7 million Clean-Energy American Jobs,” citing a July report from the Brookings Institution, the suggestion being that Obama deserves credit for the employment in those industries.

But the Brookings report does not claim Obama created or maintained those jobs, just that 2.7 million exist in that sector – which encompasses a diverse array of roles and industries, including all of the nation’s mass transit workers (e.g. bus drivers).

But who's going to read the fine print?

Get ready for a long campaign, Mom.  The lies and the spin are here to stay.  I just hope voters care enough to decipher them and read between the lines.  From both sides of the aisle.

Dismal Unemployment Numbers: No Problem! Says Plouffe - UPDATED

Mitt Romney says if David Plouffe were working for him, he'd fire him.  I probably would too, but I hope Obama doesn't.  Plouffe's continued service all but guarantees a Republican victory in 2012, as I see it.  The man is simply out of touch:

“The average American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers,” Plouffe said, according to Bloomberg. “People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?’ ”

The unemployment numbers out today are simply dismal.

Obama is set to speak shortly.  Expect updates here.

Update 1:  Obama is now 34 minutes late for his own press conference.  Change!

Update 2:  That was a pretty empty press conference.  My quick takes:

Obama said today's job report confirms what most American's already know; we have a long way to go.  He's said that over and over and over and it means nothing.  It makes no one feel better. 

He said we've added more than two million jobs but the recession cost us eight million.  (i.e.: I inherited this mess.) and that the economy isn't producing enough jobs. I think that's obvious.

Then he said that state and local budget cuts "have cost cops, teachers, and firefighters their jobs." And a lot of other people!  What about small business owners that he is crushing with weighty regulations?  What about businesses that are closing down and moving overseas because of your regulations? 

He said that the economic problems we face weren't created overnight (i.e.: I inherited this mess), and apparently he spends hours upon hours reading letters in which people "pour their guts out" to him.  When does he have time to read all these letters he's always talking about?  Who even writes letters anymore?

And the richest statement of all - he called upon government to "live within its means."  When did he start worrying about THAT?

He offered some blather about streamlining the patent process (how many jobs will that create?)

And with that, he was off, bolting back into the White House.  Probably to read more letters.

Wreckovery Summer

Despite what Debbie Wasserman Schultz would have you believe, the economy has not been turned around.  Ed Morrissey at Hot Air boils down some numbers:

*  Retail sales are down.

*  Auto sales are down.

*  Inventories are up.

Even more, the unemployment rate is at 9.1%.

The number of Americans on food stamps continues to climb.

From The Foundry, consider this:

Case in point: On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” host David Gregory confronted DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz with the cold hard facts—unemployment is up 25 percent since President Obama’s inauguration day, the debt is up 35 percent, a gallon of gas is up 104 percent, and 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the President’s handling of the economy.

All this and Obamacare hasn't even kicking in full bore yet.   And don't forget those energy bills that are expected to skyrocket.  Which means food costs will skyrocket as well.

And what is the Democrats plan for the economy? 

A third problem stems from the administration's lack of an explicit plan to deal with future budget deficits and with the exploding national debt. This creates uncertainty about future tax increases and interest rates that impedes spending by households and investment by businesses.

Oh wait.  There's a commission being formed to study waste.  Wonderful.  That should do it.

All this bodes poorly for Obama's re-election. As it turns out, that's just fine with his family.

Someone please tell me what kind of la-la land does Debbie Wasserman Schultz live in?  Turned the economy around?  God help us.