Obama expects to be held accountable for jobs but really doesn't.

[jack sommerset]

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he expects to be held accountable by people who can't find jobs, but he contends that voters will remember who caused the economic mess in the first place – and it wasn't him.

Americans, Obama said Thursday, don't have a "selective memory."

"They're going remember the policies that got us into this mess as well," Obama said, referring to the previous Republican administration. "And they sure as heck don't want to go back to those."

The president made the comments in an interview with NBC News after touring the site of a future electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan that got money from last year's economic stimulus bill.

Obama has been trying to convince gloomy voters that despite near double-digit unemployment nationwide, the situation would be even worse without the $862 billion stimulus law that's created jobs around the country.

"It's hard because you don't see immediate gratification," the president acknowledged Thursday. He said his message to people out of work was that his administration was doing everything possible to create an environment in which private sector jobs could expand.

"But I'm not any more satisfied than they are," Obama said. "And until they can find a job, I expect to be held accountable."

Obama emphasized Democrats' emerging campaign theme heading into November elections in which the party could take a beating: The election will be a "choice between the policies that got us into this mess and my policies that are getting us out of this mess," he said. Polls show he has work to do to make the message take hold.

Obama also defended going around the Senate to appoint a new head of Medicare and Medicaid. The so-called recess appointment of Donald Berwick has drawn scathing criticism from Republicans, and even some griping from Democrats who thought Berwick should have been put through the standard Senate confirmation process.

Story continues below"The fact of the matter is that I can't play political games with the Senate on these issues," Obama said. "I've got a government to run."

On a lighter note, Obama disclosed his elder daughter Malia's summer vacation plans: the 12-year-old will be spending a month at camp, something she's never done.

As for his own summer plans, Obama was coy. If past practice holds, the first family will go to Martha's Vineyard, but the president and his staff are now regularly getting asked whether they might go to the Gulf Coast, as Obama's been urging other Americans to do.

"We're going to be trying to figure out where we're going to be able to take some time over the course of the summer," said Obama.

[clambake]

jackie wants to forget how we got here.

[jack sommerset]

Unemployment since Dems took congress

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_6149_1257610550853.gif

Unemployment since Barry to over

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif

Unemployment since Barry past stimulus

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif

[George Gervin's Afro]

jackie wants to forget how we got here.

No you don't get jack. The 750,00 jobs lost in January of 2009 are on Obama and the dem congress. They were expected to turn the economy around in a couple of months when it took 8 yeasr to get there. Seems reasonable to me..

[clambake]

jackie wants to get there without taking the steps. har har

[George Gervin's Afro]

Unemployment since Dems took congress

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_6149_1257610550853.gif

Unemployment since Barry to over

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif

Unemployment since Barry past stimulus

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif


hey genius if you are telling us the graphs represent the stimulus, shouldn't they indicate the change from the time it was passed?

So clarify something for me, is it the fault of congress or the president when the economy hits the skids?

[jack sommerset]

Expect another drop next month. Barrys 600,000 census workers will be looking for jobs.

LOL@ shovel-ready jobs!

[George Gervin's Afro]

jackie wants to get there without taking the steps. har har

I can't figure out why the economy didn't turn on a dime.. you know like one of those running backs who can change direction mid stride...! Of course jack still claims the stimulus didn't work and that Obama was the first politician ever to not live up to all of his campaign promises so what do we expect..

[George Gervin's Afro]

Expect another drop next month. Barrys 600,000 census workers will be looking for jobs.

LOL@ shovel-ready jobs!

Did Obama hire the census workers? Did he do the interviews?

hey dummy by the time election rolls around the economy will be a little better..keep hope alive that it continues to get worse!

[CosmicCowboy]

Unemployment since Somali Pirates started

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_6149_1257610550853.gif

Unemployment since increase in Pirate attacks

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif

Unemployment since Navy Seals shot 3 pirates

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af288/Yeags12345/LNS14000000_5930_1257610102519.gif

[clambake]

jackie should be given his own forum to discuss oil. har har

[jack sommerset]

I can't figure out why the economy didn't turn on a dime.. you know like one of those running backs who can change direction mid stride...! Of course jack still claims the stimulus didn't work and that Obama was the first politician ever to not live up to all of his campaign promises so what do we expect..

Neither can Barry. He said unemployment wouldn't rise above 8 percent if the stimulus was passed but it did. He said he wouldn't allow earmarks but over 8,000 of them were in this shovel-ready bill.

These are not claims, the stimulus didn't work. You saying Obama was not the first politician to live up to his billing is a lame excuse for his failures but atleast you are now admitting he is a failure. Good for you.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Neither can Barry. He said unemployment wouldn't rise above 8 percent if the stimulus was passed but it did. He said he wouldn't allow earmarks but over 8,000 of them were in this shovel-ready bill.

These are not claims, the stimulus didn't work. You saying Obama was not the first politician to live up to his billing is a lame excuse for his failures but atleast you are now admitting he is a failure. Good for you.

Unemployment is going down and will contiue to do so.. sorry jack as much as you want things to get worse they won't...

[CosmicCowboy]

Unemployment is going down and will contiue to do so.. sorry jack as much as you want things to get worse they won't...

I question that the actual number of people without jobs is actually going down. That unemployment figure is a manipulated number. Moving people into the "gave up on looking for a job" category so you don't have to count them as unemployed is totally bogus.

[jack sommerset]

Did Obama hire the census workers? Did he do the interviews?

hey dummy by the time election rolls around the economy will be a little better..keep hope alive that it continues to get worse!

Sad that you think americans want umemployment to keep rising for an election. It's actually really pathetic of you.

You feel smart asking these questions. It makes you look fucking stupid. Can't you see that. Obama is the boss of the director of the Census.

[George Gervin's Afro]

I question that the actual number of people without jobs is actually going down. That unemployment figure is a manipulated number. Moving people into the "gave up on looking for a job" category so you don't have to count them as unemployed is totally bogus.

I agree with you but I seem to remember the bush defenders never mentioned this class of unemployed. Now those same folks ,that were silent, all of a sudden feel this it is imprtant to keep repeating this over and over again..

[George Gervin's Afro]

Sad that you think americans want umemployment to keep rising for an election. It's actually really pathetic of you.

You feel smart asking these questions. It makes you look fucking stupid. Can't you see that. Obama is the boss of the director of the Census.

so then you're happy that the economy is rebounding.. great! so Obama deserves some credit..

[Wild Cobra]

Come on Cosmic. We already know that's how Anthropogenic Global warming is proved. Unrelated causes and effects.

[CosmicCowboy]

I agree with you but I seem to remember the bush defenders never mentioned this class of unemployed. Now those same folks ,that were silent, all of a sudden feel this it is imprtant to keep repeating this over and over again..

:lmao

You come in here spewing bogus bullshit numbers and get called on it and you turn it around to "Well, you didn't say anything about Bush?" :lol

Get that weak ass shit out of here...:lmao

[Winehole23]

so then you're happy that the economy is rebounding.. great! so Obama deserves some credit..Care to quantify that, GGA?

[Winehole23]

It's not intuitively clear to this wino.

[George Gervin's Afro]

:lmao

You come in here spewing bogus bullshit numbers and get called on it and you turn it around to "Well, you didn't say anything about Bush?" :lol

Get that weak ass shit out of here...:lmao

Hey dummy the numbers weren't mine..god you're an idiot..:lmao

[George Gervin's Afro]

Care to quantify that, GGA?

I am talking about the economic growth aspect or the 4th consecutive qtr It would be nice to see unemployment recede but overall the economy is getting better.

[CosmicCowboy]

Hey dummy the numbers weren't mine..god you're an idiot..:lmao

and you said...


Unemployment is going down and will contiue to do so.. sorry jack as much as you want things to get worse they won't...

[George Gervin's Afro]

and you said...

it has been going down dumbass..jesus you're stupid.

[CosmicCowboy]

I am talking about the economic growth aspect or the 4th consecutive qtr It would be nice to see unemployment recede but overall the economy is getting better.

Is it, now? Sure about that? In a consumer driven economy THIS doesn't sound like good news...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38276678

Consumer Sentiment Sinks To Lowest Level in 11 Months

Consumer sentiment weakened in early July to its lowest in 11 months on a resurgence in fears about the economy, a year since the recovery began, a private survey released Friday showed.

The reversal in consumer sentiment was dramatic after it reached its strongest level in nearly 2-1/2 years last month on hopes of better job and credit conditions, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers.

The survey's preliminary July reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment plummeted to 66.5 from 76.0 in June.

The figure was below the median forecast of 74.5 among economists polled by Reuters.

"Income and job prospects were extraordinarily weak and those bleak prospects have made consumers much more cautious spenders," Richard Curtin, director of the surveys, said in a statement.

This steep pullback in sentiment is ominous for the U.S. economy, which is already showing signs of slowing.

Consumer spending accounts for some 70 percent of the U.S. economy. The latest survey showed consumers' intention to buy durable items such as cars fell to its lowest in nine months.

"Moreover, consumers reported renewed weakness in the economy and were more likely to anticipate additional problems in the year ahead," Curtin said.

The survey's barometer of current economic conditions tumbled to 75.5 in early July, the lowest since November 2009.

This compared with 85.6 in June, which was the highest since March 2008. Analysts had predicted a figure of 84.0 for early July.

The survey's gauge of consumer expectations slid to 60.6, the lowest since March 2009. This compared with 69.8 in June, while analysts had predicted a reading of 68.4 in early July.

The measure on consumers' 12-month economic outlook deteriorated to 65.0 in early July, which was the lowest since April 2009.

It stood at 79.0 in June. In addition to worries about jobs and household finances, consumers expected inflation to pick up in the coming months.

The survey's one-year inflation expectations measure ticked up to 2.9 percent from 2.8 in June, while the five-to-10-year outlook index firmed to 2.9 percent from June's 2.8.

[Winehole23]

I am talking about the economic growth aspect or the 4th consecutive qtr It would be nice to see unemployment recede but overall the economy is getting better.Did you forget to quantify the growth, or does it just embarrass you to do so now that you've admitted the recovery is so far a jobless one?

[George Gervin's Afro]

Is it, now? Sure about that? In a consumer driven economy THIS doesn't sound like good news...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38276678

Consumer Sentiment Sinks To Lowest Level in 11 Months

Consumer sentiment weakened in early July to its lowest in 11 months on a resurgence in fears about the economy, a year since the recovery began, a private survey released Friday showed.

The reversal in consumer sentiment was dramatic after it reached its strongest level in nearly 2-1/2 years last month on hopes of better job and credit conditions, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers.

The survey's preliminary July reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment plummeted to 66.5 from 76.0 in June.

The figure was below the median forecast of 74.5 among economists polled by Reuters.

"Income and job prospects were extraordinarily weak and those bleak prospects have made consumers much more cautious spenders," Richard Curtin, director of the surveys, said in a statement.

This steep pullback in sentiment is ominous for the U.S. economy, which is already showing signs of slowing.

Consumer spending accounts for some 70 percent of the U.S. economy. The latest survey showed consumers' intention to buy durable items such as cars fell to its lowest in nine months.

"Moreover, consumers reported renewed weakness in the economy and were more likely to anticipate additional problems in the year ahead," Curtin said.

The survey's barometer of current economic conditions tumbled to 75.5 in early July, the lowest since November 2009.

This compared with 85.6 in June, which was the highest since March 2008. Analysts had predicted a figure of 84.0 for early July.

The survey's gauge of consumer expectations slid to 60.6, the lowest since March 2009. This compared with 69.8 in June, while analysts had predicted a reading of 68.4 in early July.

The measure on consumers' 12-month economic outlook deteriorated to 65.0 in early July, which was the lowest since April 2009.

It stood at 79.0 in June. In addition to worries about jobs and household finances, consumers expected inflation to pick up in the coming months.

The survey's one-year inflation expectations measure ticked up to 2.9 percent from 2.8 in June, while the five-to-10-year outlook index firmed to 2.9 percent from June's 2.8.

I simply stated the economy is getting better and you freaked out..

[George Gervin's Afro]

Did you forget to quantify the growth, or does it just embarrass you to do so now that you've admitted the recovery is so far a jobless one?


I guess I could find pie charts, cool graphs, or link arfticles to it. Is that what you are requiring? I am going back and try and find where I claimed that the job market was rebounding before I respond to being embarassed.




ECONOMIC GROWTH – March 2010 QUARTER
Published 24 June 2010

The economic recovery continues...
Economic activity increased by 0.6% in the March 2010 quarter, slightly above market expectations (Figure 1). This was the fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth following a 15-month recession and lifted annual growth to 1.9% (Figure 2). The 0.6% rise over the March 2010 quarter confirms that the recovery remains on track, although growth was down slightly from the 0.9% recorded in the December 2009 quarter.

http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/lmr/lmr-economic-growth.asp


Need more quantifying?

[CosmicCowboy]

it has been going down dumbass..jesus you're stupid.

:lmao

You just agreed with me about 3 posts back that real unemployment probably HASN'T gone down.


I agree with you but I seem to remember the bush defenders never mentioned this class of unemployed.

:lmao

Pot, Kettle, Black

[George Gervin's Afro]

:lmao

You just agreed with me about 3 posts back that real unemployment probably HASN'T gone down.



:lmao

Pot, Kettle, Black

9.7 to 9.5.. that's going down to me... what does that mean to you?

[CosmicCowboy]

9.7 to 9.5.. that's going down to me... what does that mean to you?

It means when you move several hundred thousand people from the "unemployed" list to the "gave up looking for work" category you can make your unemployment "number" go down.

The REAL unemployment number is closer to 20% than it is to 9.5%

[101A]

hey genius if you are telling us the graphs represent the stimulus, shouldn't they indicate the change from the time it was passed?

So clarify something for me, is it the fault of congress or the president when the economy hits the skids?

Many, many people have a hand in this. Bush & the Republicans caught the blame at first; now the Dems are reaping their share - plenty to go around.

To answer your question; neither, and both, as well as Wall-Street, the Fed, and the general population. I, however, had nothing to do with it.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Many, many people have a hand in this. Bush & the Republicans caught the blame at first; now the Dems are reaping their share - plenty to go around.

To answer your question; neither, and both, as well as Wall-Street, the Fed, and the general population. I, however, had nothing to do with it.

That about sums up how I feel.

[CosmicCowboy]

It's partly my fault. 5+ years ago I cut up all the credit cards and went on a serious "get out of debt" binge. Our consumer society requires that we all do our part by continuing to spend, spend, spend and worry about debt later. Guess I'm just a slacker.

[101A]

It's partly my fault. 5+ years ago I cut up all the credit cards and went on a serious "get out of debt" binge. Our consumer society requires that we all do our part by continuing to spend, spend, spend and worry about debt later. Guess I'm just a slacker.


You're right, my bad. Got a reasonable amount of bank; no credit card debt - 4 and 7 year old vehicles, etc.....

Not as patriotic as I thought I was.

[CosmicCowboy]

You're right, my bad. Got a reasonable amount of bank; no credit card debt - 4 and 7 year old vehicles, etc.....

Not as patriotic as I thought I was.

Yeah, I'm real estate poor but knocking down $2800 a month in principal. I'm un-american for doing that instead of pissing it off buying shit I really don't need that will wear out in a couple of years.

[Winehole23]

Need more quantifying?Nope. As stated it seems to lack nothing for precision. Thank you. :tu

[RoddyBukkake]

just as blacks use the race card, Obama and his admin use the Bush card every chance they get

[Winehole23]

That said, I do believe all government figures should be taken cum grano salis.

There's never been a bigger excuse to massage official figures, than right now.

Sometimes the revisions don't move the needle as much as the initial moves, but there's lots of revisions. I won't say anything about the trend of initial reporting, but the recurrent phenomenon of revised figures suggests entrenched optimism. When the government revises the numbers downward months later, fewer people notice.

Months or years later of course, people do notice. Overworking a tactical advantage can be a strategic fault.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Nope. As stated it seems to lack nothing for precision. Thank you. :tu

glad I could clear things up for you.

[CosmicCowboy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/7893238/Feds-volte-face-sends-the-dollar-tumbling.html

Fed's volte face sends the dollar tumbling
Rarely before have a few coded words in the minutes of the US Federal Reserve caused such an upheaval in the global currency system, or such a sudden flight from the dollar.

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Published: 8:52PM BST 15 Jul 2010
150 Comments

The US workforce has shrunk by a 1m over the past two months as discouraged jobless give up the hunt

The euro rocketed to a two-month high of $1.29 and sterling jumped two cents to almost $1.54 after the Fed confessed that the US economy may not recover for five or six years. Far from winding down emergency stimulus, the bank may need a fresh blast of bond purchases or quantitative easing.
Usually the dollar serves as a safe haven whenever the world takes fright, and there was plenty of sobering news from China and other quarters on Thursday. Not this time. The US itself has become the problem.

"The worm is turning," said David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC. "We're in a world of rotating sovereign crises. The market seems to become obsessed with one idea at a time, then violently swings towards another. People thought the euro would break-up. Now we're moving into a new phase because we're hearing alarm bells of a US double dip."
Mr Bloom said a deep change is under way in investor psychology as funds and central banks respond to the blizzard of shocking US data and again focus on the fragility of an economy where public debt is surging towards 100pc of GDP, not helped by the malaise enveloping the Obama White House. "The Europeans have aired their dirty debt in public and taken some measures to address it, whilst the US has not," he said.
The Fed minutes warned of "significant downside risks" and a possible slide into deflation, an admission that zero interest rates, $1.75 trillion of QE, and a fiscal deficit above 10pc of GDP have so far failed to lift the economy out of a structural slump.
"The Committee would need to consider whether further policy stimulus might become appropriate if the outlook were to worsen appreciably," it said. The economy might not regain its "longer-run path" until 2016.
"The Fed is throwing in the towel," said Gabriel Stein, of Lombard Street Research. "They are preparing to start QE again. This was predictable because the M3 broad money supply has been contracting for months."
The Fed minutes amount to a policy thunderbolt, evidence of how quickly the recovery has lost steam. Just weeks ago the Fed was mapping out withdrawal of stimulus.
Goldman Sachs said it expects the euro to rise to $1.35 by the end of the year. The yen will appreciate to ¥83, through the pain barrier for most of Japan's big exporters. The new twist is that SAFE, China's $2.4 trillion fund, has begun buying record amounts of Japanese bonds, a shift in reserve allocation away from the dollar.
The signs of a deep and sudden slowdown in the US are becoming ever clearer as the "sugar rush" from the Obama fiscal stimulus wears off and the inventory boost fades. California, Illinois and other states are cutting spending, tightening US fiscal policy by 0.8pc of GDP.
Thursday's plunge in the Philadelphia Fed's July index of new manufacturing orders to –4.3 suggests that the economy may have buckled abruptly, as it did in mid-2008. The Economic Cycle Research Institute's ECRI leading indicator has tumbled, reaching –8.3pc last week. This points to a sharp slowdown or recession within three months.
While US port data looked buoyant in June, the details were troubling. Outbound traffic from Long Beach fell from 139,000 containers in May to 116,000 in June. Shipments from Los Angeles fell from 161,000 to 155,000. This drop in exports is worsening the US trade deficit, eroding the dollar.
The US workforce has shrunk by a 1m over the past two months as discouraged jobless give up the hunt. Retail sales have fallen for the past two months. New homes sales crashed to 300,000 in May after tax credits ran out, the lowest since records began in 1963. Mortgage applications have fallen by 42pc to 13-year low since April. Paul Dales at Capital Economics said the "shadow inventory" of unsold properties has risen to 7.8m. "The double dip in housing has begun," he said.
Alcoa, CSX, Intel, and JP Morgan have reported good earnings, but they mostly did so in July 2008 just before their shares collapsed. Such earnings rarely catch turning points and can be a lagging indicator. Profits have been boosted in this cycle by cost-cutting, which is self-defeating for the economy as a whole.
The minutes confirm the Fed is split down the middle over QE. Fed watchers say the Board in Washington wants to be ready to launch another round of bond purchases if necessary, pushing the banks balance sheet from $2.4 trillion towards $5 trillion, but hawks at the regional banks are highly sceptical.
A study by the San Francisco Fed said the interest rates need to be –4.5pc to stabilise the economy under the Fed's "rule of thumb". Since this is impossible, massive QE needs to make up the difference.
Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research said the US authorities have botched policy response. "They are forcing banks to contract lending by raising their capital asset ratios. They have let M3 shrink by 1pc a month, as in the early 1930s. The solution is simple. The Fed must raise the level of deposits by purchasing bonds from the non-banking system as the Bank of England has done. They refuse to do it," he said.

[Winehole23]

The Fed minutes warned of "significant downside risks" and a possible slide into deflation, an admission that zero interest rates, $1.75 trillion of QE, and a fiscal deficit above 10pc of GDP have so far failed to lift the economy out of a structural slump.

"The Committee would need to consider whether further policy stimulus might become appropriate if the outlook were to worsen appreciably," it said. The economy might not regain its "longer-run path" until 2016.

[Winehole23]

The solution is simple. The Fed must raise the level of deposits by purchasing bonds from the non-banking system as the Bank of England has done. They refuse to do it," he said.Can somebody explain this, please? I don't get it at all.

[spursncowboys]

I can't figure out why the economy didn't turn on a dime.. you know like one of those running backs who can change direction mid stride...! Of course jack still claims the stimulus didn't work and that Obama was the first politician ever to not live up to all of his campaign promises so what do we expect..

Obama said we are out of the mess.
Maybe the economy isn't going to be at full capacity, like it was after bush's policies got us out of a depression, but there should be signs that it is moving in that direction.
Also expecting 2 years of Dem control isn't turning on a dime. It's a big body cadillac turn but we didn't turn.

[spursncowboys]

9.7 to 9.5.. that's going down to me... what does that mean to you?

if it's due to federal job hiring, then no it's not going down.

[Borat Sagyidev]

if it's due to federal job hiring, then no it's not going down.


Govt also hire Military Contractor, Boeing, Lockheed. many work for NASA and are on government/Jew welfare check.

[Jacob1983]

Those comments by Obama makes him come off as being an ungrateful pussy. People honestly don't give a fuck that Bush caused this shit. Obama is president. He was elected to clean up Bush's messes and has just made more messes since he became president.

[EmptyMan]

So basically they will remember that Bush fucked it all up and that Obama was worthless to fix it, therefore vote someone else in to fix the mess.

amidoingitritechump?.jpeg