Democrats are starting to warn of major risks to the economy after months of downplaying the threat of a double-dip recession. In letters, interviews, and public statements, President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other senior Democrats are now raising red flags that the economy could falter without additional stimulus efforts.
Obama urged congressional leaders in mid-June to pass an extension of tax breaks and unemployment benefits, and up to $50 billion in aid for states and local governments. Without Congress acting, Obama said the economy could “slide backwards.”
Two weeks later, in an interview with the Huffington Post, Pelosi said that absent new federal help, “we could slip back and have another recession, and if we do it’s harder to come back.”
Funny, I thought we didn't need to worry because this summer the porkulus and all the previous federal spending would kick in and we would have jobs galore and the unicorns would be farting ozone that would plug up the hole and the ice caps would refreeze and the seas would go down.....wait, you mean porkulus didn't work? Aw, snap, let's do it again. Now, what is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Check.
On Feb. 7, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner downplayed any such threat on ABC’s “This Week”.
“I think we, we have much, much lower risk of that today than at any time over the last 12 months or so,” Geithner said.
The shift in rhetoric and emphasis comes as Democrats head into tough midterm elections, in which Republicans charge the majority has failed to shore up the economy. According to a series of Pew polls, only one-third of voters believe the 2009 stimulus package helped the economy and less than half say additional spending would help a lot.
Over the last year, the percentage of voters in Pew polls that believe Obama’s economic policies have made the economy worse has risen from 16 percent to 29 percent. Democrats argue Republicans are scuttling their efforts to improve the economy.
And how are they supposed to do that? Dems have clear majorities in BOTH Houses AND the White House!!!!!!!! Wouldn't it be nice to actually hear some responsibility for a change, instead of rhetoric akin to this:
Let's just see what stimulus has wrought, yes? To wit:
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the economy gained 83,000 private sector jobs but lost a total of 125,000 jobs because of a decline in the number of temporary workers on the 2010 Census.
The U.S. economy has gained nearly 600,000 private sector jobs this year, but the numbers have slowed in the last two months. The private sector was gaining roughly 200,000 private-sector jobs per month in March and April, but has only gained a total of 123,000 over the past two months.
The unemployment rate dipped in June to 9.5 percent, but the decrease is more a matter of how the rate is calculated than a decisive improvement in the economy. Fewer people were actively searching for jobs in June, leading to the decline in the unemployment rates.
The economy last month posted 7.9 million fewer jobs than in December 2007, when economists date the beginning of the recession. Many economists suggest the recession ended in the third quarter of 2009, but the official body that makes that determination has yet to announce an end.
The labor market weakness follows similarly tough reports on the nation’s housing and manufacturing markets. Consumer confidence numbers have declined, and stock markets have slumped. The Standard & Poor’s 500 is off roughly 16 percent since its 52-week high in April.
And despite controlling 2 of the 3 branches of federal government, Barry and Nancy and Harry would have us believe that it is all the fault of Republicans and those damned bitter clingers. Uh huh.....right.....
