Author Topic: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"  (Read 151896 times)

Soul Crusher

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1425 on: January 10, 2014, 09:37:19 AM »
January 10, 2014
President Obama's Legacy Of Economic Failure
By Wayne Brough


Upon returning from the winter holidays, Congress launched the new year with a debate over raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits. President Obama is an enthusiastic supporter of these efforts, and no doubt, his upcoming State of the Union address will focus on the need for continued government interventions to shore up the lagging economy as well as addressing concerns over persistent income inequality.

Unfortunately, this debate is a distraction from the larger question of restoring economic growth and the abject failure of the administration's various stimulus programs to boost the economy. Rather than promoting economic prosperity and expanding the economic pie, the administration's economic legacy will be viewed as an attempt to divvy up the existing pie, while saddling the economy with massive debt levels and a rising tide of regulation that has stymied even the best of entrepreneurs seeking to expand economic output and create new jobs.

 



 
 
Since taking office in 2009, it has been tough sledding for the economy. Congress and the administration have increased the federal debt held by the public from $7.5 trillion to $11.2 trillion in 2012. To clarify, in terms of percent of gross domestic product-a measure of the nation's total output-the federal debt has grown from 54 percent of GDP in 2009 to 72 percent of GDP in 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And the Federal Reserve's aggressive quantitative easing has seen its assets increase by more than $3.7 trillion-much of it composed of questionable mortgage-backed securities. Yet Americans still face a palsied economy, with an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, roughly where it was in 2008. From "shovel ready" spending projects (including the Solyndra fiasco), to bailouts of banks and automakers, the administration's economic policies seem intent on recreating the world as it was before the financial collapse.

But economies are dynamic and the world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, thanks to advances in the technology sector. It remains unclear whether the Wall Street financial institutions that benefited handsomely from the bailouts are structured optimally for today's markets. Rather than simply restore these institutions under the overwhelming new Dodd-Frank regulatory regime, a better approach may have been to identify unnecessary distortions and government mandates that helped shape the financial institutions in the first place. And rather than lose billions in taxpayer dollars bailing out Chrysler, perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have markets and the bankruptcy courts address this failing company. For all the administration's efforts, Chrysler today is an Italian car company, an outcome that may have been achieved without federal intervention.

Rather than tinkering with the economy at the behest of companies with powerful political interests, Obama and Congress need to address the underlying structural impediments that limit opportunity and hamper job creation. But sector by sector, the administration appears bent on imposing the regulations that thwart entrepreneurial activity and economic growth. ObamaCare, the jewel of Obama presidency, is fraught with problems that have many small businesses questioning their ability to expand or provide health care for their employees. While the online rollout proved problematic, there is much more to this law that will pose problems for both consumers and businesses. From the insurance company bailouts baked into the law to the low enrollment numbers in the exchanges, ObamaCare poses a real fiscal challenge for America's taxpayers.

And the regulatory ramp-up doesn't stop there. The EPA is moving forward with aggressive new rules to reduce CO2 emissions at power plants, and a horde of federal agencies are working to rewrite regulations for the financial sector. To date, only 40 percent of the rules have been written, expanding the law from 848 pages to 13,789 pages. All told, Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute finds that federal agencies will issue 56 regulations for every law passed in 2013-at total of 3,659 rules and regulations.

Readers should not be distracted by the coming sideshow over income inequality. The larger question is developing a pro-growth policy agenda that promotes economic prosperity. This includes addressing the looming federal debt crisis and the challenge of expansionary entitlement programs. At the same time, regulatory burdens must be addressed, perhaps by imposing a regulatory budget that imposes a limit on the annual cost of regulations, or through a regulatory sunset program that forces agencies to identify and retire outdated but costly regulations. Ultimately, it is economic growth and entrepreneurs creating jobs that pull people out of poverty. The real challenge for Washington is to unleash these entrepreneurial forces rather than bicker over spending programs.

 


Wayne Brough, Ph.D is Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at FreedomWorks. 



AbrahamG

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1428 on: January 10, 2014, 07:46:17 PM »
Thought this thread finally died. You must have missed yourself.

Soul Crusher

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1429 on: January 10, 2014, 08:25:45 PM »
Thought this thread finally died. You must have missed yourself.

The Obama depression wont end until he leaves office

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1432 on: January 12, 2014, 08:02:11 PM »
Men Are 'On Strike' Throughout The U.S.: What Are The Causes? (More John Galt than Peter Pan?)
Forbes ^ | January 8, 2014 | Jerry Bowyer
Posted on January 12, 2014 9:48:42 PM EST by 2ndDivisionVet

I haven’t seen my copy of Men On Strike for several weeks. I kept careful watch on the book until I finished interviewing her, but after that it disappeared into the Bowyer-Family-Book-Sharing Vortex from which it has not yet emerged. That’s because it is an easy read about a topic which is interesting in both a social science theory way, and in a figuring out how to get by in the current world kind of way.

Men on Strike is pretty much what the title says it is, a book about how many men have decided not to participate in certain areas of life, most notably in school, family, and increasingly in work. What separates the work of Helen Smith, a psychologist who deals with men like the ones she writes about in her book, is the lack of scoldiness that you might find in the similar work of say Kay Hymowitz’ Manning Up. For Smith, the men are in large part acting rationally. They’re more John Galt than they are Peter Pan. The book could as well have been titled Andros Shrugged, if ancient Greek titles sold books.

---snip---

“Boys and young men are no less rational, or capable of adapting to incentives, than girls and young women are. They are, in fact, adapting very well to the incentives for female power and independence–which inevitably also serve as disincentives to male reliability and self-sacrifice.”(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1434 on: January 21, 2014, 12:04:26 PM »
Wall Street advisor: Actual unemployment is 37.2%, 'misery index' worst in 40 years
http://washingtonexaminer.com via Drudge ^  | JANUARY 21, 2014 AT 1:08 PM | By PAUL BEDARD

Posted on ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2014‎ ‎2‎:‎46‎:‎47‎ ‎PM by F15Eagle

Don't believe the happy talk coming out of the White House, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department when it comes to the real unemployment rate and the true “Misery Index.” Because, according to an influential Wall Street advisor, the figures are a fraud.

In a memo to clients provided to Secrets, David John Marotta calculates the actual unemployment rate of those not working at a sky-high 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government.

Marotta, who recently advised those worried about an imploding economy to get a gun, said that the government isn't being honest in how it calculates those out of the workforce or inflation, the two numbers used to get the Misery Index figure.

“The unemployment rate only describes people who are currently working or looking for work,” he said. That leaves out a ton more.

“Unemployment in its truest definition, meaning the portion of people who do not have any job, is 37.2 percent.


(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1435 on: January 22, 2014, 08:04:46 AM »

dario73

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1436 on: January 22, 2014, 08:18:17 AM »
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/record-20-households-food-stamps-2013


If there is a recovery - why are 20% on food stamps?

True.

Why keep extending unemployment benefits until the end of time?

Soul Crusher

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1437 on: January 22, 2014, 06:20:33 PM »
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101353168


Wave of store closings coming

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1438 on: January 22, 2014, 06:47:51 PM »
I think some idiot on Salon was cheering the fact that BestBuy is having issues. Where the hell are you going to buy a TV from if they go out.  Or some cable or some part for whatever electronic device. If you need it that day, where else are you going to go. We had a TV a few years ago go out so I ordered from Newegg..bedroom TV so it didn't have to be great. TV came broken...sent it back and went to Bestbuy. Online is fine if you don't need the crap now. Radio shack is worthless and the otehr department stores don't carry that kind of crap. Circuit city is gone. I suppose somebody will fill the void but how bad is BestBuy's business model that they can't make a go without any real competition. These stores all drove out the mom and pops..now they're going to. Good job Barry..we're becoming Peru.
L

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dario73

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1440 on: January 24, 2014, 07:24:31 AM »
But, but, but the economy is great.

Just look at the stock market. Record highs ::)

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1441 on: January 25, 2014, 06:09:57 AM »
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Walmart Will Lay Off 2,300 Sam’s Club Workers
New York Times ^ | 1/24/2014 | ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
Posted on January 25, 2014 8:45:37 AM EST by EBH

Walmart announced on Friday that about 2,300 Sam’s Club employees would be laid off, the latest in a drumbeat of retail job cuts to start off the new year.

Bill Durling, a Sam’s Club spokesman, said the layoffs would target a combination of salaried assistant managers and hourly employees. Certain positions, like telephone attendants, will be eliminated.

“We realized we had pretty much the same club structure whether a club had $50 million in revenue or $100 million in revenue,” Mr. Durling said of the distribution of assistant managers. “What we’re trying to do is balance our resources.”

Sam’s Club has about 116,000 employees, Mr. Durling said, and the job cuts will affect about four employees a store. Employees will have 60 paid days to find another job at the company. If they are not successful, they will be eligible for severance.

Sam’s Club will be opening at least 15 new stores over the course of the next fiscal year, which begins in February.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1442 on: January 29, 2014, 08:18:34 PM »
32 Statistics That Obama Neglected To Mention During The State Of The Union Address
TEC ^ | 01/29/2014 | Michael Snyder
Posted on January 29, 2014 10:27:06 PM EST by SeekAndFind

Show this article to anyone that believes that the economy has actually improved under Barack Obama. On Tuesday evening, Barack Obama once again attempted to convince all of us that things have gotten better while he has been in the White House. He quoted a few figures, used some flowery language and made a whole bunch of new promises. And even though he has failed to follow through on his promises time after time, millions upon millions of Americans continue to believe him. In fact, you can find a list of 82 unfulfilled promises from his previous State of the Union addresses right here. Soon we will have even more to add to that collection. At this point, you have to wonder if Obama even believes half the stuff that he is saying. Of course it is extremely unlikely that he is going to come out and admit that he has failed and that he has been lying to us this whole time, but without a doubt the gap between reality and what he is saying to the public is becoming ridiculously huge. To say that his credibility is "strained" would be a massive understatement. No, things have not been getting better in America. In fact, they continue to get even worse. The following are 32 statistics that Obama neglected to mention during the State of the Union address...

#1 According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, only 28 percent of all Americans believe that the country is moving in the right direction.

#2 In 2008, 53 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be "middle class". In 2014, only 44 percent of all Americans consider themselves to be "middle class".

#3 In 2008, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be "lower class". In 2014, an astounding 49 percent of them do.

#4 Right now there is approximately a billion square feet of vacant retail space in the United States.

#5 There are 46.5 million Americans that are living in poverty, and the poverty rate in America has been at 15 percent or above for 3 consecutive years. That is the first time that has happened since 1965.

#6 Barack Obama says that the unemployment rate has declined to 6.7 percent, but if the labor force participation rate was at the long-term average it would actually be approximately 11.5 percent, and it has stayed at about that level since the end of the last recession.

#7 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has gone from 32 million to 47 million.

#8 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the percentage of working age Americans that are actually working has declined from 60.6 percent to 58.6 percent.

#9 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen from 19.8 weeks to 37.1 weeks.

#10 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, social benefits as a percentage of real disposable income has risen from about 17 percent to nearly 21 percent.

#11 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen to levels that we have not seen in nearly two decades.

#12 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, median household income in the United States has fallen for five years in a row.

#13 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline has gone from $1.85 to $3.27.

#14 At the end of Barack Obama's first year in office, our yearly trade deficit with China was 226 billion dollars. Now it is over 300 billion dollars.

#15 Workers are taking home the smallest share of the income pie that has ever been recorded.

#16 Sadly, 1,687,000 fewer Americans have jobs today compared to exactly six years ago even though the population has grown significantly since then.

#17 One recent study found that about 60 percent of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession pay $13.83 or less an hour.

#18 Only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.

#19 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.

#20 The Obama years have been absolutely brutal for small businesses. According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...

Bush Sr.: 11.3

Clinton: 11.2

Bush Jr.: 10.8

Obama: 7.8

#21 You can still buy a house in the city of Detroit for just one dollar.

#22 The U.S. cattle herd is at a 61 year low.

#23 It is being projected that health insurance premiums for healthy 30-year-old men will rise by an average of 260 percent under Obamacare.

#24 According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49.2 percent of all Americans are receiving benefits from at least one government program each month.

#25 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent. Today, it is up to 101 percent.

#26 The U.S. national debt is on pace to more than double during the eight years of the Obama administration. In other words, under Barack Obama the U.S. government will accumulate more debt than it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.

#27 Right now, there are 1.2 million students that attend public schools in the United States that are homeless. That number has risen by 72 percent since the start of the last recession.

#28 Only 35 percent of all Americans say that they are better off financially than they were a year ago.

#29 Only 19 percent of all Americans believe that the job market is better than it was a year ago.

#30 According to a recent CNN poll, 70 percent of all Americans believe that "the economy is generally in poor shape".

#31 According to a recent Pew Research survey, only 19 percent of all Americans trust the government. Back in 1958, 73 percent of all Americans trusted the government.

#32 According to another poll that was recently released, 70 percent of all Americans do not have confidence that the government will "make progress on the important problems and issues facing the country in 2014."




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AbrahamG

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1446 on: February 17, 2014, 04:37:10 PM »
You need the affirmation, don't you? 

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