STILL WAITING FOR THAT “RECOVERY SUMMER:”http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2012/06/still-waiting-recovery-summer/735086
Two years ago today, the White House announced the start of what it called the “Recovery Summer.” This initiative was supposed to prove to the American people that stimulus projects were creating jobs.
If the administration had spent less time trying to justify the failed stimulus and more time on policies that work, the summer of 2012 might be the real recovery summer.
Instead, millions of Americans are still waiting for the economic rebound they were promised.
We’ve had 40 straight months with unemployment over 8 percent. More than 23 million Americans are unemployed or working less than they would like. Unemployed Americans now spend an average of nearly 40 weeks looking for work. That’s the equivalent of losing your job on New Year’s Day and not working again until October.
Meanwhile, President Obama recently offered his opinion that the private sector is doing fine.
Not so much.
I keep telling you We Are In The Second Great Depression- get it yet?
HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): The Hill Poll: Voters Fear US Could Slip Into A Double-Dip Recession. “A massive majority of likely voters fear America could be slipping into a second economic downturn just four years after the Great Recession, according to a new poll for The Hill. . . . Amid worrisome jobs numbers and the looming threat of a eurozone crisis, the survey found 75 percent of people were either very or somewhat worried the country is headed toward another recession.”http://thehill.com/polls/233125-the-hill-poll-voters-fear-us-could-slip-into-a-double-dip-recession
FRANK J. FLEMING: WHAT, ME WORRY? “Everyone is so gloomy about the future these days.”http://pjmedia.com/blog/what-is-everyone-so-worried-about/
HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Study: Long-term deficits are linked to 24 percent lower growth.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/study-long-term-deficits-are-linked-to-24-percent-lower-growth/2012/06/17/gJQAtYlLjV_blog.html
What’s the real harm of a massive government deficit? Carmen Reinhart, Vincent Reinhart, and Kenneth Rogoff find that high public debt is associated with a significantly lower level of GDP in the long run.
In a new paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, the researchers examined the historical incidence of high government debt levels in advanced economies since 1800, examining 26 different “debt overhang episodes” when public debt levels were above 90 percent for at least five years.
Yeah, the pie’s smaller. But the folks with “juice” get a bigger piece, and that’s what’s important.
Less Ottawa.
