Treasury Secretary Geithner David Gregory, Meet the Press : “In terms of the President’s stewardship of the economy – this is a success story?” Tim Geithner, Treasury Secretary : “…Absolutely. This President’s (economic) policies were remarkably successful.” Reality Source: Department of Labor unemployment rate data and Obama Administration projections. ### Read more

President Jobs at Start of Administration Jobs at End of Administration Net Change (All Figures in Millions) Hoover 31.3 (annual average for 1929) 23.6 (annual average for 1932) -7.7 Roosevelt 23.7 (annual average for 1933) 41.4 (April 1945) +17.7 Truman 41.4 (April 1945) 50.1 (January 1953) +8.7 Eisenhower 50.1 (January 1953) 53.7 (January 1961) +3.5 Kennedy 53.7 (January 1961) 57.3 (November 1963) +3.6 Johnson 57.3 (November 1963) 69.5 (January 1969) +12.2 Nixon 69.5 (January 1969) 78.6 (Augu... Read more

Joe Biden Quote Did Biden say it when the U.S. unemployment rate was…? Correct Answer “The latest reports from the job market show yet another disappointingly small increase in the number of Americans finding work, and the persistence of very troubling stagnation in wages. Something is wrong, this far into an economic recovery, when the job picture is this weak.” 4.6% or 8.3% Correct answer is 4.6%. Then-Senator Joe Biden gave this downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy on June 7, 2006, when t... Read more

Today, groups representing thousands of employers across the nation wrote a letter in support of the unemployment insurance reforms Republicans included in H.R. 3630, “The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act,” that help the unemployed get back into the workforce, promote state flexibility and avoid tax increases on employers. Currently, H.R. 3630 is pending in a conference committee charged with resolving differences between the House and Senate on this bill to extend the payroll tax ho... Read more

In today’s meeting of the Conferees for H.R. 3630, the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act,” Democrat Conferees spoke in opposition to the education provision in the House-passed bill. The provision requires those receiving unemployment insurance to make progress toward a GED if they have not graduated from high school, with appropriate exceptions like for older workers. Democrat Conferees opposed the requirement despite what the chart below shows - those with a higher education are bo... Read more

On January 24, 2012, the President said in his annual State of the Union Address: “This is a make or break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.” Throughout his address, the President outlined his ideas for “helping” the middle class. The words may sound familiar, but the promise rings hollow. This is especially true when you consider the current state of the economy, and the fact that three years ago, the Obama Administration said its 2009 sti... Read more

Last night President Obama had this to say about the importance of completing high school for teenagers: “We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.” The President’s call for more Americans to complete at least high school compliments a reform in H.R. 3630, the House-passed yearlong payrol... Read more

Then In a November 30, 2003 New York Times op-ed titled “The Unemployment Myth,” former Obama chief economist Austan Goolsbee argued that “the government has cooked the books…in order to reduce the unemployment rate.” How? By failing to count “the invisible unemployed” among the official unemployed. By not counting those who have stopped looking for work, including those who applied for government disability payments, Goolsbee maintained that the unemployment rate in 2003 – which officially peak... Read more

Today’s Fiscal Times features a round-up of a bipartisan group of economic, political and public policy experts who issued their 2012 report card on President Obama’s handling of the economy, giving the President an average grade of C-minus. The survey echoes the sentiment of the American people, almost 70 percent of whom saying they disapprove of the President’s handling of the economy. The unemployment rate has been stuck above 8 percent – the level the Administration said we would not exceed ... Read more

In January 2009, the President’s economic advisors projected that his trillion-dollar stimulus plan would keep unemployment from rising above 8 percent, and the unemployment rate would be 6.2 percent today. Instead, we’ve now had 34 consecutive months of unemployment above 8 percent, and the current unemployment rate is 8.6 percent. Going ahead, if jobs continue to be created at the November pace of 120,000 jobs per month, it will take 99 months – until 2016 – to recover jobs lost due to the rec... Read more