Obamanomics Drags On America

GDP Growth Comes In Lower Than Forecast And Far Below What Obama Needs To Run A Campaign On His Record

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OBAMA’S FAILED POLICIES CONTINUE TO DRAG ON THE ECONOMY

In The First Quarter, The Economy Grew At An Anemic 2.2 Percent. “Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to the ‘advance’ estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2011, real GDP increased 3.0 percent.” (Press Release, “National Income And Product Accounts,” Bureau Of Economic Analysis, 4/27/12)

• In August 2009, The President’s Mid-Session Review Predicted Annual GDP Growth Of 6.0 Percent In 2012. (“Mid-Session Review, Budget Of The U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2010,” The White House, 8/25/09)

CNBC’s Steve Leisman: “2.2 Is Not Strong Enough.” LEISMAN: “2.2 is not strong enough here and we need to be doing like 2.8, or 3.0, and then I think we need to be doing like 3.5 is what the economy is clearly capable of without an inflation standpoint.” (CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” 4/27/12)

First Quarter Growth Came In At “A Slower Pace Than Expected” And Short Of The Level Needed “To Generate Enough Activity To Knock Down The Jobless Rate Significantly.” “The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter, a slower pace than expected, keeping the recovery on track but failing to generate enough activity to knock down the jobless rate significantly.” (Bill McGuire, “GDP Rose 2.2 Percent In First Quarter,” ABC News, 4/27/12)

• Economists Had Expected Growth In The Range Of 2.5 To 3.2 Percent. “This first estimate will be revised later, but economists in various surveys had expected gross domestic product growth – the output of all goods and services, from cars to electricity to manicures – at 2.5 percent to 3.2 percent annualized.” (Bill McGuire, “GDP Rose 2.2 Percent In First Quarter,” ABC News, 4/27/12)
• “The Gain Came In Below Expectations.” “The gain came in below expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast first-quarter GDP would increase at a 2.6% rate. In the final three months of 2011, the economy grew at a 3.0% rate.” (Eric Morath, “U.S. GDP Growth Slows,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/27/12)
• GDP Gains “Have Been Far Below The Usual Increases Coming Out Of A Deep Recession.” “The 2.2 percent increase in the economy in the first quarter marked the 11th consecutive quarter that the gross domestic product has expanded since the deep 2007-2009 recession ended in June 2009. But the gains have been far below the usual increases coming out of a deep recession.” (“GDP Growth Slows To 2.2% In First Quarter,” The Associated Press, 4/27/12)

“Commerce Said The Slowing Expansion ‘Primarily Reflected A Deceleration In Private Inventory Investment And A Downturn In Nonresidential Fixed Investment.'”“The gain came in below expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast first-quarter GDP would increase at a 2.6% rate. In the final three months of 2011, the economy grew at a 3.0% rate. Commerce said the slowing expansion ‘primarily reflected a deceleration in private inventory investment and a downturn in nonresidential fixed investment,’ a category that includes spending on structures, computers and industrial equipment.” (Eric Morath, “U.S. GDP Growth Slows,” The Wall Street Journal, 4/27/12)

ECONOMIC INDICATORS ARE ALL POINTING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

“Some Of The Same Spoilers That Interrupted The Recovery In 2010 And 2011 Have Emerged Again, Raising Fears That The Winter’s Economic Strength Might Dissipate In The Spring.” (Annie Lowrey, “Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter In The Spring,” The New York Times , 4/19/12)

• “The Economy Remains Fragile.” “Still, the breadth of the recent weakening of activity shows that the economy remains fragile, as is typical in the years following a financial crisis.” (Annie Lowrey, “Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter In The Spring,” The New York Times , 4/19/12)
• The Drop In The Unemployment Rate “Might Be Over, With Economic Growth Not Robust Enough For Employers To Continue Adding Jobs So Rapidly.” “But some domestic indicators have weakened in recent weeks as well. First, there are signs that the sharp decline in the unemployment rate – which fell to 8.2 percent in March from 8.9 percent in October – might be over, with economic growth not robust enough for employers to continue adding jobs so rapidly. In March, employers added just 120,000 new jobs, the fewest since November. The recent rise in new jobless claims has raised worries that the April report will also be disappointing, although some forecasters say the jobless-claims statistics have been affected by the timing of Easter.” (Annie Lowrey, “Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter In The Spring,” The New York Times , 4/19/12)

Oil Prices Have Increased, Employers “Remain Skittish,” Unemployment Claims Have Risen, And Stocks Have Fallen. “In the United States and elsewhere, high oil prices have sapped spending power. American employers remain skittish about hiring new workers, and new claims for unemployment insurance have risen. And stocks have declined.” (Annie Lowrey, “Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter In The Spring,” The New York Times , 4/19/12)

Incomes Are Falling

The Median Household Income Was $54,797.63 When Obama Took Office And $52,377.21 In The Final Quarter Of 2011. “Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, sent us his own quarterly calculations based on this source: President Obama took office in the first quarter of 2009, when median household income was $54,797.63. As of the last quarter of 2011, median household income was $52,377.21.” (Catherine Rampell, “Fact Check: Income Losses Under Obama,” The New York Times’ “Economix,” 4/23/12)

Jobs Are Going Overseas

Three-Fourths Of The Jobs Added In The Past Two Years By Thirty-Five Major U.S. Multinational Companies Were Overseas. “Thirty-five big U.S.-based multinational companies added jobs much faster than other U.S. employers in the past two years, but nearly three-fourths of those jobs were overseas, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.” (Scott Thurm, “U.S. Firms Add Jobs, But Mostly Overseas,” The Wall Street Journal , 4/26/12)

• The Companies Added 113,000 Jobs In America, But 333,000 Jobs Overseas.“Those companies, which include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., WMT +2.70% International Paper Co., Honeywell International Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., boosted their employment at home by 3.1%, or 113,000 jobs, between 2009 and 2011, the same rate of increase as the nation’s other employers. But they also added more than 333,000 jobs in their far-flung-and faster-growing- foreign operations.” (Scott Thurm, “U.S. Firms Add Jobs, But Mostly Overseas,” The Wall Street Journal , 4/26/12)
• “Seven Companies Reduced Their Workforces In The U.S., While Expanding Them Elsewhere.” “Of the 35 companies in the analysis, 16 added jobs both in the U.S. and abroad, while six of them cut both domestic and international jobs. Seven companies reduced their workforces in the U.S., while expanding them elsewhere. They include International Paper, which has restructured as Americans use less office paper and demand rises overseas.” (Scott Thurm, “U.S. Firms Add Jobs, But Mostly Overseas,” The Wall Street Journal , 4/26/12)

Food Stamp Usage Is Skyrocketing

45 Million People Received Food Stamps In 2011, A 70 Percent Increase From 2007, And Will Continue Growing Until 2014. “The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that 45 million people in 2011 received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a 70% increase from 2007. It said the number of people receiving the benefits, commonly known as food stamps, would continue growing until 2014.” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

• “The CBO Projected That One In Seven U.S. Residents Received Food Stamps Last Year.” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,”The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

“It Estimated That 34 Million People, Or 1 In 10 U.S. Residents, Would Receive SNAP Benefits In 2022.” “CBO said the number of people receiving benefits is expected to fall after 2014 because the economy will be improving. ‘Nevertheless, the number of people receiving SNAP benefits will remain high by historical standards,’ the agency said. It estimated that 34 million people, or 1 in 10 U.S. residents, would receive SNAP benefits in 2022 ‘and SNAP expenditures, at about $73 billion, will be among the highest of all non-health-related federal support programs for low-income households.'” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

Home Values Are Plummeting

“The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Of 20 Cities Recorded A Decline Of 3.5% From 12 Months Earlier. Home Prices Have Not Been This Low Since November 2002.” (Les Christie, “Home Prices Lowest Since 2002,” CNN Money, 4/24/12)

Home Prices Dropped In February For A Sixth Straight Month, “A Sign That Modest Sales Gains Haven’t Been Enough To Boost Prices.” “Home prices dropped in February in most major U.S. cities for a sixth straight month, a sign that modest sales gains haven’t been enough to boost prices.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “US Home Prices Drop For 6^thStraight Month,” The Associated Press, 4/24/12)

• New Home Sales Dropped 27% In The West And 20% In The Midwest.“March’s new-home sales were mixed across the country, when compared the prior month. Sales in the West fell 27.0% and sales in the Midwest dropped 20.0%. But sales in the Northeast grew 7.7% and sales in the South were up 3.1%.” (Mia Lamar, “Home Prices Decline,” The Wall Street Journal , 4/24/12)

“The Steady Price Declines Have Brought The Nationwide Index To Its Late 2002 Level.” ( Christopher S. Rugaber, “US Home Prices Drop For 6^th Straight Month,” The Associated Press, 4/24/12)

• “Home Prices Hit New Post-Bubble Lows In February, According To A Report Out Tuesday.” (Les Christie, “Home Prices Lowest Since 2002,” CNN Money , 4/24/12)

• “Home Prices Have Fallen 35 Percent Since The Housing Bust.” (Christopher S. Rugaber, “US Home Prices Drop For 6^th Straight Month,” The Associated Press, 4/24/12)