The Big Fail: This Is Why Obama Had A Press Conference

Far From “Doing Fine”, Americans Have Lost Faith In Obama’s Ability To Create Jobs And His Failed Policies Have Let Them Down

_____________________________________________________________________

President Obama: “It Is Absolutely Clear That The Economy Is Not Doing Fine, That’s The Reason I Had The Press Conference.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks After A Meeting With President Aquino Of The Philippines, Washington D.C., 6/8/12)

ACROSS-THE-BOARD AMERICANS ARE NOT “DOING FINE”

Jobs: Since President Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 552,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above Eight Percent For 40 Straight Months.(Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/1/12)

Unemployment: 23.2 Million Americans Are Either Unemployed, Underemployed Or Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/1/12)

Long-Term Unemployment: Since Obama Took Office, The Average Duration Of Unemployment Has Doubled From 19.8 Weeks To 39.7 Weeks. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/1/12)

Government Assistance: “49.1%: Percent Of The Population That Lives In A Household Where At Least One Member Received Some Type Of Government Benefit In The First Quarter Of 2011.” (Phil Izzo, “Number Of The Week: Half Of U.S. Lives In Household Getting Benefits,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 5/26/12)

Food Stamps: Since President Obama Took Office, The Number Of Americans Receiving Food Stamps Has Increased From 31.9 Million To A Record 46.4 Million, A 45 Percent Increase. (Department Of Agriculture, 5/1/12)

Poverty: 97.3 Million Americans Now Qualify As Low-Income And Another 49.1 Million Are In Poverty; Together, 146.4 Million Americans Or 48 Percent Of The Population.(Hope Yen, “Census Shows 1 In 2 People Are Poor Or Low-Income,” The Associated Press, 12/15/11)

Median Household Income: “Real Median Household Income In March Was Down $4,300 Since Obama Took Office In January 2009 …” (Mike Dorning, “Obama Fails To Stem Middle-Class Slide He Blamed On Bush,”Bloomberg, 4/30/12)

Food Prices: Since Obama Became President, The Monthly Price Of A Moderate-Cost Food Plan For A Family Of Four With Young Children Has Increased From $819.40 To $855.50. (“Official USDA Food Plans: Cost Of Food At Home At Four Levels, U.S. Average, January 2009,” USDA , 2/09; “Official USDA Food Plans: Cost Of Food At Home At Four Levels, U.S. Average, March 2012,” USDA, 4/12)

Gas Prices: Since Obama Took Office, The Average Price Per Gallon Of Gas Has Increased From $1.847 To $3.612. (“Gasoline And Diesel Fuel Update,” U.S. Energy And Information Administration, Accessed 5/12/12)

College Costs: Since President Obama Took Office, The Average Cost Of In-State Tuition At A Four Year College Has Risen From $6,585 To $8,244, A 25 Percent Increase. (“Trends In College Pricing 2009,” College Board, 2008; “Trends In College Pricing 2011,” College Board, 2011)

Health Care Premiums: Under Obama, The Cost Of Family Health Care Premiums Has Increased From $13,375 To $15,073. (Phil Galewitz And Andrew Villegas, “Workers Face Higher Costs For Employer-Sponsored Insurance,” Kaiser Health News, 9/15/09; Julie Appleby, “Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)

Home Values: “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)

Foreclosures: Currently 5.6 Million Residential Mortgages Are Either 30 Days Delinquent Or In Foreclosure. (Press Release, “April Month-End Data Shows Delinquencies Increase for the First Time in Nine Months ,” Lender Processing Services, 5/22/12)

Negative Equity: 31.4 Percent, Nearly One-Third Of All Residential Mortgages, Were Underwater In The First Quarter Of 2012. (Press Release, “Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More Than Homes’ Worth,” Zillow, 5/24/12)

OBAMA’S PREFERENCE FOR GIMMICKS AND EXCUSES HAS LEFT AMERICANS DISILLUSIONED WITH HIS LEADERSHIP

Focus Group Participants When Asked What Obama Had Accomplished After Three Years In Office “Responded With Blank Stares And Silence.” “They expressed disappointment with the job Obama has done so far on the economy. When asked about what accomplishments he’d achieved in his three years in office, many of the women responded with blank stares and silence. In Richmond, the question hung in the air for a while until finally one woman piped up, ‘His wife is encouraging us to eat healthy.’” (Amy Walter, “Can Romney Convince Walmart Moms He’s Up To The Job?” ABC News, 6/8/12)

56 Percent Of Voters Say Obama Has “Mostly Failed” At Creating New Jobs, While Just 32 Percent Say He Has “Mostly Succeeded.” (Fox News Poll, 907 RV, MoE 3%, 6/3 – 5/12)

58 Percent Of Americans Are Dissatisfied With The Opportunity For The Next Generation Of Americans To Live Better Than Their Parents, While Just 40 Percent Are Satisfied. (Gallup, 1,012 A, MoE 4%, 5/10-13/12)

Just Three Percent Of Americans Say They Are Hearing “Mostly Good” News About The Economy. (Pew Research Center Poll, 1,012A, MoE 3.6%, 5/31 – 6/3/12)

• 37 Percent Of Americans Say They Are Hearing “Mostly Bad” News About The Economy. “Currently 37% say they are hearing mostly bad news about the economy, up from 32% last month and the highest percentage expressing that view this year, according to a new survey conducted May 31-June 3 among 1,012 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.”( Pew Research Center Poll, 1,012A, MoE 3.6%, 5/31 – 6/3/12)

66 Percent Of Americans Say That Barack Obama Has Either Made Things “Worse” Or “Not Made Much Difference” With Regards To The Economic Downturn, While Just 31 Percent Say He Has Made Things “Better.” (NBC News/Wall Street Journal, 1000A, MoE 3.1%, 5/16-20/12)

• 72 Percent Of Americans Say That Barack Obama Has Either Made Things “Worse” Or “Not Made Much Difference” With Regards To The Housing Market, While Just 24 Percent Say He Has Made Things “Better.” (NBC News/Wall Street Journal, 1000A, MoE 3.1%, 5/16-20/12)
• 62 Percent Of Americans Say That Barack Obama Has Either Made Things “Worse” Or “Not Made Much Difference” With Regards To Looking Out For The Middle Class, While Just 38 Percent Say He Has Made Things “Better.”(NBC News/Wall Street Journal, 1000A, MoE 3.1%, 5/16-20/12)

THE LATEST JOBS REPORT WAS MORE PROOF THAT THE ECONOMY IS NOT “DOING FINE” AND THAT OBAMANOMICS ISN’T HELPING

It Doesn’t Feel Like The Economy Is Growing “For Millions Of Americans Who Are Unemployed Or Whose Wages Are Barely Rising.” “Though the economy is growing, it still doesn’t feel that way for millions of Americans who are unemployed or whose wages are barely rising. That could hurt President Obama’s re-election chances.” (Paul Davidson, Tim Mullaney and John Waggoner, “Why The U.S. Is Stuck In The Slow Lane,” USA Today, 6/3/12)

“The American Economy Is In Trouble Again.” “The American economy is in trouble again. Employers in the United States added only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year and not even close to what economists expected. For the first time since last June, the unemployment rate rose, to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent.” (Paul Wiseman, “Danger Sign For US Economy: job Growth Disappoints,” The Associated Press , 6/1/12)

• The Latest Job Numbers “Dealt A Strong Blow To President Barack Obama.”“‘This is horrible,’ said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, a consulting firm. The job figures, released Friday morning by the Labor Department, dealt a strong blow to President Barack Obama at the start of a general election campaign that will turn on the economy. They also deepened the pessimism of investors, who even before the report was released were worried about a debt crisis in Europe with no sign of solution and signs of a slowdown in the powerhouse economy of China.” (Paul Wiseman, “Danger Sign For US Economy: job Growth Disappoints,” The Associated Press , 6/1/12)

May’s Jobs Report “Undermined The Administration’s Contention That The Economy Is Truly On A Path To Recovery.” “The latest report — just 69,000 jobs were added last month — was far worse than forecasters had predicted and undermined the administration’s contention that the economy is truly on a path to recovery. Administration officials pointed out that the economy added jobs for the 27th consecutive month. The weakness of that response underscored the challenge facing the president as he seeks to convince voters that he has the tools and the political wherewithal to fix what still ails the economy.” (Dan Balz, “Jobs Numbers Remind Obama That He Must Do More Than Just Attack,” The Washington Post , 6/1/12)

“Even The White House Has Stopped Asserting That The Economy Is Healing Or Recovering.”“The anemic jobs report released on Friday was one thing. But here’s another worrisome economic indicator: Even the White House has stopped asserting that the economy is healing or recovering. Each month when the Labor Department releases its employment report, the White House quickly blasts out a statement in the name of Alan B. Krueger, chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.” (Peter Baker, “The White House Strikes ‘Recover’ From Response To Jobs Report,”The New York Times, 6/1/12)