National unemployment hits 10.2%

[Polk]

To those that blame Pres. Bush. Compare unemployment rates under Bush with under Obama. They nearly doubled under Obama.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1999 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.0
2000 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
2001 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7
2002 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.0
2003 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7
2004 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4
2005 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.8
2006 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4
2007 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.9
2008 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.8 7.2
Bush ends, Obama begins
2009 7.6 8.1 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.8 10.2

Who is to blame again?

7.6 to 10.2 is nearly doubled? You really suck at math.

 

[Toro]

To those that blame Pres. Bush. Compare unemployment rates under Bush with under Obama. They nearly doubled under Obama.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1999 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.0
2000 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
2001 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7
2002 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.0
2003 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7
2004 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4
2005 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.8
2006 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4
2007 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.9
2008 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.8 7.2
Bush ends, Obama begins
2009 7.6 8.1 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.8 10.2

Who is to blame again?

Unemployment under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1976 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.4 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.8
1977 7.5 7.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 7.2 6.9 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.4
1978 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.0
1979 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.0
1980 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.9 7.5 7.6 7.8 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.2
1981 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.9 8.3 8.5
1982 8.6 8.9 9.0 9.3 9.4 9.6 9.8 9.8 10.1 10.4 10.8 10.8
1983 10.4 10.4 10.3 10.2 10.1 10.1 9.4 9.5 9.2 8.8 8.5 8.3
1984 8.0 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.4 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.4 7.2 7.3

I guess based on those statistics, you would have said that Carter was a better President than Reagan!

Or, perhaps Reagan was dealt a bad hand when he came into office.

Depends on your partisan point of view, doesn't it?

 

[CMike]

I realize you have to use the democrat talking points to spin the Obama disaster.

But this is almost 30 years later we are discussing.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

It's hypocritical to only blame Bush or to only blame Obama. At this point they're both equally responsible for this mess, though neither are the prime culprits.

They are not equally responsible, though you are right to say that neither are the prime culprits. But if you are looking for culprits, this mess happened on Bush's watch. Obama is trying to clean it up. He'll be judged on whether or not he cleans it up properly. Nine months on the job versus eight years under Bush is hardly an indictment of Obama.

Unfortunately, most people on a political forum want to assign political reasons for things that happen, including for things when partisan politics is a minor player, like the financial crisis. Though the politicians contributed to it, the financial crisis happened primarily outside of the political arena.

Bush set us up for the bust in the first place along with the Federal Reserve, and when the bust happened he did all the wrong things. Obama has simply continued those Bush policies. If he had come into office and immediately started doing the right things then we would be far better off than we are, but he's simply compounded the problem. That's why I have no problem saying they're both equally to blame.

 

[Toro]

I realize you have to use the democrat talking points to spin the Obama disaster.

But this is almost 30 years later we are discussing.

Here is a free online course on economics. It would do you a world of wonders if you took it.

Free Online MIT Course Materials | Economics | MIT OpenCourseWare

 

[Toro]

Bush set us up for the bust in the first place along with the Federal Reserve, and when the bust happened he did all the wrong things. Obama has simply continued those Bush policies. If he had come into office and immediately started doing the right things then we would be far better off than we are, but he's simply compounded the problem. That's why I have no problem saying they're both equally to blame.

I think you are mixing up this crisis for the next crisis.

This crisis has nothing to do with Obama. But you are correct in that it appears little has changed with the new administration, and their policies could be setting us up for the next crisis. But that's down the road, and has little to do with what is going on now.

 

[CMike]

To those that blame Pres. Bush. Compare unemployment rates under Bush with under Obama. They nearly doubled under Obama.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1999 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.0
2000 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
2001 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7
2002 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.0
2003 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7
2004 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4
2005 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.8
2006 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4
2007 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.9
2008 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.8 7.2
Bush ends, Obama begins
2009 7.6 8.1 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.8 10.2

Who is to blame again?

Unemployment under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1976 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.4 7.6 7.8 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.8
1977 7.5 7.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 7.2 6.9 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.4
1978 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.0
1979 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.0
1980 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.9 7.5 7.6 7.8 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.2
1981 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.9 8.3 8.5
1982 8.6 8.9 9.0 9.3 9.4 9.6 9.8 9.8 10.1 10.4 10.8 10.8
1983 10.4 10.4 10.3 10.2 10.1 10.1 9.4 9.5 9.2 8.8 8.5 8.3
1984 8.0 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.4 7.2 7.5 7.5 7.3 7.4 7.2 7.3

I guess based on those statistics, you would have said that Carter was a better President than Reagan!

Or, perhaps Reagan was dealt a bad hand when he came into office.

Depends on your partisan point of view, doesn't it?

If you look at the vast majority of uemployment rates under Pres. Bush they were very good. It was only about the last two months were it was somewhat higher. Then under the Obama regime they went ballistic.

Also there is no real comparison because carter had double digit interest rates, double digit inflation, long gas lines, and high unemployment.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Bush set us up for the bust in the first place along with the Federal Reserve, and when the bust happened he did all the wrong things. Obama has simply continued those Bush policies. If he had come into office and immediately started doing the right things then we would be far better off than we are, but he's simply compounded the problem. That's why I have no problem saying they're both equally to blame.

I think you are mixing up this crisis for the next crisis.

This crisis has nothing to do with Obama. But you are correct in that it appears little has changed with the new administration, and their policies could be setting us up for the next crisis. But that's down the road, and has little to do with what is going on now.

I'd certainly agree with him setting us up for the next crisis, but neither has he done anything to help solve this crisis when it is in his power to do so. This makes him a part of the problem.

 

[Toro]

If you look at the vast majority of uemployment rates under Pres. Bush they were very good. It was only about the last two months were it was somewhat higher. Then under the Obama regime they went ballistic.

Also there is no real comparison because carter had double digit interest rates, double digit inflation, long gas lines, and high unemployment.

Right. Reagan was dealt a bad hand. Carter was also a dealt a bad hand because inflation began under Nixon, where the seeds were planted under LBJ. However, Reagan dealt with the problem better whereas Carter was incompetent. Carter did do something that ultimately solved the problem, which had nothing to do with him or Reagan, and that was appointing Paul Volcker as head of the Fed. Volcker is the one who broke the back of inflation, and set the stage for the next two decades of low inflation growth.

Today, Obama has been dealt a bad hand. The crisis today is much worse than it was when Reagan took office because Reagan never faced the near collapse of the financial system. History will judge how Obama handles this crisis, but that is far down the road.

 

[CMike]

If you look at the vast majority of uemployment rates under Pres. Bush they were very good. It was only about the last two months were it was somewhat higher. Then under the Obama regime they went ballistic.

Also there is no real comparison because carter had double digit interest rates, double digit inflation, long gas lines, and high unemployment.

Right. Reagan was dealt a bad hand. Carter was also a dealt a bad hand because inflation began under Nixon, where the seeds were planted under LBJ. However, Reagan dealt with the problem better whereas Carter was incompetent. Carter did do something that ultimately solved the problem, which had nothing to do with him or Reagan, and that was appointing Paul Volcker as head of the Fed. Volcker is the one who broke the back of inflation, and set the stage for the next two decades of low inflation growth.

Today, Obama has been dealt a bad hand. The crisis today is much worse than it was when Reagan took office because Reagan never faced the near collapse of the financial system. History will judge how Obama handles this crisis, but that is far down the road.

Obama is the bad hand.

He has been constantly working on measures that would strangle businesses, either the cap and trade, the government takeover, the huge tax increases. As a result businesses know they have to hunker down and save their money. Thus employees go bye bye.

If Obama actually wanted to do something good he would give across the board tax rate decreases to businesses. That would give them more money to survive and possibly grow.

However, Obama is a socialist idiot, he doesn't understand that this country's economic health is based on businesses and not government taxeover and controlling the private market.

 

[SerenityNow]

To the liberals the economy is all better though.

Great work Obama

I don't believe ANYONE thinks things are all better. People can see that the job situation is still grim. The only people who actually say things are better, are people who are actually asscociated with the administration. Which is always the case with any administration. When was the last time you saw a representative from any aministration say to any media; "Well, we really misread that didn't we? I guess we kinda fucked that up. Sorry." ? It just doesn't happen. They all say that things will get better, just give it time.

 

[jschuck12001]

To the liberals the economy is all better though.

Great work Obama

What a stupid ass post. I guess Palen and Mccain would have turned it around huh? You can thank your buddy Bush for the unemployment rate and just so you know its been high down here in Florida before Bush was even out of Office. There is nothing wrong with asking for more from the President but don't act like the loser conservatives actually have an answer to something that cannot be fixed immediately.

 

[namvet]

I blame Bush

Is there anything you DON'T blame Bush for?

his venereal disease

 

[jschuck12001]

To those that blame Pres. Bush. Compare unemployment rates under Bush with under Obama. They nearly doubled under Obama.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
1999 4.3 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.0
2000 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
2001 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7
2002 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.0
2003 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7
2004 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4
2005 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.8
2006 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4
2007 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.9
2008 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.8 7.2
Bush ends, Obama begins
2009 7.6 8.1 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.7 9.8 10.2

Who is to blame again?

Yes but the damage was done. You can be stupid enough to believe that Obama is the reason we are over 10.2%. The banking/mortgage crisis along with billion dollar monthly war debts and a stock market that plummeted to just over $6000 put us in a steady decline. There is no Republican, Independent, or Democratic candidate that would have stopped this, you can only hope to slow it down.

 

[Mike458877]

To the liberals the economy is all better though.

Great work Obama

Well Obama told us it would.

In fact he also explained why it is not his fault. lol

Boy are we in trouble with this guy!

Mike

 

[garyd]

No soggy it isn't Obama's or Bush's it harry and nancy's and they're dead set on making it worse even as both trail challengers.

 

[keee keee]

Hows all this hope and change working for you!!!! Good going Dingle Barry!!!! you didn't disappoint me this is what I expected from you and the Democrats from the beginning, NOTHING BUT INCOMPETENCE AND FAILURE!!!!! A rerun of the Carter Presidency!!!!

 

[Xenophon]

Change we can believe in.

It went from bad to worse, way to go barry you fucking half wit.

Wasted a trillion on the massive payoff called the 'stimulous,' wants another such payoff called 'cap & trade' and a third laughably called 'health care reform.'

The man is a either a moron or a blind ideolougue, there is no third possibility.

 

[namvet]

he's experimental. a prototype

 

[DiamondDave]

The loony tunes of the far right are warbling in chorus. Nothing but a bunch of boo birds run out of town because they screwed things up the last few yeas, and simply can't accept their responsiblity.

Tell us again what the unemployment rate was when Obama came into office? And what what was the deficit?

Not to mention what Obama SAID the rate would be at it's worst... and how higher taxes will actually help job creation...


And if they want a little primer on what actually creates jobs... I am sure that a few of us can actually explain that to them