Unemployment rate drops to 8.5%

[Synthaholic]

thank god for obama.

as he promised, his stimulus kept unemployment below eight per...

oops

Barack Obama's Stimulus Plan: Failing by Its Own Measure - TIME

Back in early January, when Barack Obama was still President-elect, two of his chief economic advisers — leading proponents of a stimulus bill — predicted that the passage of a large economic-aid package would boost the economy and keep the unemployment rate below 8%.

Two advisers were wrong? Stop the presses!

 

[Sundial]

The following link uses OMB and BLS numbers:
Unemployment Rates: Promised vs. Actual - By Veronique de Rugy - The Corner - National Review Online

In 2009, President Obama promised that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would “create or save” 3.5 millionover the next two years and that the unemployment rate would not rise above 8.5 percent. By the end of 2010, he promised, unemployment would have dropped to 7.25 percent. Furthermore, White House Economists forecast that without ARRA spending, the unemployment rate would increase from 7 percent to 8.8 percent.

The unemployment rate was 8.3% on Feb.1, 2009.

Obama never promised that the unemployment rate would not go above 8%, 8.5%, or any other number.

The National Review is lying to you. You should stop reading it, unless you prefer lies to truth.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/UNRATE.txt

 

[Oldstyle]

The following link uses OMB and BLS numbers:
Unemployment Rates: Promised vs. Actual - By Veronique de Rugy - The Corner - National Review Online

In 2009, President Obama promised that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would “create or save” 3.5 millionover the next two years and that the unemployment rate would not rise above 8.5 percent. By the end of 2010, he promised, unemployment would have dropped to 7.25 percent. Furthermore, White House Economists forecast that without ARRA spending, the unemployment rate would increase from 7 percent to 8.8 percent.

The unemployment rate was 8.3% on Feb.1, 2009.

Obama never promised that the unemployment rate would not go above 8%, 8.5%, or any other number.

The National Review is lying to you. You should stop reading it, unless you prefer lies to truth.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/UNRATE.txt

Quite frankly, Sundial...everytime one of you progressives tries to say that Obama never promised unemployment wouldn't go above a certain number because it was "Christina Romer" speaking FOR the White House and making that claim so that Obama would get his stimulus passed...you come off like looking idiotic.

Why not just admit that first of all the Obama Administration misjudged the severity of the problem in a MAJOR way...and that the stimulus plan that they concocted to deal with it was badly conceived and carried out?

 

[Chris]

Obama is the job creator.

 

[Oldstyle]

Chris, all your "charts" prove is that we had a rather bad recession and as usual we recovered from it. Trying to extrapolate that into Obama being the "job creator" means that you don't think there would have been a recovery except for Obama's actions. Sorry but this sitting President has been more of a hinderance to the recovery than he has been a help to it. His anti-business attitude and his pushing of job killing legislation like ObamaCare, Cap & Trade and Card Check dampened the recovery...it didn't speed it along.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Nothing "funny" about it at all...it's an acronym...PIGS stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain...countries with entitlement heavy societies that can't support themselves.

Liberals don't understand Markets or Economics and it's glaringly obvious every time they post.

Really now? Spain isn't in any real trouble.

You forgot the sarcasm tag. If you didn't forget and that is intentional then that's proof you have no idea about economy and markets.

 

[rightwinger]

why would we spin it?

It proves we were correct when we said "take the fear of the Bush Tax Cuts expiring out of the minds of the job creators and they will creat jobs"

No reason to spin it.

The Bush tax cuts have been in affect for ten years and we have lost four million jobs

You need to understand economics....for if you did you would ot have said what you just said.

We hit a recession. We do every 4-6 years...market saturation is usually the cause.

To make matters worse, the housing bubble burst....but that did not cause the recession....but it contributed to the loss of jobs...

During a recession...profits are down....sometimes losses are commonplace.
Jobs will be lost....and that hapopened

But the real issue was....after the recession ends...to get those employers to hire again.

With the threat of the Bush Tax Cuts expiring for them, they were hesitant to hire.....for they just spent 3 years of liottle demand..

The threat was alleviated......and they are starting to hire.

It is not rocket science.

Neither is realizing that the tax cuts did nothing to help employment over the last ten years and added over $2 trillion to the debt

The magic of trickle down does not work

 

[hortysir]

The stimulus worked.

Too bad the same can't be said about your prescription

 

[rightwinger]

Chris, all your "charts" prove is that we had a rather bad recession and as usual we recovered from it. Trying to extrapolate that into Obama being the "job creator" means that you don't think there would have been a recovery except for Obama's actions. Sorry but this sitting President has been more of a hinderance to the recovery than he has been a help to it. His anti-business attitude and his pushing of job killing legislation like ObamaCare, Cap & Trade and Card Check dampened the recovery...it didn't speed it along.

I guess they also prove that the reversal of fortune directly after the passing of Stimulus was a coincidence

 

[JimH52]

I can see the smoke filled GOP stategy sessions now. There will be wringing of hands and heads bowed as the GOP attemps to either stop the economic process dead in its tracks or come up with some way of taking credit for the jobs. I would think they will try to do a little of both.

why would the GOP attempt to stop the economic process? The GOP said for 2 years that the best way to let the economy recover is to take the fear out of the heads of the job creators and let them know the tax cuts to them will be extended.....certainly the job creators did not want to have to worry about a larger tax bill on the heels of several years of small gains or losses...

So finally, Obama listened......and the results proved they were right.

All is good. Obama looks good and the GOP was right

You have to be kidding. They held out on the continued payroll tax reduction until it became obvious that the public was catching on to their game. Then when they relented, the began grumbling that they wanted it to be longer. This after they were the ones who shot down the extended tax break in the first place. I am sure McConnell and Boner are mulling another wrench for the recovery.

 

[IndependntLogic]

why would we spin it?

It proves we were correct when we said "take the fear of the Bush Tax Cuts expiring out of the minds of the job creators and they will creat jobs"

No reason to spin it.

LOL! Cracks me up! There are still people gullible enough to think the tax thing was ever an issue.
So you think Obama was SO ALL POWERFUL that employers who experienced an increase in demand of product or services, wouldn't hire people because he existed! That's just hilarious! I'm hiring a new person in Apr / May. Guess what taxes has to do with that? Nothing. Guess what would happen if I get hit with a 2% bump? I would still hire based on that Supply / Demand thingy.
See junior, someday if you own or run a business, you'll understand that.

In the meantime, I'll turn on FOX so I can se what your opinions on today's events will be. For now, time to go back to work...

You have proven time and time again to be naive as it pertains to business and economics.

I refuse to spend my time dealing with your regurgitation of talking points that have no concrete backing...just theory.

Grow up...learn about what you debate about...then get back to me.

Got it. When a ConservaRepub is faced with facts, issues or someone who actually knows what they're talking about they can do only a few things: Dodge, change the subject, sling petty insults and make an excuse to Cut & Run. Congrats! You did several right there.

I own a business. You do not. I have run businesses and divisions ranging from small to hundreds of people. You have not. Thus you must sling some bs and run away. It's okay, I don't blame you. You're clueless on this.

Fact: Lowering taxes have never once in history, raised employment levels.
Fact: Whether a small business or major corporation, I (and all other executives) make hiring decisions based on demand, need for growth etc... Taxes are probably the single LEAST important factor in such decisions. If you had any experience at all, you would know this.
Fact: While taxes in the USA have been highest, unemployment has been lowest.

Danm Facts! Bane of those without them, everywhere!

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Oh, unemployment drops a bit. No thanks to Obama and his shovel ready arse shoveling projects that bilked us out of billions.

Because its only his fault when bad things happen.

 

[Oldstyle]

LOL! Cracks me up! There are still people gullible enough to think the tax thing was ever an issue.
So you think Obama was SO ALL POWERFUL that employers who experienced an increase in demand of product or services, wouldn't hire people because he existed! That's just hilarious! I'm hiring a new person in Apr / May. Guess what taxes has to do with that? Nothing. Guess what would happen if I get hit with a 2% bump? I would still hire based on that Supply / Demand thingy.
See junior, someday if you own or run a business, you'll understand that.

In the meantime, I'll turn on FOX so I can se what your opinions on today's events will be. For now, time to go back to work...

You have proven time and time again to be naive as it pertains to business and economics.

I refuse to spend my time dealing with your regurgitation of talking points that have no concrete backing...just theory.

Grow up...learn about what you debate about...then get back to me.

Got it. When a ConservaRepub is faced with facts, issues or someone who actually knows what they're talking about they can do only a few things: Dodge, change the subject, sling petty insults and make an excuse to Cut & Run. Congrats! You did several right there.

I own a business. You do not. I have run businesses and divisions ranging from small to hundreds of people. You have not. Thus you must sling some bs and run away. It's okay, I don't blame you. You're clueless on this.

Fact: Lowering taxes have never once in history, raised employment levels.
Fact: Whether a small business or major corporation, I (and all other executives) make hiring decisions based on demand, need for growth etc... Taxes are probably the single LEAST important factor in such decisions. If you had any experience at all, you would know this.
Fact: While taxes in the USA have been highest, unemployment has been lowest.

Danm Facts! Bane of those without them, everywhere!

Lowering taxes has never raised employment levels? You really want to go with that as a "fact"? You might want to do a little research first. I suggest looking at the Kennedy tax cuts and the resulting improvement in the economy to start with.

Taxes are the LEAST important factor in deciding where companies build factories? That's news to me, Independent. Businesses have been getting themselves sweetheart deals on taxes from different local, State and National governments since taxes were invented.

 

[IndependntLogic]

You have proven time and time again to be naive as it pertains to business and economics.

I refuse to spend my time dealing with your regurgitation of talking points that have no concrete backing...just theory.

Grow up...learn about what you debate about...then get back to me.

Got it. When a ConservaRepub is faced with facts, issues or someone who actually knows what they're talking about they can do only a few things: Dodge, change the subject, sling petty insults and make an excuse to Cut & Run. Congrats! You did several right there.

I own a business. You do not. I have run businesses and divisions ranging from small to hundreds of people. You have not. Thus you must sling some bs and run away. It's okay, I don't blame you. You're clueless on this.

Fact: Lowering taxes have never once in history, raised employment levels.
Fact: Whether a small business or major corporation, I (and all other executives) make hiring decisions based on demand, need for growth etc... Taxes are probably the single LEAST important factor in such decisions. If you had any experience at all, you would know this.
Fact: While taxes in the USA have been highest, unemployment has been lowest.

Danm Facts! Bane of those without them, everywhere!

Lowering taxes has never raised employment levels? You really want to go with that as a "fact"? You might want to do a little research first. I suggest looking at the Kennedy tax cuts and the resulting improvement in the economy to start with.

Taxes are the LEAST important factor in deciding where companies build factories? That's news to me, Independent. Businesses have been getting themselves sweetheart deals on taxes from different local, State and National governments since taxes were invented.

Do you know the difference between building a factory and hiring an employee? And even then hmmm. Let's see. What country has been one of the chief beneficiaries of outsourcing? India.

I said one of the least important factors in hiring. I'm hiring people within the next month or two. Why? Taxes? Nope. Demand. It's a simple concept really. I suggest Wikipedia! You can learn alllll about it!

But I get it. You're a ConservaRepubLitarian, right? Yeah that was tough to tell.

 

[JimH52]

Chris, all your "charts" prove is that we had a rather bad recession and as usual we recovered from it. Trying to extrapolate that into Obama being the "job creator" means that you don't think there would have been a recovery except for Obama's actions. Sorry but this sitting President has been more of a hinderance to the recovery than he has been a help to it. His anti-business attitude and his pushing of job killing legislation like ObamaCare, Cap & Trade and Card Check dampened the recovery...it didn't speed it along.

I guess they also prove that the reversal of fortune directly after the passing of Stimulus was a coincidence

If you look at that chart and summize anything other than jobs were actually created during Obama's watch, you are terribly slow or just a hopeless political hack. The GOP WISHES the names listed at the top of the chart were switched. But the chart shows the facts. Facts can be terribly disconcerning when they slap you in the face, huh?

Now the GOP is propping up another NEOCON to try and restore the Bush days.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Fact: Lowering taxes have never once in history, raised employment levels.

Actually, take a look at the Kennedy, Reagan and Bush 43, 2003 tax cuts. They caused booms. In my town they give tax breaks to movie companies and instantly you see movies being made all over the place with employees. The libs had a luxury tax on yachts that was repealed because it destroyed employment in the yacht building business. You give a tax break to cities and billions in bonds get sold to sustain road building etc all based on a tiny tax change.

Fact: Whether a small business or major corporation, I (and all other executives) make hiring decisions based on demand, need for growth etc... Taxes are probably the single LEAST important factor in such decisions.

didn't you see the 60 Minutes piece on drug manufacturing. To help Puerto Rico they gave drug manufacturing a tax break for moving and much of the manufacturing moved there. Cities compete with tax incentives to get huge new industries to move in. Its been in all the papers forever

If you had any experience at all, you would know this.
Fact: While taxes in the USA have been highest, unemployment has been lowest.

Danm Facts! Bane of those without them, everywhere!

if this is true why be so afraid to give your best example. What does your fear tell you?

 

[Zoom]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- American employers stepped up their hiring in December, bringing the unemployment rate down again.

The economy added 200,000 jobs in the month, the Labor Department reported Friday, closing out the year with 1.6 million jobs gained in 2011.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.5%, the lowest level since February 2009.

December jobs report: Hiring up, unemployment rate at 8.5% - Jan. 6, 2012

Without reading one damn response, let me guess, they are denying this fact. Its not because of Obama. Blah blah blah.

Here is the thing, as the economy improves, he is more and more secure in the fact that he will win again. Especially against that pathetic gop crowd.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Without reading one damn response, let me guess, they are denying this fact. Its not because of Obama. Blah blah blah.

well the fact is despite a growing population there are 5 million fewer looking for work today who did work before Obama. If you include them the real unemployment rate is around 16% Blah blah blah

Here is the thing, as the economy improves, he is more and more secure in the fact that he will win again.

where exactly is the evidence of improvement?? How can business improve when you have an anti business president?

Especially against that pathetic gop crowd.

how can they be pathetic if they all believe in freedom from big liberal government as our Founders did?

 

[Oldstyle]

Got it. When a ConservaRepub is faced with facts, issues or someone who actually knows what they're talking about they can do only a few things: Dodge, change the subject, sling petty insults and make an excuse to Cut & Run. Congrats! You did several right there.

I own a business. You do not. I have run businesses and divisions ranging from small to hundreds of people. You have not. Thus you must sling some bs and run away. It's okay, I don't blame you. You're clueless on this.

Fact: Lowering taxes have never once in history, raised employment levels.
Fact: Whether a small business or major corporation, I (and all other executives) make hiring decisions based on demand, need for growth etc... Taxes are probably the single LEAST important factor in such decisions. If you had any experience at all, you would know this.
Fact: While taxes in the USA have been highest, unemployment has been lowest.

Danm Facts! Bane of those without them, everywhere!

Lowering taxes has never raised employment levels? You really want to go with that as a "fact"? You might want to do a little research first. I suggest looking at the Kennedy tax cuts and the resulting improvement in the economy to start with.

Taxes are the LEAST important factor in deciding where companies build factories? That's news to me, Independent. Businesses have been getting themselves sweetheart deals on taxes from different local, State and National governments since taxes were invented.

Do you know the difference between building a factory and hiring an employee? And even then hmmm. Let's see. What country has been one of the chief beneficiaries of outsourcing? India.

I said one of the least important factors in hiring. I'm hiring people within the next month or two. Why? Taxes? Nope. Demand. It's a simple concept really. I suggest Wikipedia! You can learn alllll about it!

But I get it. You're a ConservaRepubLitarian, right? Yeah that was tough to tell.

Yes, I'm a conservative...yes, I'm also a Republican and yes I'm a long time businessman. I'm quite aware of the difference between building a factory and hiring an employee and you're right that taxes make very little difference is you're hiring one or two people. It's when you're looking to expand a business and hire hundreds if not thousands of people that WHERE you do that expansion makes all the difference in the world. That goes for what city or town it's in...the State it's in and without question the country it's in. If you want me to build a factory in your town or State or country as opposed to someone else's then I'm going to ask for something in return in regards to the tax I pay. I'm not looking for a payoff...I'm simply going to try and make the best deal that I can for my company because that's what I get paid to do. Now you COULD raise the taxes in your city, State or country but if you think that's going to help your case attracting new business and creating jobs then I think you're showing a high level of naivete. Quite simply if someone else gives me a better offer? I'm probably going to build my factory THERE and that's where the new jobs will be created.

And don't send people to Wikipedia...it's terrible source material.

 

[Middleoftheroad]

Lowering taxes has never raised employment levels? You really want to go with that as a "fact"? You might want to do a little research first. I suggest looking at the Kennedy tax cuts and the resulting improvement in the economy to start with.

Taxes are the LEAST important factor in deciding where companies build factories? That's news to me, Independent. Businesses have been getting themselves sweetheart deals on taxes from different local, State and National governments since taxes were invented.

Do you know the difference between building a factory and hiring an employee? And even then hmmm. Let's see. What country has been one of the chief beneficiaries of outsourcing? India.

I said one of the least important factors in hiring. I'm hiring people within the next month or two. Why? Taxes? Nope. Demand. It's a simple concept really. I suggest Wikipedia! You can learn alllll about it!

But I get it. You're a ConservaRepubLitarian, right? Yeah that was tough to tell.

Yes, I'm a conservative...yes, I'm also a Republican and yes I'm a long time businessman. I'm quite aware of the difference between building a factory and hiring an employee and you're right that taxes make very little difference is you're hiring one or two people. It's when you're looking to expand a business and hire hundreds if not thousands of people that WHERE you do that expansion makes all the difference in the world. That goes for what city or town it's in...the State it's in and without question the country it's in. If you want me to build a factory in your town or State or country as opposed to someone else's then I'm going to ask for something in return in regards to the tax I pay. I'm not looking for a payoff...I'm simply going to try and make the best deal that I can for my company because that's what I get paid to do. Now you COULD raise the taxes in your city, State or country but if you think that's going to help your case attracting new business and creating jobs then I think you're showing a high level of naivete. Quite simply if someone else gives me a better offer? I'm probably going to build my factory THERE and that's where the new jobs will be created.

And don't send people to Wikipedia...it's terrible source material.

I see your point and that makes some sense for manufacturing, but not for the other 70% of the country that is in the service sector. When we are scouting for a new location, our top priorities are income per capita, number of competitors, and price of land. If those three factors fit, we ignore basically everything else.