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Since you're unaware... three things:
1- Nearly 9 million jobs lost (more jobs lost than added since 2001)
2- Unemployment rate measurement (U3) revised to include unemployed and underemployed over a period of FIVE years (as opposed to, previously, two) for a more accurate picture of unemployment rate
3- The worst economic disaster since... the Great Depression.
That is what happened. It shouldn't take only democrats and progressive independents like myself to recognize that.
Government manipulation in the economy stalled it. It shouldn't take only followers of Austrian economics like myself to recognize that.
Government manipulation in the economy stalled it. It shouldn't take only followers of Austrian economics like myself to recognize that.
The economy stalled in late 2006. Who in the government, and how, was the economy being manipulating in 2006?
The stimulus, TARP, etc., were reactions to the economy falling off the cliff. Saying that "government manipulation in the economy stalled it," is like saying that the penicillin caused the infection.
If you are saying that government manipulation in general stalled the economy, then I only need to remind you of the violent boom and bust cycles prior to the Federal Reserve's existence. (see chart link) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...on_Ancient.svg
Driving up the prices of consumer goods via inflationary policies is not the solution to our economic woes.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell more than expected to 63.4 from a revised 72.0 in February. Economists expected a decline to 65.4, according to FactSet. A reading of 90 indicates a healthy economy. The index hasn’t approached that level since the recession began in December 2007. Inflation worries push consumer confidence lower - Washington Times
The greatest danger we face is falling wages, no one will be able to afford the products being produced. Raising the minimum wage would be the best thing we could do right now.
You are aware that your source is owned by the Unification Church of reverend sun Yung Moon (Moonies)
The greatest danger we face is falling wages, no one will be able to afford the products being produced. Raising the minimum wage would be the best thing we could do right now.
You are aware that your source is owned by the Unification Church of reverend sun Yung Moon (Moonies)
That source is a secondary source, but nice try.
The greatest threat that we face is lack of production due to high unemployment rates. However, you advocate for higher wages, which will lead to higher unemployment and higher prices.
The republican idea of stimulus and job growth has been tax cut, with major cuts implemented TWICE during and after the 2001 recession. Did it work better than Obama's stimulus which included cave-in to GOP demand for tax cuts (and 65% of the stimulus was tax cuts)?
To see that, considering that job growth is a trailing indicator, let us start six months after the end of recession and count the number of jobs added over 17 months (since we're at that point since 2007-09 recession):
Private Sector Jobs, Jun 2002: 108.824 million
Private Sector Jobs, Nov 2003: 108.611 million
Jobs Lost: -213K
Private Sector Jobs, Jan 2010: 106.793 million
Private Sector Jobs, May 2011: 108.916 million
Jobs Added: 2.123 million
With that perspective, I would say that Obama's stimulus has worked better. No?
Other than unabashed cherry-picking, is there any reason to carve out a period of time from June 2002 until November 2003?
The greatest threat that we face is lack of production due to high unemployment rates. However, you advocate for higher wages, which will lead to higher unemployment and higher prices.
How is this a recipe for success?
The greatest threat is wage deflation. Wages aren't rising due to high unemployment, which undermines any chance of inflation -- which we are not experiencing. The only areas of recent increases in prices have been in food and gasoline, which are volatile to begin with. Believe it or not, those items are relatively small expenditures for a family. Note, housing prices are dropping. This is why the CPI is a basket.
People's views of inflation are subjective. One notices the items that rose not the ones that fell.
A survey by the Pew Research Center in March showed that 28% of those polled ranked inflation as the most worrisome economic problem the nation faces, beating out the federal budget deficit (24%) and financing and the housing markets (10%). Only the job situation (34%) outranked inflation as the nation's biggest financial worry.
And inflation fears seem to be rising. The University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Survey shows that inflation expectations are at their highest since June 2009.
But most data don't confirm those worries. Consider the consumer price index, the government's main gauge of inflation. Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the prices of everything from eggs to autos. The CPI has risen just 2.9% in the 12 months ended in April.
...
As annoying as rising food and oil prices are, they're offset somewhat by falling prices in other areas, such as cellphones,
...
The big worry is whether the Federal Reserve's efforts to get the economy going will backfire and spark inflation. Essentially, the Fed has been trying to fight off the possibility of Depression-style deflation — a period of falling prices — by pumping money into the system.
Actually, mild wage deflation would help employment, which would help our economy. Why do you think that higher wages during a time of a recession is a good thing?
Quote:
Wages aren't rising due to high unemployment, which undermines any chance of inflation -- which we are not experiencing. The only areas of recent increases in prices have been in food and gasoline, which are volatile to begin with. Believe it or not, those items are relatively small expenditures for a family. Note, housing prices are dropping. This is why the CPI is a basket.
I know that the CPI is market basket of 80,000 goods and services. I know that gasoline and food prices are rising, but I have a different take on it than you. I believe, wholeheartedly, that these rising prices hurt people, especially in the lower income brackets. To say that food and fuel are relatively small expenditures to small is being ignorant, but perhaps you live in a nice gated and insular community.
Housing prices should drop. This is what happens when a bubble pops. Don't act surprised.
Whether I think rising wages are a good thing or not isn't important. It's not going to happen with high unemployment. Although, rising wages would yield higher consumption that would result in an improved economy.
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