Unemployment rate lowest in four year 7.7% - what was Boehner's response???

[malaise]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/speaker-boehner-on-unemployment-numbers-meh/article/2523666

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued the following statement in reaction to the Bureau of labor Statistics news that the official unemployment rate figure had fallen to 7.7 percent:

“Any job creation is positive news, but the fact is unemployment in America is still way above the levels the Obama White House projected when the trillion-dollar stimulus spending bill was enacted, and the federal government’s ongoing spending binge has resulted in a debt that exceeds the size of our entire economy. As 180 economists said in a statement this week, our spending-driven deficit threatens our economy, and responsible spending cuts are needed ‘to help put the country on a path to a balanced budget within ten years.’ And yet there’s news today that the president’s budget, which is already more than a month late, might slip to April.

Go Cheney yourself Boehner!!! Meh indeed

[JaneyVee]

1. Actually, his line about projected unemployment under stimulus is BS.

It was a projection from economists of unemployment before he took office and with an entirely different stimulus bill, one that didn't include republican input.

ETA: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jul/13/george-will/will-obama-said-stimulus-would-cap-unemployment-8-/

[JoePhilly]

5. AND ... the estimate for Jan 2009 UE was about ~6.5%, actual was ~7.7%

So the base line was about 1.2% higher than anyone thought.

Finally, UE was above 8% before the actual stimulus passed in Feb 2009.

No one ever points this out.

[indepat]

2. The fact that the Orange one is in Congress, much less the Speaker, speaks

volumes about the electorate in his district. What a bunch of sick puppies.

[spanone]

3. heheheheee.. missed that one!!!

great thinkin!

[Zax2me]

4. The problem is those dropping out of work force aid the decline.

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
And it is not baby boomers retiring as many suggest. In fact -
While the young and middle-aged have been hopping out of the labor pool, older Americans have been hopping in. The participation rate of people 55 and up has been increasing since the mid-1990s
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2012/10/13/labor-force-participation-under-obama/

So where do these no-longer-workers go?
Social Security Disability Insurance claims and collectors have skyrocketed.
132 billion dollar cost to the govt in 2012, DOUBLE the cost from just over 10 years ago.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-05-06/markets/31591497_1_unemployment-insurance-disability-benefits-social-security-disability-insurance
With lax screening procedures partially to blame
Lax Screening Procedures
Less-stringent screening procedures, more attractive benefits and a waning need for less-skilled workers have bolstered SSDI rolls.
In addition, “difficult-to-verify disorders,” including muscle pain and mental illness, more easily qualify for SSDI under program reforms, [David] Autor [economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology] wrote in a 2011 paper.

[hobbit709]

6. Hey Malaise, it's OT but have you seen this

Now we have the Jamaican sled team.

[malaise]

8. Yes indeed

[Fantastic Anarchist]

7. Trillion dollar stimulus?

Where was this stimulus? Is he talking about the $800 billion dollar stimulus; the one that was 40% tax cuts that really doesn't provide any stimulus? That one?

Boehner, quit being a dick.

[malaise]

9. He can't help himself