Obama Refocuses on Economy with Jobs Push

(AP)  Under pressure from Republicans and an impatient public to fix the sputtering economy, President Obama is refocusing on this politically potent issue by talking job creation with business and labor leaders at the White House.

The White House has lacked a unified economic message in recent weeks, with its attention focused instead on health care and Mr. Obama's three-month review of the Afghanistan war. With unemployment in double digits for the first time in decades, Democratic lawmakers are suggesting a second economic stimulus aimed directly at job creation may be needed.

Administration officials are hoping Thursday's jobs forum, an Obama trip to Pennsylvania on Friday and a major economic speech on Tuesday will help counter Republican critics who contend the administration's economic recovery efforts have failed and its oversight of the $787 billion stimulus package has been inadequate.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, released a survey on Wednesday which may provide Mr. Obama some helpful evidence. The Fed found that the economic recovery had gained traction in the late fall as shoppers spent a bit more and factories bumped up production.

The Fed's latest snapshot of business barometers nationwide found that "economic conditions have generally improved" since the last report in late October.

At the jobs forum, Mr. Obama planned to defend his administration's handling of the economy and argue that it would be in far worse shape had Congress not passed the huge stimulus bill earlier this year. Under intense GOP attacks, public support for the stimulus effort has faded.

"I certainly hope it's more than a photo op," said the No. 2 House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. "All of us want to do anything we can to get Americans back to work. Past history has been, with this White House, that there's been a lot of pomp and ceremony with very little follow-through in terms of delivering results."

Administration officials said they don't expect major policy announcements from the president, Vice President Joe Biden or members of the Cabinet who were scheduled to be on hand.

"Increasing employment is everyone's responsibility, from government to businesses to households," Obama economic adviser Larry Summers said in advance of the forum. "The White House jobs forum will take stock of where we are on the implementation of the Recovery Act and explore new job creation measures, including infrastructure investment, incentives for small businesses, developing our green economy and promoting U.S. exports."

The nation's unemployment rate is 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983. Some 15.7 million Americans are out of work. The average jobless worker has been unemployed for more than six months. These sobering statistics spell potentially serious trouble for Democrats in next year's midterm elections.

The recession technically may be over, but analysts say many of the jobs lost in the downturn probably will not return and high unemployment is likely to persist.

[hungry1968-17]

by Empire-George December 3, 2009 1:53 PM EST
I didn't ask what the General said, I asked this guy what his personal opinion was.....do you seek out a General's comments, before you regret voting for someone ? this was a personal question, about his opinion or what specifically caused his "Regret", I wasn't asking for a general's assessment of dithering or not dithering.

who is the Penguin ?






Cheney - he looks like the penguin from the 1960's Batman TV series. All that he's missing is the monocle and the top hat.

[hungry1968-17]

by chevyhotrod December 3, 2009 1:34 PM EST
hungry,
We were talking about tax cuts increasing revenue. If you go back and look at the tax revenues for 2004, 05, 06 the revenue to the government actually increased, not decreased as you claim. What I posted was explaining how reducing the tax burden actually increases growth and thus increased tax revenue.







Now you're lying, presumably because you got caught looking woefully uninformed -- AGAIN. YOU SAID:


by chevyhotrod December 3, 2009 12:06 PM EST
Tax cuts do not add to the national debt, only government over spending.


Now you're trying to claim that the tax cuts "increased revenue"?!?!?!

If the revenue grew, then the national debt WOULD NOT have exploded - the revenue coming in would have offset the tax cuts, and any excess revenue would have decreased the debt - it wouldn't have caused it to soar.

You're clueless, and you end up guessing to make your point, rather than finding the facts FIRST, and relaying them here.

Bush's tax cuts added $2.5 TRILLION to the national debt. You're welcome for the free education -- AGAIN.

[krmopilci]

they are giving people what people want.most people are still living in the bubles,receiving decent paychecks,working not very hard and are not interested in anything "heavy".i am surprised that america does not have real intelectuals that would lead and promote positive stuff.if you go to any gym,everybody has one of those celebrity magazines in front,studying each detail and soaking it for copying it in its own life.i never saw anybody talking how gw bush and his administrations pulled a trick on american people in order to become super-rich.these guys have thrown a bite to greedy citizens-very affordable mortgages(that were affordable exactly until gwb left the white house),so that average greedy american can buy a huge house and get busy enjoying his own achievement and forgive various imperfections in the administration,that amounted to stealing anything that wasn't bolted to the floor.and when stealing was completed,they just left us with the broken economy,2 wars,double digit unemployment,...i am so disappointed how these people are shallow.they always thought that bush was stupid,but it is the other way around.

[jimmyc1955]

Wow - are you actually this ill informed and shallow yourself?? You want to believe in the stereo types like the vain and self involved in gyms as benchmarks of America?

You are so far from reality that it is obvious you are not American and you are grinding a ax of hatred and envy based on images you have seen on TV and stereo types propagated in the media.

GWB wasn't a good president but he didn't get rich nor did any of the others in that cabinet. If you can prove they are rich now please do so. Keep in mind that Clinton left the white house broke and is worth mega millions now so that isn't a Republican only thing.

The current administration spent almost 1 TRILLION on a package they called stimulus that was in fact pure old fashioned political pork for their buddies and pals. They gave chrysler to the unions - illegally by the way and threw billions of dollars away on fictitious congressional districts. Much of the "stimulus" money isn't even earmarked to be spent until late in 2011 or early 2012 - which isn't helping anything now. I have read the bill - it has no stimulus in it but a little bit of road work window dressing.

So why don't you try to figure out how to get most of the European economies out of double digit long term unemployement - like France and Sweden and leave us alone?

[krmopilci]

well,you americans are telling just about anybody what you think,your president or state secretary go to china or russia and are lecturing them about freedoms,while you evesdrop your citizens here,kill minorities and get set free by all white jurries,read about soldiers that went awol and were kept in a legal limbo for a year or longer,unless they accept to be deployed,even if they have severe ptsd,...but you don't want anybody to remind you.well,you'll have to hear it.the bloodsucking nature of this society needs to be changed.and i think that republicans and democrats are one same thing,it is dictatorship,only disguised by 2 identical candidates,so you can "choose" and think that you have democracy.if i could get sweedish or french green card,i would be on a plane today.your spinelessness is leading you into a collaps and national bankrupt,and that is the well deserved punishment for arrogant medicrees who are repeating like parrots brainwashing stories about freedom and greatness.in my state governer just gave stimulus money(1.1 billion) to state employees,not one single job was created.cops are happy,those lazy,cranky women that sit in the state offices are happy,teachers who do you know what to your kids are happy,who cares for the rest?millitary is spending 600 billion a year on themselves,and 10.000 talibans are beating the crpp out of them with ak-47s and a little explosive.that is your reality.hundreds of thousands of vets are spending this winter outside,eating expired food and begging at the intersections,one third of population will spend winter in trailers,and you still repeat that cold war parrot story.wake up and start doing what you should:cut the millitary budget down to 20 billion a year(so we don't have to borrow from china,arabs,...) on these conceited,self-adoring "patriots",bring manufacturing back and employ americans here,abolish bonuses,start paying the debt off and avoid wasting 50 billion a year just to chinese for interest,stop wasting billions on israel,pakistan,egypt,turkey,...do you understand that most of these college kids will get of the spring brake-sex-alcohol-drugs colleges with huge debt and a job in fast food industry?you will have huge number of baby boomers who expect average of $3.000 a month from social security for next 20-40 years,that you already have 50.000 invalids from these wars who will have to be financed for next 50-80 years?how many orphans that will be receiving government pensions for next 10-20 years?please,use your head,your paychecks will not last,houses and cars are heavilly owed for,education and health care are extremely expensive and for more and more people unavailable.this society has a diabetes and you continue to feed it with hamburgers and "freedom" fries.you go to sweden,norway,finland,germany and see their double digit unemployed receiving 500 euros/month,having free health care,getting free food(unexpired),public transportation.and i would understand if you were one of these super-rich and you react(they do not care,they enjoy private jets,...),but you have nothing that is not mortgaged,even your children.have a good day

[hungry1968-17]

by Empire-George December 3, 2009 1:03 PM EST

eboneeman38, do you mind if I ask you, what point or issue, drove you to eventually regret your vote ? (For example: spending, government takeovers, dithering on Afghanistan)?







Petraeus was asked about "dithering" and he said that the process was a well thought out, and carefully articulated process, and he thought that it took about as long as it should - it wasn't hurried or delayed.

I'll take Petraeus' assessment over the Penguin anytime.

[Empire-George]

I didn't ask what the General said, I asked this guy what his personal opinion was.....do you seek out a General's comments, before you regret voting for someone ? this was a personal question, about his opinion or what specifically caused his "Regret", I wasn't asking for a general's assessment of dithering or not dithering.

who is the Penguin ?

[hungry1968-17]

by chevyhotrod December 3, 2009 1:08 PM EST
Hungry,
CTI.org is a fabrication. Maybe you should use actual data from the IRS in terms of revenue.

This is a report on the Joint Economic Committee, of Congress of the United States JEC Report April 1996.







You're telling me to reference a post from 1996, regarding the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003? Ummm, okay......

By the way, it's not CTI, it's CTJ - as in Center for Tax Justice.

[chevyhotrod]

hungry,
We were talking about tax cuts increasing revenue. If you go back and look at the tax revenues for 2004, 05, 06 the revenue to the government actually increased, not decreased as you claim. What I posted was explaining how reducing the tax burden actually increases growth and thus increased tax revenue.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/323.html

"Are you blaming democrats for Michigan"

Who else would you blame? The same for California and New York. They spend way too much and tax their citizen way too much. We are taking the California model and expanding it to the entire US.

Why do you think their populations have decrease? People are leaving in droves.

President Obama was asked about this during a debate with Sen. Clinton by Charlie Gibson. View for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUfo-RxkXA8

[jimmyc1955]

chevyhotrod - Well said. In point of fact it is the wealthy that are leaving California and New York - in droves. Because they can - they do. What this means is that the tax burden on those left must rise higher than expected because they highest tax bracket is actually decreasing in income for the state as they raise taxes.

A quote from a wall street journal article:

Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University, we found that from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260067214828295.html

So hungry - keep soaking the rich - they leave. Ask France and the UK who tried it in the 70s and 80s. The left the country and took their money with them.

[hungry1968-17]

by Empire-George December 3, 2009 1:00 PM EST
WOW....I'm stunned.....Hungry agreed with me....once.....a miracle for the Christmas Holidays !!!

Now, I hope you remember this, when you claim there is no Liberal/Climate bias on the NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN networks.






I didn't say that.

I'm saying that I turn on NBC nightly news, and I get blasted with 10 minutes of Tiger Woods, and they pawn this BS off as journalism?

It's a good thing that Walter Cronkite died last summer because what passes for news these days, (Tiger Woods, Adam Lambert, Sarah Palin, the White House party crashers, etc, etc), would make him sick to his stomach.

Poor guy is probably rolling over in his grave as we speak.

[Empire-George]

Again, we agree...(amazing)....what qualifies as "news" nowadays, is not news, but celebrity tabloids....better suited for rags like National Inquirer....in addition, much of what is claimed to be News, is actually filtered editorial, not news.

[hungry1968-17]

by chevyhotrod December 3, 2009 12:58 PM EST

Michigan is and has been run by Democrats for 40 years and their still in the dark, much like you.







Are you blaming democrats for Michigan, like you blamed Jim Crow for being a racist democrat?!?!

ROFLMFAO!!!!

[jimmyc1955]

Yes - we are. I live in Pittsburgh run by Democrats for more than 60 years. The city has been in receivership for the last 4 and the mayors idea to ease the debt it to TAX COLLEGE STUDENTS and non-profit organization.

this is pure genius!! PA already has some of the highest in state tuition in the nation. Most of those students have already paid a state tax on the money they use to pay their tuition. Our mayor expects them to pay more!!

Guess what - they will go out of state where they can actually get lower tuition!!

And non-profits?? You mean your going to tax the very institutions that help feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and provide free medical care like Mercy Hospital????

That is the classic Democratic solution. Incidentally the city budget is bigger now than 20 years ago - with only about 70% of the population. That is what I call corruption and graft - and everybody in this city knows it - but the machine goes on.

[Empire-George]

by eboneeman38 December 3, 2009 12:54 PM EST
I am not a GOP or some teabagger, and I regret my vote. POTUS has never held a job, so how could he even possible know what people are feeling.
_________________

eboneeman38, do you mind if I ask you, what point or issue, drove you to eventually regret your vote ? (For example: spending, government takeovers, dithering on Afghanistan)?

[hungry1968-17]

by Empire-George December 3, 2009 12:40 PM EST
by hungry1968-17 December 3, 2009 12:37 PM EST

You said RICH PEOPLE, you didn't say "Ultra-Wealthy" or "Multi-Billionaires"

Rich people start businesses, it's just fact....face it...and who starts or owns small businesses ? rich people.






My friend owns a small cleaning business that does primarily businesses, and she has 10 employees.

Another friend is a mechanic that owns a shop, and he has 4 mechanics on his staff.

They ARE NOT "rich" by any means.




But according to you, they are a sham or a myth, because only the rich create jobs?

[Empire-George]

by hungry1968-17 December 3, 2009 1:02 PM EST

I'm sure you fault your friends from trying to "become rich", since you are ripe with class envy.

[jimmyc1955]

According to the tax code they are. Keep in mind their accululated wealth is calculated as not only income but assets. The friend who owns a garage, how much does that garage have invested in equipment and buildings?? How much is the gross income?? Because it is the top line they are taxed on - not the bottom.

Same as farmers - they are all "rich" by the governments definition since they farmland itself is usually worth a lot of money, and the equipment and outbuildings worth more still.

Your confused. You're under the dillusion that "rich" people live in large estates and ride in limo's. Those are Hollywood actors. Most "rich people" work hard, sacrifice and have earned their money. They don't live the "good life." So yes - the rich create jobs.

[hungry1968-17]

by Empire-George December 3, 2009 12:26 PM EST
They have massive majorities currently in all branches of government, and can't pass anything....what a failure....the most inept dictatorship I've seen....even blue dog democrats are running away from this commie as fast as possible.







The senate DOES NOT have a big enough majority to break the filibuster, which I said long ago is anti-American and should be eliminated.

There are 100 bills that are DEAD in the senate, all because the republicans are using the filibuster process to grind the government to a halt. And most Americans like you are too uninformed to realize that STOPPING EVERYTHING hurts the GOOD and BAD legislation.

But it's not like the republicans care about doing anything FOR America.

[jimmyc1955]

Ugh - yes it does. There are 60 members of the democratic caucus in the Senate - they can break a fillibuster - if they can keep the cats herded.

And frankly - your showing your party over nation affliation here. You have this irrational association with one party that allows you to portray the other party as evil. In fact BOTH parties are for themselves and not for you or the nation. That is the charter of a political party - to win - at all costs. Not to govern, not to lead but to win elections. If you persist in believing in some good/evil dichotomy then you will forever be the kind of "useful idiot" that Joe Stalin called FDR and US based progressives and communists.