Some perspective on the unemployment rate re: the "Obama's is doing enough" meme

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

The administration screwed up in anticipating where unemployment was going, predicting that we wouldn't crack 8%.

If policies crafted with an expectation of a ceiling of 8% are "enough" for a real-world environment of 10% it would be quite a coincidence.

This does not mean that Obama should be impeached or have pies thrown at him. It means what it says... the administration has not done enough on unemployment because they couldn't have done enough on unemployment because they underestimated the extent of the problem.

I know this is controversial, but some feel that the fate of real people is more important than scripting Obama hagiographies.

And if people keep saying Obama is doing enough then he may actually start to believe it.

Expressing the message that he and Congress have not done enough is a vital component of a representative Democracy. When our leaders screw up the electorate is supposed to say, hey... do better!

The unemployed are real people, not chess pieces.

[Teaser]

1. "some feel that the fate of real people is more important than scripting Obama hagiographies."

fail

[chimpymustgo]

4. Jobs policy = FAIL.

[jonnyblitz]

5. HA, that was my most favorite comment in the whole article. nt

[twiceshy]

2. The Stimulus Package was misdirected

Most of this money (as far as I have read) went to state governments and infrastructure projects. The states used it to cushion the job losses to state and local government workers. The infrastructure projects put a very select and limited heavy construction segment to work in limited quantity.

Government workers and teachers have an important function, but add nothing to GDP and require a robust private sector to pay for their services. Roads and bridges are nice and facilitate travel to and from gainful employment.

The money spent should have gone to small and upcoming technical businesses who provide long-term employment - I don't think this has happened.

[tyne]

3. Actually...

It has been happening.

[uponit7771]

6. Yeap, Tesla motors and another electric car company got money along with Ford for green cars

[treestar]

7. Writing hagiographies would be no worse than this generalized criticism

Anyone can be accused of not doing enough about anything, as there is always something else that could be done. Your post is so vague too - what could he do that he has not done? And what might be his reasons for not doing these things? It's not kool aid drinking to ask these legit questions. Some seem to bash Obama just for the sake of bashing him.

Maybe he's not "doing enough" on climate change, either. That could potentially lead to far greater disaster. He's not "doing enough" to end Iraq or Afghanistan and people are dying there, not just collecting unemployment.

You'd be saying the same thing of FDR in 1934. Some people just ask for the impossible of others.