Foreign Policy Blogs

US Economics: 'It's the Economy, Stupid!'

recession-grinder-cartton-07262009

James Carville will forever be remembered for coining this simple, yet elegant euphemism during former President Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. Not surprisingly, it still applies even today, although…I will be the first to admit that the economic stars in the Obama Administration don’t quite seem to grasp the concept quite as effectively as the Clinton campaign team did way back when.  Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!  It’s all about J-O-B-S!!  That’s why I found this little blurb in Mike Allen’s daily Playbook from Politico.com especially prescient.  Enjoy!

PUNDIT PREP — Ron Brownstein, in the new National Journal: ‘If the economy produces jobs over the next eight months at the same pace as it did over the past four months, the nation [under the Obama administration] will have created more jobs in 2010 alone than it did over the entire eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency. 

From February 2001, Bush’s first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, total U.S. nonfarm employment grew from 132.5 million to 133.5 million … That’s an increase, obviously, of just 1 million. From January through April of this year, the economy created 573,000 jobs. Over a full year, that projects to 1.72 million jobs. … Now the principal footnote: To compare job growth in 2010 with Bush’s record ignores the nearly 4 million jobs lost in Obama’s first year, during the freefall that began in Bush’s final months. That’s like ignoring a meteor strike. … Still, if the economy this year produces more than 1 million jobs — or, conceivably, more than 2 million — that will give Democrats more ammunition to argue that their agenda has started to turn the tide.’ 

A potent argument for keeping the reigns. I hope they get the message right for the Mid-term elections.

 

 

Source:  Politico.com

 

Author

Elison Elliott

Elison Elliott , a native of Belize, is a professional investment advisor for the Global Wealth and Invesment Management division of a major worldwide financial services firm. His experience in the global financial markets span over 18 years in both the public and private sectors. Elison is a graduate, cum laude, of the City College of New York (CUNY), and completed his Masters-level course requirements in the International Finance & Banking (IFB) program at Columbia University (SIPA). Elison lives in the northern suburbs of New York City. He is an avid student of sovereign risk, global economics and market trends, and enjoys writing, aviation, outdoor adventure, International travel, cultural exploration and world affairs.

Areas of Focus:
Market Trends; International Finance; Global Trade; Economics

Contact