Schumer admits unemployment is atrocious, begs Bernanke for stimulus

Shameful performance by Obama and the democrats on the national jobs crisis. Schumer's resorted to begging the fed.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/sen.-...ulate-economy-before-november/article/2502356


Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., exhorted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to stimulate the economy before November through some form of quantitative easing or other monetary policy, which Bernanke said could create jobs.

“Despite two false starts, we’re having a much rougher time than we ever imagined getting unemployment down,” Schumer told the Senate Banking Committee. “So get to work, Mr. Chairman.” Schumer said Bernanke needed to stimulate the economy because Congress refuses — “maybe after November we will,” he opined.

“We will act in an apolitical, non-partisan manner to do what is necessary for the economy,” Bernanke replied. “We have said we are willing to take further action,” he added, saying “it’s very important that we see sustained improvement in the labor market.”

Before Schumer’s appeal, Bernanke praised the measures that he had previously undertaken to stimulate the economy.

“My own assessment is that quantitative easing and Operation Twist have been effective in supporting economic recovery,” Bernanke said, taking credit especially for launching the apparent economic recovery in 2009. “There’s also questions about side effects — risks that might be associated with their use, therefore they shouldn’t be used lightly,” he added, while saying that he would likely use them again if job growth remained “stuck in the mud.”

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., observing that Bernanke was “clearly considering” more quantitative easing, warned against the plan. “If we’re printing more money to buy more of our national debt,” he said, “we are diluting the value of our dollar over time.”

 

...and Obama hasn't improved it as promised

he's failed

OBLAMER

 

Obama's team promised under 6% with the stimulus

FAIL

 

looks like I struck a nerve with you

you admitted to the projection.

is unemployment above or below the projection?

*snort*

 

lol Obama's job council hasn't met in over 6 months.

and some of the members he appointed outsource jobs. Others won't endorse Obama

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78637.html

By JOSH GERSTEIN | 7/18/12 4:37 AM EDT

President Barack Obama’s Jobs Council hasn’t met publicly for six months, even as the issue of job creation dominates the 2012 election.

At this point, the hiatus — which reached the half-year mark Tuesday — might be less awkward than an official meeting, given the hornet’s nest of issues that could sting Obama and the council members if the private-sector panel gets together.

For starters, there’s the discomfort many business leaders may feel in appearing to embrace the president with his reelection bid in full swing.

(Also on POLITICO: Pelosi: Democrats should skip the convention)

Then, there’s the fact that some members of the commission have conspicuously declined to endorse him. And that Obama has conspicuously declined to endorse some of their recommendations. And that some of what Obama won’t endorse has been warmly embraced by Republicans, including likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

To cap it all off, several of the companies whose CEOs serve on the panel are involved to some extent in outsourcing — a fact that could undercut the ferocious attack Obama and his campaign are mounting on Romney over his alleged ties to the practice.

One former administration official said the current political atmosphere could be prompting the CEOs and other business leaders to lie low.

“The thing is supposed to be bipartisan, so a lot of times they don’t want to get into things that could be used by either side in the election,” said the former aide, who asked not to be named. “The businesspeople, for the most part, don’t want to get into the middle of political fighting.”

(PHOTOS: Obama over the years)

The last official meeting of the 26-member President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness took place Jan. 17 in the White House complex. Obama and a slew of other administration officials attended, including his then chief of staff, Bill Daley.

Obama named General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head the panel in January of last year as the president tried to mend his frayed relationship with the business community and highlight his commitment to job creation. Part of the council’s political value was to show Obama working closely with top business leaders on behalf of the American people. But the White House insisted that the council’s recommendations would lead to real action.

The panel held three “quarterly” sessions last year with Obama: in February, June and October.

“This has not been a show council. This has been a work council,” Obama declared during the January 2012 session, where the panel presented a report containing more than 60 recommendations aimed at stimulating job creation.

“I have been tracking implementation of your recommendations. And we’ve seen substantial progress across the board,” Obama added. “Hopefully, we’ve at least met your expectations in follow-through and implementation; what we haven’t seen is a bunch of white paper sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust.”

But the January meeting also exposed tensions.

Moments before Obama arrived, one of the board’s two labor leaders, Joseph Hansen of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, publicly abstained from the tax recommendations in the report. The other labor representative, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, skipped the meeting and issued a scathing three-page dissent.

“I disagree that reforming our regulatory system and reducing the statutory corporate tax rate are crucial elements of ‘competitiveness’ for the United States going forward, nor does empirical evidence support the claim that significant net new job creation would result from such ‘reforms,’” Trumka wrote.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78637.html#ixzz20z3pJyKN