Senator Claire McCaskill (D) ushers in the new era of bipartisanship in the United States Senate:

Claire McCaskill ‏@clairecmc

Gimme a break.After fighting every measure that has allowed our economy to recover Senator McConnell has nerve to claim credit. 4:52 PM – 7 Jan 2015

We told you so.  

Previously:

Bureau of Labor Statistics – June jobs report (July 3, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): the talking points must have arrived late (July 10, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): doubling down on the spin (July 12, 2014)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) posted another “bon mot” on the economy via Twitter today:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Not what you want to be reading with your morning coffee [….] 6:54 AM – 12 Jul 2014

It was accompanied by an illustration with a representation of a New York Times with a byline for Bunyamin [sic] Applebaum, a cup of coffee, a desk top computer (and assorted paraphernalia), and (maybe) some sort of tablet device on a table top off some sort.

Uh, if someone has a tablet, a desktop computer, and a cup of coffee at a desk do you think they’ll be reading an analog version of the newspaper at the same desk? Or would they probably access it on line? Just asking.

There was a response from a constituent a few hours later:

Bob Yates ‏@OldDrum

@RepHartzler Why post photos that are lies? There is no Bunyamin Applebaum at the NY Times. Binyamin A. wrote no story like this 7/11. 9:07 AM – 12 Jul 2014

Representative Hartzler (r) responded in turn:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

@OldDrum [article link] 10:10 AM – 12 Jul 2014

Well, yes there is a Binyamin Appelbaum who is a reporter at the New York Times. And the article was actually dated June 11, 2014. Uh, that was a month ago. Maybe Representative Hartzler (r) still uses dial-up on a 1200 baud modem.

The punch line? Part of the caption for the Associated Press photo accompanying the New York Times article:

“…Some economists say the decline in government spending has hurt the recovery…”

Think about that for a second. Representative Hartzler (r) is utilizing a month old article in the New York Times to assist her in spinning criticism of the current state of the economy, while missing the photo caption in the same article which indicates that a probable contributor to that problem is the implementation of her party’s obstructionist ideology in Congress. Sweet.

Now that’s real chutzpah.  

Previously:

Bureau of Labor Statistics – June jobs report (July 3, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): the talking points must have arrived late (July 10, 2014)

Yesterday Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) continued to offer talking points on the state of the economy via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler

My definition of “recovery” is way different then that of the President’s [….] 6:34 AM – 11 Jul 2014

As usual, she received prompt responses:

Leftslant ‏@Leftslant

@RepHartzler #gop definition of “work” is not passing anything or working with anyone ever. You have a credibility problem. 6:39 AM – 11 Jul 2014

tinyterror ‏@thetiny_terror

.@RepHartzler That he continued to work on it while GOP continues to block it? Yep, definitely different. 6:44 AM – 11 Jul 2014

Social media rules.

Today on Twitter, from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler

New #GDP numbers show the sharpest decline since 2009. (cc: @WhiteHouse) [….] 6:55 AM – 25 Jun 2014

And a reply:

Cody Welton ‏@acoupstick

@RepHartzler @WhiteHouse check PMI numbers just released. Hack. 7:44 AM – 25 Jun 2014

That was rather adamant.

From the Institute for Supply Management:

FOR RELEASE: June 2, 2014

[….]

“The May PMI® registered 55.4† percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from April’s reading of 54.9 percent, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the 12th consecutive month. The New Orders Index registered 56.9† percent, an increase of 1.8 percentage points from the 55.1 percent reading in April, indicating growth in new orders for the 12th consecutive month. The Production Index registered 61.0† percent, 5.3 percentage points above the April reading of 55.7 percent. Employment grew for the 11th consecutive month, registering 52.8† percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points below April’s reading of 54.7 percent. The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 53.2† percent, 2.7 percentage points below the April reading of 55.9 percent. Comments from the panel reflect generally steady growth, but note some areas of concern regarding raw materials pricing and supply tightness and shortages.”

[….]

Don’t you just love social media?

Update:

Today’s GDP Number Is Not as Bad as it Sounds. But the Recovery Is Still Weak.

By Danny Vinik

….But this may be a case of bad news that’s not so bad-and maybe even good. The reason why consumer spending fell is that health care spending decreased by 1.4 percent in the first quarter. In fact, in the BEA’s second estimate, health care spending contributed 1.01 percent to the growth rate. Under the third estimate, it subtracted 0.16 percent. In other words, health care spending went from a strong contributor to GDP growth to a detractor from it-all in a quarter when millions of Americans gained health insurance….

And who keeps voting to repeal Obamacare? Just asking.

This wasn’t an “average” recession.

From Calculated Risk:

…. [The] graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms, compared to previous post WWII recessions. The dotted line is ex-Census hiring.

This shows the depth of the recent employment recession – worse than any other post-war recession – and the relatively slow recovery due to the lingering effects of the housing bust and financial crisis….

[emphasis added]

Today, via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

MT @gopconference: This “recovery” has produced 4mm fewer private sector jobs than the average post WWII recovery [….] 11:57 AM – 12 Jun 13

Uh, if you have a “recovery” there has to be an “economic downturn” to recover from, right? Who was responsible for that? Wait, wait, it’ll come to me…

Today, via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Glad the unemployment rate is 7.7%. Sad that the reason it’s so low is because people have given up and quit looking for a job. Need jobs! 6:35 AM – 7 Dec 12

“…the reason it’s so low is because people have given up and quit looking for a job…”

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics November report which was released this morning:

….The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed….

….The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 63.6 percent in November, offsetting an increase of the same amount in October. Total employment was about unchanged in November, following a combined increase of 1.3 million over the prior 2 months. The employment-population ratio, at 58.7 percent, changed little in November….

….The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 8.2 million in November, was little changed over the month….

….In November, 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier….

….Among the marginally attached, there were 979,000 discouraged workers in November, little changed from a year earlier….

[emphasis added]

And then there’s this one, from August 2012:

Vicky Hartzler ‏@VickyHartzler

Yesterday’s unemployment rate came out–8.3% making it now 41 months above 8%. Time to put a job creator in the White House! 9:34 AM – 4 Aug 12

Uh, that’s a significant improvement in four months despite republican obstructionism in Congress.

Today, via the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)

Seasonally adjusted

Nov. 2012 –  7.7%

Nov. 2011 – 8.7%

Not seasonally adjusted

Nov. 2012 –  7.4%

Nov. 2011 – 8.2%

Go figure.

You’d think the republicans would be happy that all those “takers” aren’t collecting unemployment…

“…I refuse to accept any approach that isn’t balanced. I am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me, making over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, aren’t asked to pay a dime more in taxes. [applause] I’m not going to do that…”

President Obama on growing the economy and reducing the deficit, November 9, 2012:

President Obama (D): Thank you, everybody. Thank you. [applause, cheers]  Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you. [applause] Thank you very much, everybody.  Everybody, please have a seat. [applause] Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, everybody. [voices: “Good afternoon.”][laughter] Now that, uh, those of us on the campaign trail have had a chance to get a little sleep [laughter], uh, it’s time to get back to work. And there is plenty of work to do.

As I said on Tuesday night, the American people voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in that spirit, I’ve invited leaders of both parties to the White House next week so we can start to build consensus around the challenges that we can only solve together. And I also intend to bring in business and labor and civic leaders from all across the country here to Washington, uh, to get their ideas and input as well.    

You know, at a time when our economy is still recovering from the great recession our top priority has to be jobs and growth. That’s the focus [applause] of the plan I talked about during the campaign. It’s a plan to reward small businesses and manufacturers that create jobs here not overseas. It’s a plan to give people the chance to get the education and training that businesses are looking for right now. It’s a plan to make sure this country is a global leader in research and technology and clean energy, which will attract new companies and high wage jobs to America. It’s a plan to put folks back to work, including our veterans, rebuilding our roads and our bridges, and other infrastructure. And it’s a plan to reduce our deficit in a balanced and responsible way.

Our work is made that much more urgent because at the end of this year we face a series of deadlines that require us to make major decisions about how to pay our deficit down, decisions that will have a huge impact on the economy and the middle class, both now and in the future. Last year, I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut a trillion dollars worth of spending that we just couldn’t afford. I intend to work with both parties to do more, and that includes making reforms that will bring down the cost of health care so we can strengthen programs like Medicaid and Medicare for the long haul.

But as I’ve said before, we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. If we’re serious about reducing the deficit we have to combine spending cuts with revenue, and that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes.[applause] That’s how we did it. That’s how we did it in the nineteen-nineties when Bill Clinton was President. That’s how we can reduce the deficit while still making the investments we need to build a strong middle class and a strong economy. That’s the only way we can still afford to train our workers, or help our kids pay for college, or make sure that good jobs in clean energy or high tech manufacturing don’t end up in countries like China.

Now, already, I’ve put forward a detailed plan that allows us to make these investments while reducing our deficit by four trillion dollars over the next decade. I want to be clear, I’m not wedded to every detail of my plan. I’m open to compromise. I’m open to new ideas. I’m committed to solving our fiscal challenges. But I refuse to accept any approach that isn’t balanced. I am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me, making over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, aren’t asked to pay a dime more in taxes. [applause] I’m not going to do that.

And I just want to point out this was a central question during the election. It was debated over and over again. And on Tuesday night we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach and that includes Democrats, independents, and a lot of Republicans across the country, as well as independent economists and budget experts. That’s how you reduce the deficit, with a balanced approach.  

So our job now is to get a majority in Congress to reflect the will of the American people. And I believe we can get that majority. I was encouraged to hear Speaker Boehner agree that tax revenue has to be part of this equation, so I look forward to hearing his ideas when I see him next week.

And let me make one final point that every American needs to hear. Right now, if Congress fails to come to an agreement on an overall deficit reduction package by the end of the year, everybody’s taxes will automatically go up on January first, everybody’s, including the ninety-eight percent of Americans who make less than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. And that makes no sense. It would be bad for the economy and would hit families that are already struggling to make ends meet.

Now, fortunately, we shouldn’t need long negotiations or drama to solve that part of the problem. While there may be disagreement in Congress over whether or not to raise taxes on folks making over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, nobody, not Republicans, not Democrats, want taxes to go up for folks making under two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. So let’s not wait. Even as we’re negotiating a broader deficit reduction package let’s extend the middle class tax cuts right now. [applause] Let’s do that right now.

That one step, that one step, would give millions of families, ninety-eight percent of Americans and ninety-seven percent of small businesses, the certainty that they need going into the new year. It would immediately take a huge chunk of the economic uncertainty off the table,and that will lead to new jobs and faster growth. Business will know that consumers, they’re not going to see a big tax increase. They’ll know that most small businesses won’t see a tax increase. And so, a lot of the uncertainty that you’re reading about, that will be removed. In fact, the Senate has already passed a bill doing exactly this, so all we need is action from the House. And I’ve got the pen ready to sign the bill right away. [applause] I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to do it.    

You know, the American people understand that we’re going to have differences and disagreements in the months to come. They get that. But on Tuesday they said loud and clear that they won’t tolerate dysfunction, they won’t tolerate politicians who view compromise as a dirty word, not when so many Americans are still out of work, not when so many families and small business owners are still struggling to pay the bills. What the American people are looking for is cooperation, they’re looking for consensus, they’re looking for common sense, most of all, they want action.  I intend to deliver for them in my second term, and I expect to find willing partners in both parties to make that happen. So let’s get to work.

Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  [applause]

Speaker John Boehner’s (r) idea is to implement Mitt Romney’s plan (as vague as that was/is). Oh, wait, elections have consequences you say?

According to Michael Mahoney, GOP establishment darling Ann Wagner, accompanied by GOP legislative has-been, Jim Talent, will hold a news conference to kick-off the Wagner general election campaign for the newly configured 2nd House district.  Mahoney’s preview speculates that they’ll give us a look at Wagner’s campaign strategy:

They’ll go after president Obama’s record on the economy. They’ll claim he “failed”, and cite the fact that the unemployment rate has been over 8% for 42 months. They’ll also promote the ‘America’s Comeback Team’. That’s the name the Romney campaign has rolled out after the weekend selection of Paul Ryan as Romney’s running mate.

In other words, they’ll not deviate from standard GOP slogans. It’s just so much easier to paint-by-numbers.

Touting the “come-back team” (because we would “come-back” to failed Bush administration policies?), while decrying the economy is, of course a predictable  approach, but not without risk, given what we now know about Paul Ryan’s role in planning the the last three and a half years of GOP congressional obstructionism, a course of action meant to do nothing more than damage the President by stalling the economic recovery – regardless of how much harm such a strategy would do to regular Americans.

Robert Draper in his recently published book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives, writes that Ryan was one of the GOP congressional leaders who attended a dinner in Jaunary of 2009 in which just this policy of obstructionism was explicitly planned:

During a lengthy discussion, the senior GOP members worked out a plan to repeatedly block Obama over the coming four years to try to ensure he would not be re-elected.

Draper is not alone. Greg Sargent comments on what he calls “juicy nuggets” in Michael Grunwald’s new book, The New New Deal, that:

… shed new light on the degree to which Republicans may have decided to deny Obama all cooperation for the explicit purpose of rendering his presidency a failure – making it easier for them to mount a political comback after their disastrous 2008 losses.

Sadly, what’s also predictable is the probable willingness of the traditional press to report GOP slogans without comment in preference to ferreting out the more complex truth. Although I’d love to be wrong, it’s not likely that any intrepid Missouri newsman will challenge Wagner and Talent to respond to the now well-substantiated allegations of orchestrated, intentional obstructionism and so take ownership of the slow-as-syrup economic recovery their Grand Old Party has engineered.

*Slightly edited.  

Previously: White House Urban Economic Forum – Kansas City – May 8, 2012 – photos (May 8, 2012)

The White House Business Council and the U.S. Small Business Administration hosted an Urban Economic Forum at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City yesterday.

Ari Matusiak, Executive Director of the White House Business Council speaking at the

White House Urban Economic Forum held at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City on May 8, 2012.

Excerpts from the introduction and panel sessions:

Ari Matusiak, Executive Director of the White House Business Council: ….This is the, uh, the sixth of the urban economic forums that we’re doing around the country. Uh, and just give you a little bit of a sense about why we’re here. Uh, when the President came to the office in January of two thousand and nine four million jobs had been lost in what has turned out to be the greatest recession since the Great Depression. Seven hundred fifty thousand jobs were being lost a month in January two thousand and nine. That’s the size of the city of Charlotte. We were moving toward, uh, a great depression and toward financial collapse. Um, and, uh, people were rightly very concerned. Um, that recession that ultimately, uh, lost eight million jobs, uh, across the country and across sectors, uh, was compounded by a, by years of under investment in our economy. Two thousand and two thousand and seven was the lowest rate of, rate of job growth since the nineteen, of any decade since the nineteen forties. And so when the recession came, uh, it was, it was both severe and deep seated. And so when the President came into office, um, he had to make, take a number of steps to stop the bleeding, uh, and to make sure that we were, uh, not going to go over a financial cliff and also to begin to lay the groundwork for our long term economic recovery….

….So the President’s strategy is pretty straightforward, it’s really a business strategy if you think about it. It’s about removing barriers to, uh, to companies so that they can be successful in all that they do. it’s about making critical investments in human and physical capital and our infrastructure so that we can move our goods and services so that we can compete in the global marketplace. And it’s about unleashing the potential of our own people, uh, unleashing the, the potential of our innovative capacity of our entrepreneurial spirit so that we continue to let America be America, the, the elements that really define, uh, who we are as a country….

….Entrepreneurs are the embodiment of the President’s approach to our long term economic competitiveness and success, and frankly, at the center of the administration’s strategy for spurring job creation across the country. The Kaufmann Foundation has done research to show that virtually all new jobs are created by high growth entrepreneurs. Uh, and so entrepreneurs are the mechanism by which we can add jobs back, uh, to the economy….

….For twenty-six straight months we’ve had, uh, consistent job growth. Four point two million jobs have been created, uh, and the first quarter of two thousand and twelve has been the strongest rate of job growth since, uh, two thousand and five….

Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration: ….When President Obama came into office he inherited, uh, an outrageous economic, uh, set of circumstances. And he knew that small businesses were going to be a major part of the economic recovery that had to happen. And they have been. Uh, over the last two years nearly five million new private sector jobs have been created and many of those have been created by small business owners. Two out of every three private sector jobs in our country are created by small businesses. Half of the folks working today are working for a small business….

Bob Litan, Vice President for Research and Policy, Kauffman Foundation

Bob Litan, Vice President for Research and Policy, Kauffman Foundation: …One of the interesting things we found out in our surveys is that we followed firms that were formed in two thousand four and we follow them through the last eight years. And it turns out four, firms that were formed in the middle of the last expansion, the most significant source of their funds was not friends and family, which is, which is the traditional source that people think, uh, finance small business, um, or new business. It was banks. But it was banks through credit cards and home equity loans. All right. So that’s gone. We haven’t done the survey on firms that were formed in two thousand ten because we haven’t started yet. But I could almost predict the answer. And we know that since that’s gone people have to rely on friends and family….

[in response to a question about the difficulty of someone with a previous criminal record getting a loan to start a small business]

….But I can tell you, I think as a country, and I’m not speaking as a Kauffman person now, I’m speaking as a citizen, I think this country ought to seriously think about decriminalizing a lot of our drug laws. [applause]….

Marie Johns: ….and in terms of the, uh, particularly the startups, the women owned businesses, I should make sure everybody knows that Congress passed a law over eleven years ago creating a set aside for women owned businesses in federal contracting. But it wasn’t until the Obama administration that the regulations were put in place, the rules were written in, to, to actually activate that program. So that program is up and running now….

Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States

Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States: ….Certainly, with the financial regulatory reform that was passed in July of two thousand ten, the Treasury, the Dodd Frank, has, uh, has [inaudible], has definitely made a difference, uh, in terms of trying to avoid some of the same pitfalls that led us up to the financial crisis. Uh, as with anything there is going to be a transition period. As with anything, as you know, with some of the provisions, for example the local rules are gonna take another two years, uh, for implementation, so it is gonna be, uh, some time. There is gonna be some time necessary in order to make sure that we do what we can to make it as, as, uh, smooth as possible to make sure that lending does occur again….

….Do I get to talk about corporate tax reform, is that what I get to talk about? Um, it’s, you know, another very hot issue in this administration, is corporate tax reform. Um, in February the administration released the President’s framework for reforming the U.S. business tax system to enhance American competitiveness. Um, this framework would essentially simplify the tax code, eliminate dozens of tax loopholes and subsidies, and incentivize job creation and investments here at home and lower the tax corporate rate while broadening the tax base. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. There’s still a lot of conversations happening. This obviously doesn’t happen in a vacuum. This is a partnership, not just within the executive branch of the administration, but ultimately with the legislative branch. And that is definitely a process underway, definitely something that the President and the Secretar
y of the Treasury, my boss, Secretary Geitner take very, very seriously….

….Question: ….And, uh, just want to be blunt, um, big problems call for big solutions. We’ve got unemployment and kind of a divide between the haves and have nots. Google’s work here in Kansas City has high, highlighted access to information, like the information we’re getting this morning. And for a whole group of people, they just don’t get this information….what is being done to get this information out to high schools, community colleges and other, you know, young people and students so that they know, hey, what does this mean for me as a young business person?….

Cameron Cushman, Senior Analyst, Kauffman Foundation

Cameron Cushman, Senior Analyst, Kauffman Foundation: ….Let me talk a little bit, too, about, uh, uh, immigration in particular. Uh, immigrants start firms at rates much higher than natives do. In two thousand ten the immigrant rate of entrepreneurial activity was point six two percent…but that was substantially higher than the, than the native born U.S. population which was just point two eight percent. So, in the urban core that, that tends to be where immigration, where immigrants settle, where people new to the, uh, new to the country and new to the economy settle. And they start rates, they start business at much higher rates than natives do. Um, and more than a quarter of the technology and engineering companies started in the United States between nineteen ninety-five and two thousand five had at least one key founder who was foreign born. In Silicon Valley, for instance, that rate is even higher. That rate’s about fifty percent. So, immigration, uh, and immigrants, new, new people in, in to the economy that is huge [inaudible] inertia. Uh, I like to quote…if you want people with ideas that are out of the box, you need people who are out of the box. And that’s what immigrants represent….