Obama’s “Grim Numbers”

Under Obama, Americans Are Struggling With Higher Prices, Fewer Jobs, A Downward Spiraling Housing Market And Meager Growth
WHEN IT COMES TO THE OBAMA ECONOMY “THE NUMBERS ARE GRIM” AND WE’RE “NOT GROWING NEARLY FAST ENOUGH TO DENT UNEMPLOYMENT”

The New York Times: “The Grim Numbers Tell An Unavoidable Truth: The Economy Is Not Growing Nearly Fast Enough To Dent Unemployment.”(Editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

·       The New York Times: The “Surprisingly Weak” Economic Growth Was Supposed To “Prove Fleeting” But Has Remained Stuck At Anemic Levels. “A month ago, when an initial gauge of first-quarter economic growth came in surprisingly weak, many policy makers and economists expected the bad news to prove fleeting. But when revised data were released last week, the growth estimate remained stuck at an annual rate of 1.8 percent, compared with 3.1 percent at the end of last year.” (Editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

“The World's Largest Economy May Be Facing A Growth Problem.” “The world's largest economy may be facing a growth problem. After a disappointing first quarter, economists largely predicted the U.S. recovery would ramp back up as short-term disruptions such as higher gas prices, bad weather and supply problems in Japan subsided.” (Sara Murray And Jon Hilsenrath, “Economists Downgrade Prospects For Growth,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11)

Economic Forecasters Are Lowering Their Growth Projections For The Second Quarter. “A growing number of forecasters are downgrading their second-quarter growth predictions. JPMorgan Chase & Co. economists revised down their estimate to a 2.5% rate from 3%, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists cut theirs to 2% from 2.8%. Deutsche Bank cut its forecast to 3.2% from 3.7%.” (Sara Murray And Jon Hilsenrath, “Economists Downgrade Prospects For Growth,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11)

Recent Data “Paint A Picture Of An Economy Stuck In Low Gear” Which “Could Prove Troublesome” To Obama’s Reelection Hopes. “A series of troubling signs for the U.S. economy threatens to dash hopes that 2011 would be a year of robust recovery — and that could prove troublesome for President Barack Obama’s reelection chances.”The Obama team has long hoped that the president’s 2012 campaign would be underpinned by an economy that was clearly accelerating out of the Great Recession, showing strong growth and job creation. But recent economic data paint a picture of an economy stuck in low gear, held down by continued high personal debt, a moribund housing market, high food and gas prices, persistent weather disasters and widespread unease about what the future holds.” (Ben White, “Economy May Hurt Obama '12,” Politico, 5/31/11)

THE HOUSING MARKET HAS ENTERED A DOUBLE-DIP, DRAGGING DOWN HOME VALUES AND PUTTING A GROWING NUMBER OF HOMEOWNERS UNDERWATER

The Housing Market Is A “Sinkhole” For The Economy. “The sinkholes in the economy should be obvious. Most prominently, the housing market is still awful, and state and local government budgets are still a mess.” (Editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

“Stamp P/Case-Shiller Home-Price Data Indicated A Clear Double-Dip For Housing, As A Tax-Credit-Induced Bump Last Year Was Erased And National Prices Fell Back To Mid-2002 Levels.” (Phil Izzo, “A Look At Case-Shiller, By Metro Area (May Update),” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics”, 5/31/11)

• Watch Press Secretary Jay Carney Try To Spin Housing’s Double-Dip

Home Prices Have Fallen For The Eight Straight Months. “The prices of single-family homes in 20 major cities fell for the eighth straight month and confirmed that there is a double-dip in the housing market, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's.” (Greg Robb, “March Case-Shiller Shows Double-Dip In Home Prices,” MarketWatch, 5/31/11)

• Falling A Total Of 3.6 Percent In The Last Year. “Home prices fell a non-seasonally adjusted 0.8% in March. Prices have moved down 3.6% in the past year. Home prices declined in 18 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by Case-Shiller in March compared with February. Washington D.C. and Seattle were the only markets where home prices increased in March.” (Greg Robb, “March Case-Shiller Shows Double-Dip In Home Prices,” MarketWatch, 5/31/11)

Standard & Poor’s David Blitzer: "Home Prices Continue On Their Downward Spiral With No Relief In Sight." “‘This month's report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation,’ David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, said in a statement. ‘Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.’” (“'Double-Dip' in Housing Prices Even Worse Than Expected,” CNBC, 5/31/11)

·       Blitzer: “‘Everybody's Now Keeping Their Fingers Crossed For 2012 And Wondering Whether People Just Don't Want To Own Homes Anymore,’ He Said.”(“'Double-Dip' in Housing Prices Even Worse Than Expected,” CNBC, 5/31/11)

Distressed Home Sales Now Account For 37 Percent Of The Pre-Owned Housing Market. “The report comes on the heels of previous reports showing trouble in the housing market. According to the National Association of Realtors in May, previously owned homes fell 0.8 percent in April to a 5.05 million rate, with distressed sales accounting for 37 percent of the total.” (Ben Terris, “Housing Market Suffers Biggest Decline In 16 Months,” National Journal, 5/31/11)

RISING FOOD AND GAS PRICES ARE HURTING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AND KEEPING BUSINESSES FROM HIRING

“Americans Are Losing Faith That The Economy Will Keep Improving, According To A Monthly Survey.” (“Consumer Confidence Index Drops Unexpectedly To 6-Month Low In May; Gas, Job Worries Persist,” The Associated Press, 5/31/11)

• An Increase In Consumer Confidence Was Expected, But Sky High Gas Prices, “A Choppy Job Outlook” And A Double-Dipping Housing Market Have Rattled Consumers. “The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to a six-month low of 60.8 from a revised 66 in April, a sign of the toll that high gas prices, a choppy job outlook and a moribund housing market are taking on people’s psyches. Economists had expected an increase to 67.” (“Consumer Confidence Index Drops Unexpectedly To 6-Month Low In May; Gas, Job Worries Persist,” The Associated Press, 5/31/11)

The New York Times: “Stagnant Wages And Higher Prices For Gas And Food Are Squeezing Family Budgets, While Falling Home Equity Hurts Consumer Confidence. That Suggests More Bad News To Come.”(Editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

• “When Consumers Are Constrained, So Is Hiring, Because Without Customers, Employers Are Hard Pressed To Retain Workers Or Make New Hires” (Editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” The New York Times, 5/31/11)

Americans Are Especially Worried About The Lack Of Jobs. “‘Consumers are considerably more apprehensive about future business and labor market conditions as well as their income prospects,’ said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.” (“Consumer Confidence Index Drops Unexpectedly To 6-Month Low In May; Gas, Job Worries Persist,” The Associated Press, 5/31/11)

• And Americans Are Even More Pessimistic About The Next Six Months. “Consumers’ opinion about current conditions declined only slightly. Their expectations for the next six months fell more. The number of people expecting jobs to grow in the next six months declined, and the number of people expecting fewer jobs during the same period increased.” (“Consumer Confidence Index Drops Unexpectedly To 6-Month Low In May; Gas, Job Worries Persist,” The Associated Press, 5/31/11)

THE TOLL OF OBAMA’S FAILURES ARE WEIGHING ON FAMILIES AS THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS ON FOOD STAMPS RISES IN EVERY STATE

“The Number Of People On Food Stamps Rose In Every State.” (Sara Murray, “Share Of Population On Food Stamps Grows In Most States,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11)

In The Past Year, The Share Of Americans On Food Stamps Has Increased In Almost Every State. “The share of residents turning to food stamps has risen in nearly every state nationwide in the past year even as unemployment has moderated.” (Sara Murray, “Share Of Population On Food Stamps Grows In Most States,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11)

44.6 Million Americans Are Receiving Food Stamps, Up 11 Percent From March 2010. “Nearly 44.6 million received food stamps in March, up more than 11% from the same time a year ago, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.” (Sara Murray, “Share Of Population On Food Stamps Grows In Most States,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11)

Totaling 14.4 Percent Of Americans. “Some 14.4% of Americans relied on food stamps in March, up 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier.” (Sara Murray, “Share Of Population On Food Stamps Grows In Most States,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/11

Source: Republican National Committee Research, www.gop.com