The Wall Street Journal cited that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a gain of 155,000. But US businesses added only 69,000---the fewest in one year.
As a result, the unemployment rate in America has now inched up to 8.2%. To make matters worse? The Labor Department made adjustments to the April jobs report. The revisions showed that 49,000 fewer jobs were actually created in April than was originally reported. This means that the unemployment rate actually rose last month to 8.2%.
It has been three years since the recession ended, is this what recovery feels like?
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This is obviously concerning news for the president. As I have mentioned before, since Franklin D. Roosevelt, no sitting president has won a second term when unemployment rates were above 8%.
How is the president reacting to these numbers? Alan Krueger, chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, released a statement, "It is important not to read too much into any one monthly report."
Krueger attempted to paint a pretty picture out of what is becoming an increasingly bleak reality. He went on to say, "The economy is growing, but it is not growing fast enough."
The White House's reaction is sort of like watching someone get smacked in the face and then with tears streaming down their face, they attempt to smile and say, "That didn't hurt."
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| Shawn Thew / European Pressphoto Agency |
The Obama team is going to do everything they can to remind voters that these numbers are not his fault and that it is simply a result of the mess that he inherited. Problem with that argument? Yes, Obama inherited a huge financial mess, but we hired him to fix it. He ran on the promise that he could and we believed him.
I can't help but ask, if Obama were running this time around for the presidency, would he be as forgiving of the sitting president as he is now asking us to be of him? If roles were somehow reversed, would Obama be commending these results? Would he be saying, "This feels like progress. We are moving 'forward.'" Would he be saying, "It is important not to read too much into any one monthly report."
One thing is certain, a candidate Obama would never be saying, "Let's give this guy a little more time."
The fact is, the president is doing his best. He has done his best to get unemployment down. He has done his best to artificially stimulate the economy. He has done his best to "unify" our country.
This is what his best provides.
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| Image from inc.com |
Should we be satisfied with 8.2% unemployment? Should we be satisfied that he spent $5 trillion to stimulate our economy and this is what we get for it?
According to the president, this is what recovery is supposed to feel like. I think we deserve better.
Americans must continue to ask ourselves, can we really afford to find out how this president will somehow make things better in the next four years?
As the November election grows increasingly closer, the president and his team are campaigning for more time and asking us to have confidence in the president's job performance. But with reports like today's Labor Report, showing a volatile and fragile economy in America, I think it might be time to say, "Sorry Mr. President, we are no longer buying into the notion that your job security is somehow more important than ours."
This is not just about the president's job security. This is not just about politics or election. It is about our livelihood. Our stability. Our future. Our lives.
We deserve more. Mitt Romney has the resume that shows he knows how to make weak things stronger. And his resume shows that he knows how to do it in a fiscally responsible way. He understands what is needed to make businesses thrive. He understands how to help a company so that it can hire more people. He spent 25+ years perfecting how to do it.
In short, I have no doubt that Mitt Romney will show us what a recovery should really feel like.
Go Mitt.
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