Here is how that "fix" is working so far:
After several months of strong job growth, hiring slowed sharply in May, raising concerns once again about the underlying strength of the economic recovery.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the United States added 54,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, following an increase of 232,000 jobs in April. May’s job gain was about a third of what economists had been forecasting.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 9.1 percent from 9.0 percent in April.
“The economy clearly just hit a brick wall,” said Paul Ashworth, chief United States economist at Capital Economics. “It’s almost as if it came to a complete standstill.”
The dismal numbers may change the economic debate in Washington and potentially revive calls for the Federal Reserve to engage in another round of asset purchases, Mr. Ashworth said. Democrats and labor-oriented groups have also amplified their pleas for Congress to delay deficit-reduction measures.
“Living here in Washington, in the past few weeks there has been all this talk about deficits and the debt ceiling as though that were the biggest problem right now,” said Heather Boushey, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization. “My fervent hope is that this shocks policy makers into realizing the most urgent problem in front of us right now is jobs.”
More layoffs to come at the state and municipal levels, more cost-cutting in municipal, state and federal government, and a middle and working class that is being squeezed by stagnant wages, job uncertainty and higher food and energy costs.
Oh, and the housing market is tanking again.
Should be a fabulous recipe for an improved economy.
Heckuva job, Barack! Buying into the Randian deficit meme has really brought about a recovery.
And just wait until all those teachers get laid off at the end of year in states all across the nation.
Should really make for a "recovery summer"!
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