Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Obama Recovery... By the Numbers


3: The annual percentage growth in employment for foreign-born workers (illegal immigrants included) versus a 2.5 percent drop in employment for native-born Americans.

12: The percentage of newly minted lawyers who are unable to find employment, the highest since the 1990s.

14: The percentage of home loans in Florida that are being foreclosed upon.

23: The percentage of homes with "underwater" mortgages (more is owed in loans than the home is worth), despite HAMP, the first-time buyer tax credit, and dozens of other dubious, federal central-planning programs.

30: The percentage of people who have taken a loan out against their 401(k), a new record.

40: The median number of weeks of unemployment (i.e., the time it takes to get a job) -- an all-time high.

41: The average number of weeks it takes each unemployed American 55 or older to get a job, "the longest stretch on record."

43: The percentage of African-American males aged 18-29 who have full-time employment.

45: The percentage of unemployed Americans who have been jobless for six months or longer, the highest since the Great Depression.

63: The percentage of Nevada homes with "underwater" mortgages, a testament to the fine leadership of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).

111: The number of years since the United States experienced a housing price decline greater than that which has occurred since 2008, despite a variety of federal housing programs designed to assuage the crisis.

2002: The year that home prices have retreated to -- a post-crash low. Nationally, home prices have returned to 2002 levels; "Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas are ... markets where average home prices are now below their January 2000 level."

44 million: The number of Amerians who receive food stamps, a record high, representing 15 out of every 100 people living in the U.S.

$888 billion: the total amount of U.S. spending on welfare in a single year (2010), $266 billion more than the U.S. "spent on war in Iraq from the first 'shock and awe' attack in 2003 until Bush left office in January [2009]."

$6.4 trillion: The amount of debt President Obama will have added to America's tab in four years in office: "Obama inherited a national debt of $10.6-trillion. He will end his term with a national debt, give or take, of $17-trillion – a debt equal to 115 per cent of GDP."

Say, I've been out of town for a while. How are those Stimulus, HAMP, Cash-for-Clunkers, Weatherization, Green Jobs, Obamacare, "Banking Reform", drilling moratorium, First-Time Home-Buyer Credit, auto company takeovers and QE2 programs working out?


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