“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”…Albert Einstein
Fantasy
From the State of the Union speech, January 27, 2010, Fox News reports.
“Renewing Promise of ‘Change,’ Obama Tries to Reset Agenda”
“The road to restoring public confidence in Washington and in his ability to lead it starts Thursday in Tampa, where Obama will hold a town hall meeting and discuss federal investment in mass transit. The visit comes as the president vows to make the economy and jobs creation his top focus in 2010, while continuing to press ahead with his ambitious agenda on everything ranging from health care reform to education to immigration reform.”
“But the centerpiece of Obama’s address was jobs creation. The president called on Congress to pass a new jobs bill right away, telling the Senate to pass something similar to the bill passed by the House last year as its “first order of business.”
“People are out of work. They’re hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay,” Obama said.”
“Obama said the “devastation” of the economic crisis remains, but also defended his approach so far, saying his administration acted “immediately and aggressively” to stave off a “second depression.”
The president emphasized that conditions would be worse if his administration and Congress had not approved the stimulus package last February. He said the package has saved 2 million jobs.”
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/27/obama-deliver-state-union/
Reality
From Fox News, January 28, 2010.
“New Jobless Claims Drop Less Than Expected”
“WASHINGTON — The number of newly laid-off workers claiming unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, fresh evidence the job market remains a weak spot in the economic recovery.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 470,000. Analysts had expected a steeper drop to 450,000, according to Thomson Reuters.
The four week average, which smooths out volatility, rose for the second straight week to 456,250. The average had fallen for 19 straight weeks before starting to rise. That decline had given some analysts hope the economy would soon generate net job gains.
Two weeks ago, claims surged by 34,000 due to administrative backlogs left over from the holidays in the state agencies that process the claims, a Labor Department analyst said. Those delays may still be affecting the data, the analyst said.
That means the current figures could be artificially inflated. At the same time, it would also mean that the steep drop in claims in late December and early January was also exaggerated by the backlogs.”
“But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people who have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states, and are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.”
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/28/new-jobless-claims-drop-expected/
Citizen WElls 