Rep. Brady: Obama Recovery ‘Dead Last’

President Barack Obama speaking at the Associated Press luncheon during the ASNE Convention.
AP
President Barack Obama speaking at the Associated Press luncheon during the ASNE Convention.

With a report showing lower-than-expected number of new jobs added to the U.S. economy last month, President Obamahas come to preside over a recovery that is “dead last in the modern era,” Texas Congressman Kevin Brady said Friday on CNBC.

“This is more than just a bad month or the worst quarter in two years. President Obama, which had ranked dead last in economic growth in the past seven years, with today’s job report also ranks dead last when it comes to job creation,” he said on “The Kudlow Report.”

“In fact, his growth is about half of what we’ve come to expect in these recessions,” he added. “And it pales, obviously, of course, to those of President Reagan, whose job growth was 2½ times greater at this same point.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said private payrolls increased 84,000, while the government lost 4,000 jobs, CNBC.com reported. Economists expected job growth of about 100,000 and the unemployment rate to be unchanged, though many had increased their forecasts based on some recent indicators.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2 percent.

Brady, vice chairman of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, released two charts showing figures for 10 recessionary periods beginning in 1949. (Data from the Great Depression are not included.)

The first is the percent change of private sector job growth 28 months after a cycle low, with an average of prior recessions at 8 percent. He cites Obama’s track record from February 2010, with a growth of 4.1 percent.

The second chart shows an average real GDP growth of 13.8 percent over the 11 quarters following the end of each recession. The data during Obama’s presidency are calculated from the second quarter of 2009, clocking in at 6.7 percent GDP growth.

The news release cites data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and JEC Republican staff calculations.

Brady also criticized the 4 million new jobs Obama claims to have created.

“Well, he’s telling about half the story,” he said. “It’s unfortunate we’re still more than 4 million jobs short of where this recession began, 41 straight months of unemployment above 8 percent. That’s a post-World War II record.”

Brady took aim at the administration’s economic stimulus, bailout of the auto industry, the financial bailout and the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing. And although consumer and government spending has risen, business investment is lagging, Brady said.

Total Cost: $58,065Tuition: $43,840Room & Board: $13,980Fees: $245Claremont McKenna, located near downtown Los Angeles, accepted only 12.4 percent of its applicants for the class of 2016, a rate that admissions counselor Brandon Gonzalez said ensures that students here will be going to school only with other top students.�The class of 2016 will be one of the most talented groups of students we have ever seen,�  The school will charge these students a tuition of $21,920 per semester, or $43,840 for the entire academic year, incurring a total cost of
Total Cost: $58,065Tuition: $43,840Room & Board: $13,980Fees: $245Claremont McKenna, located near downtown Los Angeles, accepted only 12.4 percent of its applicants for the class of 2016, a rate that admissions counselor Brandon Gonzalez said ensures that students here will be going to school only with other top students.�The class of 2016 will be one of the most talented groups of students we have ever seen,� The school will charge these students a tuition of $21,920 per semester, or $43,840 for the entire academic year, incurring a total cost of

“That’s due to this president’s policies, and he really has no one to blame but himself,” he added.

“What we lack is a good, strong business climate with lower taxes, fairer regulation. And again, President Obama’s health care plan really is another drag on the economy. Until we get Washington out of the way, this president’s recovery is going to continue to rank dead last.”

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