Research

Today, President Obama’s FY2013 is officially late, again, as the White House shirks its legal obligation to submit a budget by the first Monday in February. Last night, The Wall Street Journal reported that we won’t be missing much as the president intends to repackage his failed deficit proposal from last fall as his FY2013 budget. That proposal included a $1.5 trillion tax hike that many Democrats rejected and failed to outline a plan for containing the nation’s budget-busting entitlement programs.

Obama Plans To Re-Release His Lackluster Joint Deficit Reduction Committee Proposal As His FY2013

NOW, AGAIN: Obama’s FY2013 Is Essentially The Same Framework He Proposed In September Which Included $1.5 Trillion In New Taxes. “President Barack Obama will release his budget plan next week, calling for $3 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years, including $1.5 trillion in tax increases to fall mostly on the wealthiest Americans. If that sounds familiar, it's because the president ... more

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Claims The Decline In The Labor Force Is An “Economic Positive” Because It Means Young People Are “Getting More Education.” CARNEY: “Let’s look at some of the facts, which include that a large percentage of that is due to younger people getting more education, which in the end is an economic positive.” (Jay Carney, Press Briefing, Washington, D.C., 2/6/12)

The Labor Force Is Declining Because Millions Of Americans Are Discouraged By The Lack Of Opportunities In The Obama Economy

“Millions Of Americans Wake Up Each Morning Without A Job, Even Though They Desperately Want To Work. It's One Of The Depressing Legacies Of The Financial Crisis And Great Recession.”  (John Ydstie, “The State Of The Long Term Unemployed,” NPR, 12/12/11)

• The Economy Remains In “By Far The Worst Jobs Recovery Since The Great Depression.” “Even with the recent gains, this is also by far the worst jobs recovery since the Great Depression, and the U.S. still has about ... more
  
  

At today’s press briefing, the White House was repeatedly asked about Obama’s three-year record of failure to address the housing crisis. Check out the questions below:

ABC News’ Jake Tapper: “Mr. Secretary, wasn’t it two years ago the administration first proposed a bank fee? Am I right about that? January 2010?” (White House Press Briefing, 2/1/12)

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan: “Um, I believe that’s correct.” (White House Press Briefing, 2/1/12)

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Tapper: “I just wonder, if you couldn’t get it through a Democratic House and Senate, why do you think now would be a better chance of making it through Congress? “(White House Press Briefing, 2/1/12)

CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell: “Why shouldn’t this proposal today, in an election year, not just look like an effort, a politically motivated effort, to reach out to homeowners in key battleground states that just also happen to have big mortgage foreclosure issues, like Nevada, Arizona, Florida, etc?” (White House Press Briefing, 2/1/12)

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Today in Falls Church, VA, Obama will announce another housing program which he already unveiled at the State of the Union. The program joins the “alphabet soup” of housing proposals enacted by Obama, which have failed to keep millions of Americans in their homes.

Obama’s Housing Proposal Is Just “The Latest Addition To A Mosaic”

Obama’s Proposal “Is The Latest Addition To A Mosaic Of Obama Administration Programs” That Have Failed To Boost The Housing Market. “The proposal, to be released in the coming weeks, is the latest addition to a mosaic of Obama administration programs aimed at boosting the housing market, which is entering its fourth year of weak sales and high foreclosures.” (Lorraine Woellert, “Obama Pushes Proposal To Streamline Refinancing For Homeowners,” Bloomberg, 1/25/12)

The Last Two Incarnations Of Obama’s Refinancing Program Only Helped About 1,000 Homeowners. “Haven’t similar programs been tried before? Yes. But those programs put in place a series of rules ... more

“The Pace Of Recovery In Output And Employment Has Been Slow Since The Recession Ended In June 2009, And The Economy Remains In A Severe Slump.” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012-2022,” Congressional Budget Office, 1/31/12)

The Congressional Budget Office Downgrades Obamanomics In Its 2012 Budget And Economic Outlook

CBO: “The Economy Will Continue To Grow At A Sluggish Pace Over The Next Two Years.” “The pace of the economic recovery has been slow since the recession ended in June 2009, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects that, under current laws governing taxes and spending, the economy will continue to grow at a sluggish pace over the next two years. That pace of growth partly reflects the dampening effect on economic activity from the higher tax rates and curbs on spending scheduled to occur this year and especially next.” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012-2022,” Congressional Budget Office, 1/31/12)

• CBO: “Considerable Slack ... more
  
  

Freddie Mac Has Placed Bets Which Put Them “Squarely Against The Homeowner”

Freddie Mac Has Placed Bets Against American Homeowners. “Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-owned mortgage giant, has placed multibillion-dollar bets that pay off if homeowners stay trapped in expensive mortgages with interest rates well above current rates. Freddie began increasing these bets dramatically in late 2010, the same time that the company was making it harder for homeowners to get out of such high-interest mortgages.”  (Jesse Eisinger and Chris Arnold, “Freddie Mac Bets Against American Homeowners,” ProPublica, 1/30/12)

• Freddie Could Lose “Substantial Amounts Of Money” If Homeowners Refinance. “In addition to being an instrument of government policy dedicated to making home loans more accessible, Freddie also has giant investment portfolios and could lose substantial amounts of money if too many borrowers refinance.” (Jesse Eisinger and Chris Arnold, “Freddie Mac Bets Against American Homeowners,” ... more
  
  

GDP Growth Was Worse Than Expected In 2011 And Will Continue To Slow In 2012

2011 Q4 GDP Grew At 2.8 Percent, Less Than Predicted. “Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, climbed at a 2.8 percent annual following a 1.8 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 3 percent increase. Excluding a jump in inventories, growth was 0.8 percent.” (Alex Kowalski, “U.S. Economy Grows 2.8%, Less Than Forecast,” Bloomberg, 1/27/12)

“The Commerce Department Said Friday That The Economy Grew Just 1.7 Percent Last Year, Roughly Half Of The Growth In 2010 And The Worst Since The Recession.” (Martin Crutsinger, “Economy Grew Modest 2.8 Pct. In Q4, Best In 2011,” The Associated Press, 1/27/12)

Growth Is Expected To Decrease To 1.9% In The First Quarter Of 2012. “As a result, most economists expect companies to cut back on inventories in the first ... more

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) Says That The President Is Going To Be Judged On The Results Of The Super Committee And Should Be Part Of The Fight For A Solution

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV):  “Well, you know, Mika, it's the leader – if – I was the governor of the state of West Virginia, people relied on me to make, set the tone of what we were going to do and push it through and everybody has a different style. I'm not going to criticize it, but people are going to judge the results we receive, and if we don't get results, we're in trouble. Right now, if the committee of 12 is not able to come to an agreement, we have about 140 members of congress, about 44 senators and about a 100 members of the house that are saying go big, be bold, stand tall, let’s pull out Simpson and Bowles and let's vote on this thing, let's move it forward for the next generation.”

Mika Brezinski:  “Do you want the president – I mean, I'm just looking at your comments made on "Face the Nation" for the president, that ... more

When The Obama Administration Wanted Advice On The Economy, They Called Jon Corzine

  In The Early Days Of The Obama Administration, Biden “Literally” Called Jon Corzine For Advice On The Economy Because “He Knew About The Economy … And We Trusted His Judgment. “‘I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine and said Jon, what do you think we should do,’ Biden said. ‘The reason we called Jon is that we knew that he knew about the economy, about world markets, how we had to respond, unlike almost anyone we knew. It was because he had been in the pit -- because he had been in the furnace. And we trusted his judgment.’ (Conor Friedersdorf, “Obama’s Team Relied On Jon Corzine For Economic Advice,” The Atlantic, 11/14/11)

• Watch Biden Say The Obama Team Relied On Corzine For Economic Advice

Corzine Was A Top Obama Economic Advisor Who “Helped Craft” The Failed Obama Stimulus

Watch Biden Say That Corzine “Helped Craft” The Stimulus

Biden: “It’s not coincidental that that’s ... more

Obama Says “We Can’t Wait” But His Stimulus Spending Won’t Kick In For Years

Less Than 8 Percent Of The Obama-Reid Infrastructure Stimulus Bill Would Be Spent This Fiscal Year. (“Budgetary Effects Of S.1769 The Rebuild America Jobs Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/1/11)

Less Than Half Of The Obama-Reid Infrastructure Stimulus Bill Will Be Spent By 2015. (“Budgetary Effects Of S.1769 The Rebuild America Jobs Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/1/11)

• More Than A Quarter Of Obama-Reid Infrastructure Bill Stimulus Would Be Spent After 2016. (“Budgetary Effects Of S.1769 The Rebuild America Jobs Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/1/11)

Stimulus Spending Cannot Deliver The Jobs America Needs Now

“Jobs Are Needed Now – Not In A Few Years,” And Experts Doubt That Obama’s Proposed Infrastructure Spending Can Move Quick Enough To Provide Those Jobs. “With the jobless rate hovering at 9 percent and an uneasy economic recovery, jobs are needed now — not in a few years. But experts ... more