Rahm Emanuel said 3 weeks ago that they had "rescued the economy." At the time, John Boehner took to the floor of the House to disagree:
So who was right, Emanuel or Boehner? Let's look at today's headlines and see, shall we?
Foreclosures Rise 7 Percent in July from June - The filings were up 32 percent from last July, but we're supposed to believe that the housing market is improving and that things have bottomed out. This flies in the face of common sense. Especially when the latest report is that nearly half of all homeowners will owe more on their houses than they are worth by 2011.
Retail Sales Dip Unexpectedly, Jobless Claims Rise - I really have to wonder who these economists are who expected retail sales to increase during July because obviously none of them have been to a mall lately. When K-Mart and Sears are trying to jumpstart Christmas sales in July, on what planet does a serious economist project that sales are going to increase?
As far as the jobless claims rising, that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone either. The current 9.4% unemployment rate is an artifice caused by so many workers completely giving up looking for work during July: including discouraged workers, the actual rate is over 10%. Note also that the number of people still receiving benefits dropped by 140,000. Those are people who have been unemployed long enough for their benefits to completely run out. Do you think that a net of 140,000 losing their benefits in one week is likely to have a positive effect on the economy or a negative one?
Oil Rises Above $71 As Dollar Falls - The dollar fell because the Fed is still artificially holding down interest rates by buying up the massive amounts of debt that Obama is incurring with his feckless spending. In the same article, it is noted that gas prices have rised by 13 cents a gallon over the last month. This rise in gas prices is effectively a tax which Obama is imposing on the American people: gas prices are going up because it costs more to buy the oil, and it costs more to buy the oil because the Fed is being forced to buy Obama's debt. So much for not taxing anyone making under $250,000 per year, huh?
What is it with the Obama administration, from the top down, that they can't help but say stupid things that defy common sense? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Boehner clearly has the better of the argument.
So who was right, Emanuel or Boehner? Let's look at today's headlines and see, shall we?
Foreclosures Rise 7 Percent in July from June - The filings were up 32 percent from last July, but we're supposed to believe that the housing market is improving and that things have bottomed out. This flies in the face of common sense. Especially when the latest report is that nearly half of all homeowners will owe more on their houses than they are worth by 2011.
Retail Sales Dip Unexpectedly, Jobless Claims Rise - I really have to wonder who these economists are who expected retail sales to increase during July because obviously none of them have been to a mall lately. When K-Mart and Sears are trying to jumpstart Christmas sales in July, on what planet does a serious economist project that sales are going to increase?
As far as the jobless claims rising, that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone either. The current 9.4% unemployment rate is an artifice caused by so many workers completely giving up looking for work during July: including discouraged workers, the actual rate is over 10%. Note also that the number of people still receiving benefits dropped by 140,000. Those are people who have been unemployed long enough for their benefits to completely run out. Do you think that a net of 140,000 losing their benefits in one week is likely to have a positive effect on the economy or a negative one?
Oil Rises Above $71 As Dollar Falls - The dollar fell because the Fed is still artificially holding down interest rates by buying up the massive amounts of debt that Obama is incurring with his feckless spending. In the same article, it is noted that gas prices have rised by 13 cents a gallon over the last month. This rise in gas prices is effectively a tax which Obama is imposing on the American people: gas prices are going up because it costs more to buy the oil, and it costs more to buy the oil because the Fed is being forced to buy Obama's debt. So much for not taxing anyone making under $250,000 per year, huh?
What is it with the Obama administration, from the top down, that they can't help but say stupid things that defy common sense? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Boehner clearly has the better of the argument.
