Unemployment jumped to 8.1 percent in February as the economy shed another 651,000 jobs, according to statistics released Friday morning.
Job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total unemployment stands at 12.5 million people, with another 851,000 joining the ranks of the jobless last month. The unemployment rate increased from 7.6 to 8.1 percent.
In the last four months, payroll employment has declined by 2.6 million.
Many Americans are also losing their jobs for longer periods of time, according to Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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As he always does, former Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove will undoubtedly stir up the blogosphere today with this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that is hyper critical of President Obama for saying one thing and doing another.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) struck back at Democrats Thursday morning, accusing them of diversionary tactics that are "the oldest trick in Washington's book."
In a fiery op-ed in the Washington Post, Boehner accused Democrats and, in particular, the White House of seeking to distract the public from the issues facing the country by creating a political sideshow focused on conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. "In a carefully calculated campaign, operatives and allies of the Obama administration are seeking to divert attention toward radio host Rush Limbaugh, and away from a debate about our alternative solutions on the economy and the irresponsible spending binge they are presiding over. This diversionary tactic will not create a single job or help a single family struggling in today's economic crisis. And that is where our focus should be"
And, in perhaps the most sharply worded passage in the editorial, Boehner accused the President Obama and his staff of going back on his campaign rhetoric. "President Obama has said that we must change the way Washington operates in order to address the unprecedented challenges of today," Boehner said. "I hope that those inside and close to the administration begin heeding his advice, because the change-the-subject campaign they are employing is the oldest trick in Washington's book."
Boehner's criticism, though, isn't entirely political. The Democrats, with the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the president's $3.55 trillion budget outline, are spending too much. "In the first two months of 2009," he wrote, "the Democratic Congress and the White House have spent more money than the combined cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the response to Hurricane Katrina."
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Anyone else notice the remarkably positive articles that have popped about up recently on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Chair Larry Summers? Most recently, there was this New York Times story that said, basically, that said a lot of voices in the Obama administration disagreed with Geithner over the financial bailout but he prevailed. Then, today, there was this front page Washington Post story on how Summers and Geithner have become the administrations's dynamic duo on economic issues.
This from the Washington Post story:
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and National Economic Council Chair Lawrence H. Summers pushed for weeks for a strict cap on the nation's debt. And while other advisers argued that the administration needed a more flexible spending plan, they could not deter the president from ultimately agreeing with the views promoted by the partnership of Geithner and Summers.
The approach advanced by the two men proved formative, providing White House budget officials the critical guidepost for the overall spending plan, an administration official said. When the pair team up in policy debates, as they often do, they are a potent force within the administration, officials said.
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By all accounts, Obama has come to rely heavily on their advice, especially that of Summers. Before he spoke to Congress last Tuesday night, he gave Summers and Geithner several drafts of the speech and asked them for feedback.
There is a lot that can be read into these stories, but I think what jumps out is the Obama's team mastery of crafting the message they want in the media, an ability that was widely noted during the campaign. The message here is simple: We were in an economic crisis and the Obama team not only has two of the best economic minds in the country in the White House, but they get along and agree with each other.
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I imagine much will be made today of this New York Times story on left-wing lobbying groups gearing up for a battle for several of President Obama's initiatives, including healthcare. We wrote about that story's protagonist, Ralph Neas, earlier this month when he was named CEO of the National Coalition on Healthcare and, according to the TImes article, he has already stepped up the group's efforts.
Recent days have found Mr. Neas in a new perch, preparing to join the coming fight over President Obama
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And here's the GOP's weekly response to the president, delivered by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). Reid Wilson's write up is below.
Responding to President Obama's weekly address, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) slammed the president's budget request as rampant federal spending unlikely to reverse the country's economic slide.
"This week, the president submitted to Congress the single largest increase in federal spending in the history of the United States, while driving the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible," the first-term Republican said.
Burr estimated the package would cost every family in the country $52,000 over the next ten years in interest payments alone.
"Looking at the spending priorities of Democrats in Washington in the proposed budget and over the past month, it
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Good Saturday morning. Here's the president's weekly radion and our write up below.
President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to adopt his budget request, which he said delivers on his campaign promises.
Speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said his $3.55 trillion budget proposal would fundamentally change the status quo in Washington.
A bicameral cadre of congressional Republicans officially announced Thursday afternoon the creation of a task force to root out wasteful spending of the close to trillion dollars in economic stimulus funds.
As first reported in The Hill, the new joint House-Senate
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OK, so leafing through the President's budget isn't exactly what we call fun, but we're still doing it. Be sure to check our colleague (and Blog Briefing Room alum) Walter Alarkon's overall rundown of it here. Jeffrey Young's analysis of what is missing from the budget on healthcare is also worth a read.
Speaking of useful links, here is a nice breakdown of the budget by department courtesy of the Washington Post. Here are the highlights:
Departments that are receiving more money, and percent increase (from 2009):
Agriculture: 6 percent
Defense: 1 percent
Homeland Security: 6 percent
Housing and Urban Development: 18 percent
Labor: 5 percent
Education: 1 percent
EPA: 35 percent
State: 10 percent
Veterans Affairs: 11 percent
Interior: 6 percent
Transportation: 3 percent
Justice: 4 percent
NASA: 5 percent
Commerce: 48 percent (mostly for the 2010 census)
Departments receiving less money, and percent decrease:
Health and Human Services: 2 percent
Energy: less than 1 percent
You can check out the budget here. Anything else jump out to you? The comments section awaits below.
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