The Obama Administration is doing high fives over Friday's employment report reporting 171,000 net job additions in the month of October. I recall Bill Clinton accusing George Bush of "running the economy into the ditch" at a time when the economy was routinely producing in excess of 200,000 jobs per month. Maybe we would be better off if the Obama Administration would run the economy into the ditch instead of over the cliff.
Leave it to the NYTimes to celebrate the new normal. Cheering the October numbers, Catherine Rampell of the NY Times argues in today's business section that the economy "is looking a little stronger than had been feared just a few months ago." Rampell sees these numbers as helpful to Obama's re-election chances. That seems to be all that really matters to the NY Times these days.
In an otherwise enthusiastic endorsement of Obama policies, even Rampell was forced to admit the dismal truth: "The United States has now posted job gains for 25 consecutive months, but the increases have been barely large enough to absorb the increase in the working population."
Gone are the goals of 4 percent unemployment. That's so Reagan-like. Now 8 percent unemployment is acceptable as the new normal to the Obama Administration and it's pals at the NY Times.
On to the real issues -- like taxing the millionaires and billionaires (defined as folks with income above $ 250,000 a year). So what if there is anemic job creation thanks to the Obama policies.
