Democrats Close 2011 with More Economic Failure

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is a political committee devoted to maintaining and increasing the 239-member Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

New economic data out Thursday offers the latest evidence of the failure of Democrats’ economic policies:

THIRD QUARTER GDP REVISED LOWER TO 1.8% DUE TO WEAKER CONSUMER SPENDING: “U.S. real gross domestic product for the third quarter was revised to an increase of 1.8% annualized from the earlier estimate of a 2.0% rise, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected third-quarter growth to be unrevised at a 2.0% rate. The downward revision to third-quarter GDP was largely due to weaker consumer spending.” (Greg Robb, “U.S. Q3 GDP Revised Lower,” Market Watch, 12/22/2011)

“CHICAGO FED’S NOVEMBER ACTIVITY INDEX FALLS,” AN INDICATION OF “BELOW-TREND GROWTH”: (Doug Cameron, “Chicago Fed’s November Activity Index Falls,” Dow Jones Newswires, 12/22/2011)

With joblessness sky-high, Americans are about as pessimistic towards the direction of the nation as they have ever been:

GALLUP: “U.S. SATISFACTION IN 2011 RANKS AS SECOND-LOWEST SINCE 1979”: (Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Satisfaction in 2011 Ranks as Second-Lowest Since 1979,” Gallup, 12/22/2011)

“THE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 11 PERCENT”: “But today, the most important sentence isn't a report on something that just happened, but a fresh look at something that's been happening for the last three years. In particular, it's this sentence by the Financial Times' Ed Luce, who writes, ‘According to government statistics, if the same number of people were seeking work today as in 2007, the jobless rate would be 11 percent.’” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: The Real Unemployment Rate is 11 Percent,” The Washington Post, 12/12/2011)

NO CHANGE IN SIGHT? GALLUP SHOWS U.S. UNDEREMPLOYMENT ON PAR WITH A YEAR AGO: (Dennis Jacobe, “U.S. Underemployment Similar to a Year Ago,” Gallup, 12/20/2011)

PERCENT OF AMERICANS THAT HAVE A JOB OR ARE LOOKING FOR ONE “HAS FALLEN FROM 62.7 PERCENT TO 58.5 PERCENT” SINCE 2007, A 4.2 PERCENT DROP: “Since 2007, the percent of the population that either has a job or is actively looking for one has fallen from 62.7 percent to 58.5 percent. That's millions of workers leaving the workforce, and it's not because they've become sick or old or infirm. It's because they can't find a job, and so they've stopped trying. That's where Luce's calculation comes from. If 62.7 percent of the country was still counted as in the workforce, unemployment would be 11 percent.” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: The Real Unemployment Rate is 11 Percent,” The Washington Post, 12/12/2011)

However, Democrats refuse to abandon their commitment to job-destroying policies that are hurting hiring and causing economic uncertainty:

NEW EPA RULE TO DESTROY 183,000 JOBS A YEAR, 1.65 MILLION JOBS DESTROYED THROUGH 2020: (“EPA Finalizes New Rule That Will Hurt American Economy,” American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, 12/21/2011)

LIKE CLOCKWORK: DEMOCRATS’ GREEN BASE REJOICES OVER EPA’S JOB-DESTROYING DECISION: “Environmentalists rallied so hard for the Obama administration on Wednesday, you’d think power plants were shooting cotton candy from their smokestacks.” (Erica Martinson, “EPA Power Plant Rule Has Greens Pro-Obama,” Politico, 12/22/2011)

MORE MAJOR REGULATIONS AVERAGED UNDER OBAMA THAN UNDER BUSH OR CLINTON: “According to an analysis of the Federal Register by George Mason University's Mercatus Center, the Cabinet departments and agencies finalized 84 such regulations annually on average in President Obama's first two years. The annual average under President Bush was 62 and under President Clinton 56.” (Editorial, “Regulation for Dummies,” Wall Street Journal, 12/15/2011)

“EVIDENCE IS OVERWHELMING” THAT “OBAMA REGULATORY SURGE IS ONE REASON THE CURRENT ECONOMIC RECOVERY HAS BEEN SO LACKLUSTER”: (Editorial, “Regulation for Dummies,” Wall Street Journal, 12/15/2011)