Lib Economist Robert Reich: We're in a Double-Dip Recession
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, June 4, 2010, 10:39 AM
Liberal economist Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton, says it’s official: we’re falling into a double-dip recesssion.
Business Insider reported, via Free Republic:
We’re falling into a double-dip recession.
The Labor Department reports this morning that the private sector added a measly 41,000 net new jobs in May. (The vast bulk of new jobs in May were temporary government Census workers.) But at least 100,000 new jobs are needed every month just to keep up with population growth.
In other words, the labor market continues to deteriorate.
The average length of unemployment continues to rise – now up to 34.4 weeks (up from 33 weeks in April). That’s another record.
More Americans are too discouraged to look for a job than last year at this time (1.1 million in May, an increase of 291,000 from a year earlier.)
Of the small number of jobs created by the private sector in May, many came from temporary help services.
Which is one reason why the median wage continues to drop.
Why are we having such a hard time getting free of the Great Recession? Because consumers, who constitute 70 percent of the economy, don’t have the dough. They can’t any longer treat their homes as ATMs, as they did before the Great Recession.
Businesses won’t rehire if there’s not enough demand for their goods and services.
The only reason the economy isn’t in a double-dip recession already is because of three temporary boosts: the federal stimulus (of which 75 percent has been spent), near-zero interest rates (which can’t continue much longer without igniting speculative bubbles), and replacements (consumers have had to replace worn-out cars and appliances, and businesses had to replace worn-down inventories). Oh, and, yes, all those Census workers (who will be out on their ears in a month or so).
But all these boosts will end soon. Then we’re in the dip.
You know it’s bad when even the libs are shooting off warning flares.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 89 Comments
gus commented:
We need to hire more CENSUS WORKERS and then pass another TRILLION DOLLAR PORKULUS.
I can smell NOVEMBER from my office.
It’s smells like the death of LIBTARISM.
ahem commented:
Technically, we’re in a Depression.
Bill Mitchell commented:
He forgot to add:
“Oh and um, yeah, businesses seems to HATE socialism…”
Bill Mitchell commented:
If instead of the bs stimulus package Obama had given the same exact amount to Americans in tax cuts, this recession would have ended for good months ago.
Bill Mitchell commented:
REGARDING THE OIL LEAK:
If the current effort works (looks like it might) people will HAVE to ask, Obama, why the hell didn’t you try this FIRST?
I mean, who the hell would ever thing you could block a broken pipe by “capping” it?
Revolutionary!
JPL17 commented:
Spending our way out of debt was (and is) an oxyMORON.
Peggy commented:
When pray tell did we exit the first recession?
Carbon Monoxide commented:
The only reason we’re in a double dip recession is because we haven’t started into the third dip….yet.
Militant Conservative commented:
Socialism has never worked anywhere in the world. It always fails. Capitolism however works everytime it is left alone by BIG GOVERNMENT. IDIOTS.
I’m prepared for the coming depression. Debt free and lots of cash and supplies. Better do the same folks. It’s going to get alot worse. powder is dry.
Jim commented:
LMAO I thought we were in recovery??? All of us that saw this coming with the election of Obumble’s must be physic or something!
ProLifer commented:
Helen Thomas could have told us months ago!
Bill H commented:
Propane frig. Check. Water. Check. Food and supplies. Check.
Ammo. Check.
Logus commented:
R.R. is a moron. It is sadly funny though to see people who absolutely refused to believe the facts two years ago say things that were said two years ago, that this’d be a double dip recession/depression.
And Reich is calling for BP to go into “temporary” recievership… firstly, I don’t know how a foreign business can be even partly owned by our government, but the government’s botched handling of the spill alone should be clear evidence that our government has no business owning and controlling an oil company – nevermind all of the shenanigans involving the other companies our government has taken over.
Robert Reich reminds me of Paul Krugman. An idiot.
annie commented:
We are in a situation greater than a Depression…we are in a Grand Depression!! Remember, back during FDR we did not have all the entitlement programs we have now (monstrous!!) Unemployment is 45%+ if you include all the people not only truly unemployed but living off the government tit!!
Stock up folks…we are heading for some severe turbulance!!
mark commented:
We never got out of the first one. So there is no double dip. Just because Obama said we recovered doesn’t mean we did. But if we did, as he says we did, then the second can’t be Bush’s fault can it? Bad economic news? Time to start another crisis Rahm. Arizona riot, SEIU riot, another Gaza flotilla, Immigration protests…what have you got up your sleave this week?
Libby commented:
Bobby, be a dear, shut up and get up to the Cape.
There’s a dinner theater in Hyannis looking for a few little folks to play Munchkins in a summer revival of Wizard of Oz.
You’re a shoo-in, baby.
clyde commented:
The last place the dems want to spend any money on is hiring,training,and deploying border guards,but there is plenty of funding for airport harassers that are forbidden to profile real threats to our country.Notice how politically correct i am ,threats not terrorists. There is also funds for nat. guard troops that have no law enforcement training or authority to be deployed as eye wash.
Terry commented:
As best I can recall, Reich is not an economist.
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He is a lawyer pretending to be an authority on economics.
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In fact, he doesn’t know his backside from a hole in the ground.
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He can however state the obvious.
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My analysis: As long as current policies are in place, the recession will never end.
avery commented:
Dpn”t forget the 15 to 40 millions illegal that they won”t to make legal.
jonyjoe101 commented:
Stop all immigration, deport the illegals. That will fix the problem. It would at least open up some jobs, those legal americans who don’t want to take the jobs available, no welfare or foodstamps for you. Nothing in the constituition saids that the government will provide you with food if you don’t want to work.
We don’t need any more foreigners (liberal democrats) to bring us down. We have an iillegal alien in the whitehouse that is on the way to making the worst president in this countries history.
chris commented:
Reich is not an economist. Just a know-it-all with no skills other than kavetching
indigo commented:
Just for the record, Reich is not an economist his background is in Labor Studies.
Libby commented:
He worked his way through Law School as a chimney sweep’s brush.
chuck in st paul commented:
“We’re falling into a double-dip recession.”
Yeah, and they’re both in the White House.
burt commented:
To any one as short as Reich there is only one direction – UP!!!