Follow-up to Christina Romer: More "Good News"

I guess Christina Romer got it right when she spoke at the Washington Press Club before getting out of town a couple of weeks back when she told a handful of people in attendance that she didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Here is the report on the economic situation from fair and balanced Fox News.

(Ouch!)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/16/congress-poised-hit-campaign-trail-finishing-basic-budget-duties/

Here are some excerpts:

"The poverty rate, at 14.3 percent of Americans, jumped to the highest level since 1994. Foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. reported that home repossessions jumped 25 percent last month from a year earlier. New jobless claims dropped to the lowest level in two months, but they still remain well above where they would be in a healthy economy."

"Ain't my f----' fault! Bush is the f----' guy!"


"The U.S. trade deficit also grew to the highest level since late 2008 -- a sign that U.S. consumer spending may be on the rise, but also a warning that the level of U.S. exports can't keep up with competitors' imports."

Lew, Obama's nominee to replace Peter Orszag at OMB, fielded questions at his hearing about how he would ensure studious attention to the deficit. The size of the deficit and absence of solutions for narrowing it "causes a great deal of unease and uncertainty" in the economy, Lew conceded.

"There's not a silver bullet," he warned. "It's going to take a concerted effort."

"We're workin' as hard as we can, right boys?"


"Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who supported the $814 billion stimulus package that passed in February 2009, suggested it's time to shift strategy."

"Start usin' that jab, Rocky."


"We can't use (stimulus spending) always," he said. "Now the deficit is a drag on our economy and that is part of the equation as we develop the next round of fiscal policies."


The laugher in the middle is Nancy Pelosi, soon-to-be the "Spoker of the House".


"While the United States has weathered recessions in the past, many of the jobs lost this time around ... are just not going to come back," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said in a separate hearing on China's currency manipulation that featured Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner."


And Chris "Countrywide is on your side" Dodd?

"Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., ranking member on the committee, said the Obama administration was "all bark and no bite" by refusing to label China a currency manipulator.

Geithner echoed their concerns and agreed that the pace of appreciation has "been too slow."


"Uhhh...yeaaaah."

But there IS good news....



"Good news, Mein Fuehrer. New jobless claims dropped to the lowest level in two months, but they still remain well above where they would be in a healthy economy."