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...but I
couldn't resist telling a few jokes:
The set-up
"Obama:
Under Me 'People Have A New Attitude Toward America' And 'More
Confidence'" (Real
Clear Politics)
"Because
we're leading around the world, people have a new attitude toward America.
There’s more confidence in our leadership. We see it everywhere we
go," President Obama said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in
Reno.
The punchline
The latest Chicago Booth/Kellogg School
Financial Trust Index finds that only 21 percent of
Americans trust the financial system, the lowest point on record since March
2009. According to the June 2012 report issued today, this decrease was
largely driven by a drop in trust of national banks.
~ ~ ~
The set-up
"Obama
on the Economy: 'We Tried Our Plan — And It Worked'" (Washington Examiner)
Discussing his
economic policies at a fundraiser in Oakland, California, last night,
President Obama, told supporters that "we tried our plan — and it
worked."
The punchline
"More
Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
More than a
third of U.S. households say they live paycheck to paycheck.
Less than a
third feel comfortable financially.
Only about a
third think they can afford to retire by age 65.
And here's an
oldie but goodie:
The set-up
"Oops:
What Bernanke Said Five Years Ago Today" (Real Time Economics)
On the economic
outlook:
“Overall,
the U.S. economy appears likely to expand at a moderate pace over the second
half of 2007 with growth then strengthening a bit in 2008 to a rate close to
the economy’s underlying trend. Such an assessment was made around the
time of the June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee… The central
tendency of the growth forecast… is for real GDP to expand roughly
2.25% to 2.5% this year and 2.5% to 2.75% in 2008. ….The unemployment
rate is anticipated to edge up between 4.5% and 4.75% over the balance of
this year and about 4.75% percent in 2008.”
The punchline
Real Time
Economics:
The recession
began five months later, in December 2007, and lasted until June 2009. For
the full year 2007, GDP grew by 1.7%. In 2008, it shrank by 0.3%, and shrank
another 3.5% in 2009. Unemployment hit 5% in December 2007 and by December
2008 had risen to 7.3% and kept climbing.
Funny, eh?
Michael J. Panzner
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