Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: "We've really begun to turn the economy around"

If this sounds familiar, it’s because she said the same thing — verbatim — two months ago, before we found out that “turning the economy around” means adding 18,000 jobs a month. No worries, though: Jay Carney reassured America this afternoon that there’s no threat of a double-dip recession. Let’s see what Larry Summers, Obama’s former econ guru, thinks of that:

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On the current policy path, it would be surprising if growth were rapid enough to reduce unemployment even to 8.5 percent by the end of 2012. A substantial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus will occur when the payroll tax cuts expire at the end of the year. With growth at less than 1 percent in the first half of this year, the economy is effectively at a stall and facing the prospects of shocks from a European financial crisis that is decidedly not under control, spikes in oil prices and declines in business and household confidence. The indicators suggest that the economy has at least a 1-in-3 chance of falling back into recession if nothing new is done to raise demand and spur growth.

That’s the bad news. The good news? Obama’s ready to “pivot to jobs” for the 15th time in his presidency. His first move on the pivot will be a little disaster tourism to the midwest to see how everyone’s coping with chronic nine percent unemployment. And if all else fails, he’s sharpening up his buck-passing talking points for the election. From today’s White House availability: “Unfortunately, the debt ceiling crisis over the last month, I think, has had an unnecessary negative impact on the economy here, as well.” If he can figure out a way to blame the economy next year on the GOP driving a hard bargain on the debt ceiling this summer, I bet the left will be A-OK with the deal after all. Click the image to watch.

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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | April 21, 2025
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