Macroman wrote: No one detests President Obama more than I, but I must point out two overstatements in this column. 1. "...employment in 2012 is roughly the same as it was back in 2001...Obama has compressed a lost decade into just three years." Labor force participation has been declining since 2000, not just 2008. That seems a partial reversal of the increase that occurred since about 1965. Obama had little to do with any of it.- Polls, Pump, No Friend to Obama
Dear Comrade Macroman,
Yes, labor force participation rates have been going down since 2000. But to pretend that Obama has no blame for the precipitous drop in those rates since he became president is willful malpractice by economists.
By official count we’ve been out of the recession for a while. But still we’ve seen not just a decline in labor participation rates, but a plunge in those rates since Obama became president.
Compare the rates between Bush after 2000 where rates eventually leveled off and started increasing and Obama where they have continued to plunge. The real difference between the two presidents was that one instilled confidence and the other does not.
There is no economic reason for the economy to be as sluggish as it’s been- there is plenty of money and liquidity out there to make the thing go. But there are also plenty o