Confidence Falling With Bad Unemployment Report

By now you've heard that the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% from November's 9.8%. I'm pretty sure you've heard about it, because Obama and his political apologists have been trumpeting the news from the rooftops. We're told the economy is getting better. The fact that the unemployment rate dropped only because a few hundred thousand people decided it was hopeless and stopped looking for work... well, that doesn't seem to matter to folks who are desperately looking for good news on the economy to bolster their political fortunes.

To Obama and liberal Democrats, it seems it's fine to lower the unemployment rate by turning once-productive workers into unemployed wards of the state, living off welfare and despair.

Personally, I'd rather see the rate go down the GOOD way... by having the economy recover sufficiently for employers to begin expanding again. This won't happen as long as taxes are uncertain and regulations on businesses are tightened. In other words, it won't happen while Obama and the Democrats are in charge.

The news from the unemployment numbers wasn't good, no matter what happened to the "unemployment rate." How can it be good news when hundreds of thousands of people give up trying to find work? Doesn't sound like our jobs picture is bouncing back to me.

And the consumer confidence numbers reflect that.


In the wake of December's unemployment report, the consumer confidence level has dropped.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/indexes/rasmussen_consumer_index/rasmussen_consumer_index

Following a disappointing report on job creation, consumer and investor confidence has fallen significantly over the weekend.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, has fallen seven points since Friday morning to 86.2. The Rasmussen Investor Index fell even more sharply, dropping 14 points since Friday to 94.1.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index and Investor Indexes are derived from nightly telephone surveys and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. As a result today’s update is the first based entirely upon interviews conducted since Friday’s official report on unemployment and job creation.

Today, just 33% of consumers believe the economy is getting better while 43% believe it is getting worse. On Friday, just before the jobs report, 38% said better and 38% said worse.

So the Democrats' attempt to turn a bad report into a good one doesn't seem to be working too well... and that's good news.

The only way to turn our jobs picture around is to give us stability. Congress needs to stop spending so much money, stop trying to raise taxes, and STOP writing more and more regulations that cost businesses time and money. If the rabidly liberal Congressmen can bring themselves to do that, if they can cater to reality instead of their own twisted (and inaccurate) world view, then we can recover. If not... Well, hopefully the voters will speak on that issue again in two years, if it becomes necessary.