The 3 economic charts that could crash Obama’s reelection hopes
May 16, 2012, 11:40 am
Vice President Joe Biden is telling Ohio voters today that “things really are starting to come back.”
Is one of those “things” the U.S. economy? Because as the following three charts show, the U.S. economy is struggling through an abysmal recovery not really worth the name:
1. Sickly Economic Growth
2. Falling Real Wages
3. A Shrunken Labor Force
Well, at least we’re doing better than Europe, right? Maybe not. German first-quarter GDP came in at 2.1%, and many economists now think U.S first-quarter GDP will be revised downward below 2%.
Anyway, perhaps President Obama can somehow argue things are going about as well as can be expected after a financial crisis. Then again, a recent CBS-New York Times poll found that 67% of Americans think the economy is “bad” and gave Mitt Romney a 46-43 lead over the president.
So far voters don’t seem to be really buying Biden’s — or Obama’s — comeback story. They may not have seen these three charts, but they sure are feeling them, unfortunately, in their everyday lives. From Gallup:
Note: I swapped in a different chart #2 for clarity. It makes the exact same point, however. (5/17/12)
James Pethokoukis is a columnist and blogger at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously, he was the Washington columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, the opinion and commentary wing of Thomson Reuters.
Pethokoukis was the business editor and economics columnist for U.S. News & World Report from 1997 to 2008. He has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Weekly Standard, Commentary, National Review, The Washington Examiner, USA Today and Investor’s Business Daily.
Pethokoukis is an official CNBC contributor. In addition, he has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, The McLaughlin Group, CNN and Nightly Business Report on PBS. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism, Pethokoukis is a 2002 Jeopardy! Champion
Is one of those “things” the U.S. economy? Because as the following three charts show, the U.S. economy is struggling through an abysmal recovery not really worth the name:
1. Sickly Economic Growth
3. A Shrunken Labor Force
Anyway, perhaps President Obama can somehow argue things are going about as well as can be expected after a financial crisis. Then again, a recent CBS-New York Times poll found that 67% of Americans think the economy is “bad” and gave Mitt Romney a 46-43 lead over the president.
So far voters don’t seem to be really buying Biden’s — or Obama’s — comeback story. They may not have seen these three charts, but they sure are feeling them, unfortunately, in their everyday lives. From Gallup:
Note: I swapped in a different chart #2 for clarity. It makes the exact same point, however. (5/17/12)
James Pethokoukis is a columnist and blogger at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously, he was the Washington columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, the opinion and commentary wing of Thomson Reuters.
Pethokoukis was the business editor and economics columnist for U.S. News & World Report from 1997 to 2008. He has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Weekly Standard, Commentary, National Review, The Washington Examiner, USA Today and Investor’s Business Daily.
Pethokoukis is an official CNBC contributor. In addition, he has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, The McLaughlin Group, CNN and Nightly Business Report on PBS. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism, Pethokoukis is a 2002 Jeopardy! Champion
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