Unemployment trends: Which do you prefer?

[Onlooker]

Read this after you vote, please.

The above chart compares monthly unemployment rates during the Reagan and Obama presidencies over the first two years.

One chart shows Reagan's conservative economic principles in action and the other shows Obama's liberal economic principles in action.

The information comes from http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp, which gets its data from the Dept. of Labor: http://www.dol.gov/ If you're unsure of your answer, then you can visit those sites and determine the correct answer.

Let's also keep in mind: (1) Both Obama and Reagan created record deficits in order to combat their recessions, but Reagan relied more on tax cuts. (2) Almost every economist agrees that the recession caused by Bush is far worse than that caused by Carter.

I think it's clear from the chart that the Republican Pledge To America is not a good one. Those are not good policies in a time of recession.

[Pirate Smile]

1. Recessions caused by a financial crisis are much harder to come out of and take much longer.

In that way, the recession Obama had to deal with is much harder then the one Reagan dealt with in the 80's.

[Onlooker]

2. This chart just lost one recommendation

Perhaps the fourth or fifth person to look at this post unrecommended it. To me, that person must be a troll. Is there any other possibility? Is there something I'm missing?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. Yes, there is another possibility

Reagan and Obama did not enter office in the same circumstances so a month by month comparison is kind of pointless.

(I didn't unrec the OP because I seldom unrec anything but I did not view it with favor.)

[Onlooker]

4. Interesting perspective...

... but I suppose then a case could be made that you can't compare any two events, since they all start for different reasons, it's just a matter of degree. But, still I can't preclude someone from looking at it from the perspective you describe, though I think it would primarily be in the interest of a troll to do so. (The fact you didn't unrec it obviously shows me you're not a troll!)

[flyarm]

6. +++ apples and oranges.

but those who didn't live through both talk out of their lack of knowledge.

[Exilednight]

10. Exactly.

[mikekohr]

12. It's Not Just Reagan Versus Obama, Republicans ALWAYS kill job creation, look at the 60 yr record

?

Many Americans are aware that George W. Bush has had the worst job creation record since the government began tracking these figures in 1939. But Bush's colossal failure to manage the economy overshadows a much larger story.



The record shows two unmistakable patterns:
Every time a Republican succeeds a Democrat in the White House, the job creation rate plummets.
Every time a Democrat succeeds a Republican in the White House, the job growth rate soars. Every time! No exceptions!


Over the last seventy years, the decrease in monthly job creation when a Republican succeeds a Democrat is 68,913

Considering the steady growth in population of the United States during this time frame the job creation rate should steadily increase each month (currently it must grow by 138,000 per month to keep up with population growth). This trend only manifests itself when examining Democratic administrations:

Listed below is the average job growth increase for all terms served:


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mHSyEv8vBt4/S6Z6xo0qSnI/AAAAAAAAACY/p8SkoEnN5dw/s640/job+creation+by+president.jpg?



By: mike kohr Graphics by: Bonny Kohr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/

[mkultra]

5. no. you got it. We are infested here.

[bigwillq]

11. Please stop taking rec/unrec so seriously.

It's a silly function on a message board. Life goes on if someone recs or unrecs a thread on a message board.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Carter didn't cause that recession.

You must not be old enough to remember Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" campaign, or those silly-ass "WIN" buttons his administration was passing out. The economy already sucked when Carter took over. He just couldn't fix it fast enough.

[Onlooker]

8. I am old enough to remember and ...

... I actually was a paid organizer for the Carter campaign (after volunteering for Ted, who lost the primary). Carter started reregulation, deregulating the trucking industry and turning all those Teamsters into Reagan Democrats. Carter didn't do much at all to reign in Wall Street or address oil prices.

[Safetykitten]

9. How do you graph a new world?

Really, these charts may as well be charts from the Middle Ages.

There is not going to be a revival of what was considered a job in the past. The trend is towards 1099 everyone in sight. Then also take into cosideration the technology and the value of a full time employee at all.

People will be employed from home, working on a laptop.

Yes, yes there will be the other groups. the mechanics, doctors, lawyers, but the huge managerial/paper pusher/call center group is on it's last legs.

The workplace (if there is one) will be unrecognizable in the future, and the way we do work will be another thing that we cannot even imagine from this point in time.