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The Spectacle Blog
According to the Washington Post, outgoing CEA chair Christina Romer said “she wishes she could redo” the infamous January 2010 economic report in which she projected that the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate under 8 percent .
I wish she could “redo” the disastrous stimulus.
Here’s an updated version of The Chart that haunted Romer throughout her tenure, from Innocent Bystanders:
In fairness to Romer, it’s the details that count. According to the Post, ”[e]xcept for the unexpectedly severe collapse in economic growth, Romer said, the report has turned out to be “very accurate.””
…And except for the lingering unemployment crisis, the Obama economic team has done a bang-up job.
View all comments (11) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Joseph Lawler
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/08/12/romers-redo
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Eric Cartman| 8.12.10 @ 12:56PM
Better, more truthful graph: http://graphjam.com/2010/04/26.....ra-shirts/
nohype| 8.12.10 @ 3:59PM
You meant to say January 2009.
Usually when an economist takes a job in Washington the experiences enhances his or her reputation among peers. However, Romer will probably not want anyone to remember that she was in Washington, part of the most disasterous bit of economic policy making since the Hoover administration.
Dixie Pixie| 8.12.10 @ 4:25PM
That was a interesting and funny site – Eric.
However I think it was Mr. Lawler's point is the Obama drones thought the “Stimulus” would have a subtractive effect on the unemployment rate. In fact the “Stimulus” had an additive effect.
If you take the original projections and ADD the “Stimulus”, then the revised projections would be a close match to the actual unemployment rate. In short the Obama administration got it 180 degrees wrong and as a result made a problem worse.
Eric, that is my interpretation of Mr. Lawler's post. What is yours.
Curly Smith| 8.12.10 @ 6:02PM
I've got a different take...
First, the Dems *knew* that the recession was a hoax, after all, they created it by talking down the economy for two years prior to Obama's election.
Second, the Dems *knew* that the recession would only last 13 months, the recent historical average.
Third, they *knew* that the economy would turn around the second Obama took office (and the sea levels would fall, crops would be bountiful, the birds would sing more melodiously, etc).
So, by combining what they *knew*, they determined that they could steal a trillion dollars from the private sector, the economy would still recover (it always had and there was nothing wrong anyway) and they'd look like economic forecasting geniuses. Plus, it would pave the way for even bigger government because if spending a trillion and nationalizing the auto-industry, the financial sector and health care is such an economic boost then imagine what nationalizing the rest of the economy would yield.
Sadly, the Dems got into trouble because much of what they *knew* simply wasn't true. The recession was real and the negative talk just made it deeper and longer lasting. Then they stole the fuel that powers the economic engine, then they stole more fuel, then they got tired of stealing fuel and burned the depot.
Dixie Pixie| 8.12.10 @ 10:17PM
Good points and well said – Curly Smith.
One point you missed. Obama and his media minions “knew” the current economic troubles could be dismissed with a “ Pollyanna” media strategy.
I too can see November from my house.
Oldefarte| 8.13.10 @ 11:36AM
Romer is typical of the liberal Democratic academia-EGGHEADS that are running our economy into the financial ditch!!!!!