More evidence that the economy is in a failed state per the Obama Administration, itself.

From congressman's Bob Latta's office,  we have this admonition and commentary:

Help House Republicans pass 27 jobs bills

Commentary Posted by Congressman Robert Latta on February 02, 2012

Data reported by POLITICO shows our economy isn't improving. 

• The Federal Reserve has announced it will keep interest rates low through 2014, a sign of its pessimism about the pace of the economic recovery.

Editor's note:  manipulating lower interest rates is an indication of a poor economy,  in and of itself. Healthy or improving economies do not need such "assistance" -  blog editor. 

• The Commerce Department found the nation’s economy grew at a 2.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter of 2011, a faster pace than the rest of the year but worse than expected. If the economic growth slows in the next quarter, it will be tough to keep unemployment down.

Editor's note:  if inventory purchases are excluded from the 4th quarter GDP statement,  the economy grew at the much lesser rate of .07%  -  which is less than a one percent growth rate,  just in case you missed that point  --  blog editor. 

• The Congressional Budget Office projected a wider budget deficit and rising unemployment for the rest of the year, with the jobless rate expanding to 8.9 percent by the end of the year.

• Housing remains a problem. The Case-Shiller index again found that home prices across the country fell 1.3 percent in November from October in its most recent survey. 

Editor's note:  the Case-Shiller Index  is a collection of housing data from 20 designated cities.  In 19 of the the 20,  prices fell,  this November  (the most recent report)  - blog editor

The House is passing bills to spur the economy and help create jobs but the Senate and White House aren't supporting our efforts. Help us pass these bills by contacting your Senator. 

Three years later: Stimulus hasn't worked

Posted by Latta on February 01, 2012

On February 1, 2009, President Obama said when speaking on the economy, “If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” 

Three years later, the results couldn’t be clearer. The failed policies and broken promises of the President’s trillion-dollar stimulus have made things worse. As the chart below illustrates, the policies of the Obama Administration have left Americans worse off now than before Obama took office. 

Key to reading the above chart:  understand that the first line,  the lower line on the chart,  is one drawn by Christina Romer and  Jared Bernstein sometime during the 2007-2008 season.  You can find the original chart (without the "actual unemployment rate" [red] ) in the embargoed report,  found here.  and dated "January 9, 2009,"  11 days before Obama's inauguration.  

Per this chart,  Obama projected a 6.7% unemployment rate by the end of the 1st quarter of 2012, and the "first quarter" is now.  


Watch for more on this matter,  but I am working on research documenting Obama's effort at dealing with the economy two years before his election.  Romer and Bernstein were must two of several dozen individuals and agencies either working on his "hit the ground running" strategy or being consulted with regards to this effort.  The 787 Stimulus was already written before he was sworn into office.  That is why it took just 27 days to publish the Stimulus and sign it into law - less than a month after taking office. 


Amazing.  Two stinking years of hard work and the Stimulus failed within six months of its passage.  And this guy wants a second term?!!

Should I buy gold now? We have some thoughts.

Here is a very interesting article written by Connie Madon in December of 2008, a little more than a month after the November presidential elections. The word was already out that Obama intended to increase the monetization of our national debt (code for "printing money"). We submit this article because of its historical value as a predictor of the current financial circumstance. Understand - as a side note - that the monetizing of our debt is the predictive factor as one considers the purchase of gold. Most economists we read, tell us that the price of gold will continue to rise as long as this nation practices the monetizing processes needed (as some suggest) in the battle to mitigate a/this recession. We have highlighted what seems important to the current situation"

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From BloggingStocks: Dec 24, 2008 ---Monetizing our debt is happening as I write this. When a central bank prints money in excess of the revenue coming in, we refer to this as monetizing the debt. It has the effect of debasing that country's currency.

Let's look at what our central bank is doing right now. Since Labor Day, the Fed's assets have exploded to $2.31 trillion dollars from $905.7 billion dollars. Add to this President-elect Obama's plans to add another $700-800 billion dollars to this already bloated balance sheet and you are creating the seeds of a new disaster.

The effects of keeping interest rates near zero and monetizing the debt at the same time will create a double whammy. We saw what happened when Greenspan kept interest rates near zero for too long and created the housing bubble that has burst into skyrocketing unemployment and ever-rising home foreclosures. The Federal Reserve has done this, plus monetized the debt at the same time. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we are headed into one of the greatest inflationary cycles in history and creating a new and even bigger bubble. end of quote.

Editor's notes: We have made our point about gold. Understand, also, that there would have been no housing bubble but for two circumstances: 1) the demands of the Democrats as regards a multitude of factors having to do with "Affordable Housing," and 2) artificially reduced interest rates that increased buying "opportunities " for those who normally could not afford the luxury of home ownership.

Conclusions tying gold investment to the current economic circumstance.

Two years later, here is what is critical: NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE HAS CHANGED. Just this morning, Gerald Driscoll, an ex Chairmen in the Federal Reserve system, told FoxBusiness that the Fed is expanding its predictions of a slow housing recovery, extending into the 2012-2013 or beyond. Throughout that period, gold may be a reasonably sound investment. Know that the experts caution against more than a 10% portfolio set-aside for gold investment. Also, it is our experience that when gold prices falls off, they stay down for years at a time. What is not commonly known is the the fact that all purchases of gold exceeding $600 must be reported to the Federal government and in past times, governments have confiscated citizen held gold supplies including this country.