Hoft, Limbaugh Portray Romer's Comment As An Acknowledgment Of Failure

Hoft: “Romer Admitted In Her Speech That They Managed To Create A 'Growth-Less Recovery.'” From Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit blog:

Verum Serum caught this speech by former Chair of White House Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer on April 12 of this year. This was after she left the administration.Romer admitted in her speech that they managed to create a “growth-less recovery.” [GatewayPundit.com, 7/5/11]

Limbaugh: “She Admitted In Her Speech They Managed To Create A Growthless Recovery.” From The Rush Limbaugh Show:

RUSH LIMBAUGH: This is Christina Romer, former chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. She said it on April 12th of this year. That's how long it's taken somebody to catch this. This is after she had left the regime. She admitted in her speech they managed to create a growthless recovery. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/6/11]

Romer Was Clear That Growth Is Being Slowed By Factors Unrelated To Obama Policies

Romer: “Unrest In The Middle East, A Tsunami In Japan, And A Continuing Debt Crisis In Europe Have Each Shaved A Bit Off U.S. Growth.” From Romer's speech:

There has been much hand-wringing about whether we might be experiencing a “jobless” recovery. I think of that as being a situation where job growth is low, given the rate of output growth. What we are experiencing is, in fact, closer to a “growthless” recovery than to a jobless one. GDP started to grow more than a year and a half ago. But with the exception of a couple of quarters, growth has not been noticeably above its trend rate of about 2.5 percent.

This is not the kind of growth one needs or expects coming out of a deep recession. To bring the unemployment rate down and repair the labor market damage caused by the recession, growth needs to be far above its trend level. In the year and a half following the trough of the 1982 recession, real GDP growth averaged over 7 percent. Coming out of the Great Depression, GDP growth averaged more than 9 percent for the four years in the mid-1930s. Such rapid rates of GDP growth translated into very rapid job growth in both episodes.

[...]

Last December, there were signs that GDP growth was accelerating, at least somewhat. But unrest in the Middle East, a tsunami in Japan, and a continuing debt crisis in Europe have each shaved a bit off U.S. growth. As a result, it looks as though growth will remain tepid. Unemployment will therefore also likely remain severely elevated for a good while longer. [The Continuing Unemployment Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Questions for Further Study, 4/12/11]

Romer Also Said Actions By President, Congress, Fed Put “Us Firmly On The Road To Recovery”

Romer Praised Action Taken By Obama Administration, Said Economy Is “On The Mend.” From Romer's speech:

Fortunately, the economy is on the mend. We began adding jobs consistently last fall, and the unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point since last November. I feel strongly that the actions taken by the President, Congress, and the Federal Reserve deserve much credit for stopping the freefall, and putting us firmly on the road to recovery. [The Continuing Unemployment Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Questions for Further Study, 4/12/11]

Romer: “The Bottom Line Will Be That Fiscal Stimulus Is, And Was In This Past Recession, A Key Tool To Fight Cyclical Unemployment.” From Romer's speech:

I believe that when scholars finish analyzing both the U.S. and international evidence, the bottom line will be that fiscal stimulus is, and was in this past recession, a key tool to fight cyclical unemployment. For this reason, I think that the additional fiscal actions taken in December will be helpful in dealing with our continuing unemployment problem. Those actions included a 2 percent cut on the worker side of the Social Security tax, and another year of extended unemployment insurance. They also involved a two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts, including -- regrettably in my view -- those for the wealthiest taxpayers.

Importantly, these actions mainly prevented a severe fiscal contraction that otherwise would have occurred. The Recovery Act winds down strongly this year, and the Bush tax cuts were set to expire. So there is not a genuine jolt of additional stimulus. But the December actions were essential to preventing what very likely would have been a rise in unemployment had no offsetting fiscal expansion occurred.

I strongly support doing even more fiscal expansion in the short run. [The Continuing Unemployment Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Questions for Further Study, 4/12/11]