Lambro Claims Obama “Failed Miserably” To Improve Economy

Lambro: “Mr. Obama Wrongly Thought He Could Spend His Way Out Of The Recession.” In an October 27 Washington Times column, Lambro claimed that Obama tried to “spend his way out of the recession” but “failed miserably.” From The Washington Times:

The Obama administration will, no doubt, try to turn this 2.5 percent rate into “morning in America” campaign ads, but the long-term unemployed know the difference, and so do top economic analysts.

This is what passes for growth in the Age of Obama. This is about as good as it's going to get in his presidency. The GDP rate “implies that the economy is growing only about as fast as it is capable of in the longer term,” writes Washington Post economics reporter Neil Irwin.

[...]

Mr. Obama wrongly thought he could spend his way out of the recession by doling out borrowed tax dollars on parts of the economy; i.e., public-sector jobs and infrastructure projects here and there. He failed miserably.

The formula for growth and jobs is to free the economy from oppressive taxation and regulation and unlock trillions of dollars in private risk capital that is the lifeblood of a prosperous nation. [The Washington Times, 10/27/11]

But Obama's Recovery Act Boosted Both GDP And Employment

CBO: Economic Stimulus Increased Employment By Over 1 Million Jobs. An August 2011 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act "[l]owered the unemployment rate by between 0.5 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points" and that the recovery bill "[i]ncreased the number of people employed by between 1.0 million and 2.9 million" during the second quarter of 2011. [Congressional Budget Office, August 2011]

CBO: Economic Stimulus Raised GDP. The same CBO report estimated that the Recovery Act “raised real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) by between 0.8 percent and 2.5 percent” in the second quarter of 2011. [Congressional Budget Office, August 2011]

Private Analysts Estimate Stimulus Increased GDP By 1.8 To 2.7 Percent. In its seventh quarterly report on ARRA, the president's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) estimated that the stimulus “has raised the level of GDP as of the first quarter of 2011, relative to what it otherwise would have been, by between 2.3 and 3.2 percent.” CEA also provided a chart showing that private analysts estimate that the stimulus boosted GDP between 1.8 and 2.7 percent:

[Council of Economic Advisers, 7/1/11]

Private Analysts Estimate Stimulus Increased Employment By 2.4 To 2.5 Million. In its report, the CEA provided the following chart showing that private forecasters estimate that as of the first quarter of 2011, the stimulus increased employment between 2.4 and 2.5 million:

[Council of Economic Advisers, 7/1/11]