Graph for the Day for December 3, 2010

By Janice Shaw Crouse

Summer of Recovery & Other Fantasies

"This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."[1] Barack Obama (June 3, 2008)

"As the summer heats up, it is becoming clear that it could quite possibly be the most active season yet when it comes to recovering our economy. There are Recovery Act-funded projects breaking ground across the country that are creating quality jobs for Americans and economic growth for businesses, large and small.

"This summer is sure to be a Summer of Economic Recovery."[2] - Ron Sims (June 17, 2010)

Index of Change in Employment - 1991 to 2010:

Job loss during Bush 41 recession (June 1990 to July 1991): 1.6 million (1.4%)

Job loss during Bush 43 recession (Feb. 2001 to Aug. 2003): 2.7 million (2.0%)

Job loss during Bush-Obama recession (Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2009): 8.4 million (6.1%)

Job loss during Summer of Recovery (May 2010 to Aug. 2010): 242 thousand

Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D., author of "Children at Risk" (Transaction, 2010), is Senior Fellow, The Beverly LaHaye Institute, Concerned Women for America.

[1] Barack Obama, Campaign Speech, June 3, 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbbIQFcEhcQ.

[2] Ron Sims, The White House, The Recovery Act, www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/17/a-summer-recovery.