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Yadira Rodriguez

Barack Obama gets a post-debate boost as unemployment falls below 8 percent - Dale McFe... - 3 views

www.newsday.com/...alls-below-8-percent-1.4079591

Obama unemployment rate down

shared by Yadira Rodriguez on 05 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • September unemployment rate
  • fell to 7.8 percent
  • economy added 114,000 jobs in September, good but not enough to keep up with the potential growth in the workforce.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • there are now officially more jobs in the U.S. than when Obama took office.
  • The gains were spread across most sectors of the economy
  • Average pay and the average work week were also up slightly.
  • last month this report may help Obama keep his next month.
  • Mitt Romney carped, "This is not what a real recovery looks like,"
  • Yadira Rodriguez on 05 Oct 12
     
    This article discusses the how the rate of unemployment has decreased and it's affects on Obama's campaign.  Although this is good according to Romney, it is not the best that we can do. Does the fact that the percent it decreased is not a lot? Is it still an accomplishment?
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 06 Oct 12
     
    I think this is a big part of this article: "there are now officially more jobs in the U.S. than when Obama took office." Yes, we need more, and any unemployment at all isn't a good thing, but we are moving in the right direction and that's what matters. The Republicans can't say that Obama has done nothing, because there's clearly some improvement.
  • Danielle Polevoi on 07 Oct 12
     
    I think this is an accomplishment and "the trajectory clearly indicates a recovery" but am not sure why this is related back to the debate. I thought Romney answered the questions more thoroughly and didn't shy away as much as Obama did. Overall, I thought Romney did a better job even though I don't agree with every thing he said. Just because these numbers came out doesn't mean Romney didn't debate successfully.
  • Abby Schantz on 08 Oct 12
     
    I agree. I think what is key about the article is the quote, "Indeed, the economy has added jobs for 24 straight months." What resinates with me which the article touched on and our speaker on the economy in class went in detail with is the idea that because of the growth in population, to have job growth, not only does Obama have to create more jobs than before, but he has to do that on top of an addition number of jobs that account for the increase in population. This is something I never really thought about before but makes a huge difference in how I look at his success in making more jobs.
  • Savannah L on 08 Oct 12
     
    However, unemployment inequality has increased and college students are coming out of college with jobs that they are vastly overqualified for. Also, long term unemployment rates have increased, which in my opinion is a more important number than the short term. If Obama wants to be respected in my opinion, he has to create more long term jobs, which he hasn't done. He has only made our country more dependent on government influence. Just because unemployment is 7.8 does not mean that the economy is actually getting better. The 7.8 is taking into account part time employment, which does not indicate economical well being, especially since 2 million will be laid off before the holiday season. And I'm curious to hear what this speaker you are talking about said, please explain.
Will Rothman

Romney attacks Obama over weak US job figures - Americas - Al Jazeera English - 3 views

www.aljazeera.com/...201297125335998311.html

Obama Jobs Romney Unemployment Eight Percent

shared by Will Rothman on 13 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Will Rothman on 13 Sep 12
     
    Romney is using Obama's failed promises to lower the unemployment rate below 8% as one of his most convincing points against the president's last four years.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 16 Sep 12
     
    On one hand, creating jobs is an exceedingly difficult thing to do, and it's certainly not the only part of the campaign. On the other hand, if Obama specifically promised to lower unemployment by a certain amount, it's frustrating that he hasn't been able to. But you can't take that as the only fact in the question "are you better off than you were four years ago?".
  • Abby Schantz on 16 Sep 12
     
    Yes job creation is not the only question in "are you better off than you were four years ago?" but it is a big one. Having a job is a key to having a good life. It is one of the issues that most directly affects each American person. Even someone who pays no attention to politics or policy whatsoever is directly affected by jobs. So if Obama cannot create jobs now, I can see why the Romney campaign would choose to focus on criticizing that so strongly.
  • Danielle Polevoi on 16 Sep 12
     
    Unemployment has become such a pressing issue for many families that Romney is smart to bring up Obama's failed promises to lower the unemployment. Because having jobs is important to everyone, it makes sense that Romney is using this to the best of his advantage. That said, there is only so much control that Obama has and I don't think his "failed promise" leads directly to "are you better off than you were four years ago?"
James Foster

Lucky Obama: The News Is Bad, But the Mood Is Good - 4 views

www.businessweek.com/...ws-is-bad-but-the-mood-is-good

obama campaign economy

shared by James Foster on 25 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • James Foster on 25 Sep 12
     
    President Obama's reelection campaign is catching a break: The economic news has been bad, but the public hasn't seemed to notice. On Thursday, for example, came news of unexpected weakness in leading economic indicators and jobless claims. This post represents a key problem facing the GOP, which is if Romney can't beat Obama in such a poor economy, than there is something really going wrong within the GOP considering that Romney was picked because he was the "best" choice. What do you guys think is wrong within the GOP and what should they do to fix it?
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 06 Oct 12
     
    The article says "Democrats are likely to look at the economy with rose-colored glasses because they want their candidate to win in November" which doesn't really address anything. If they believe that the economy is bad and that Obama isn't going to fix it, why are they going to vote for him? The article doesn't give any reasoning at all for why people would want to vote for Obama, just makes them seem crazy for wanting to do so. As for your questions, James, I think they did pick the best candidate at the time. I just think that Obama is a really remarkable politician and public speaker, whether you agree with him or not, and Romney can't compete with that. That, and many people really do believe that Obama is improving the economy.
  • Danielle Polevoi on 07 Oct 12
     
    I'm not seeing the true point of this article. I think the "rose-colored glasses" refer to people that will support Obama regardless of the campaign. I think that there are people who like what he has done and trust him so will vote for him regardless of the economic state right now...but is that hard to believe? Not really. He probably has some advantage from winning people's trust in the past 4 years.
  • Abby Schantz on 08 Oct 12
     
    Yeah I agree. I don't think the article went into enough detail with enough facts to convince me of anything. Of course people who support Obama and want him to win are going to see him in a better way then people supporting Romney. And I think depending which part of Obama you choose to focus on, there is a good and bad just like with the policies or actions of any other politician.
  • Savannah L on 09 Oct 12
     
    Sabrina, I disagree with you in just about nearly everything that you said. The economy is not getting better. He's put more long term damage on us than I thought imaginable 4 years ago. I don't think that he has helped our economy, and here is why: Yes, he did help save us from total collapse, but even then, it wasn't him, it was TARP, signed into law under Bush, which even permitted his actions as acceptable. Gas prices have raised by 1.30/gal and the amount of americans on food stamps has doubled. Sure, short-term unemployment is down from a couple of weeks ago, but the fact of the matter is that at this time in 2008 it was 13M, and it is now 22M. Yes, I understand that Obama has to deal with the Bush era's layover, but in 2016 he will have only improved this number slightly to 19M, not nearly enough to say that he is helping our economy. Under Obama, income inequality was greater than in 2008. Long term unemployment rates have doubled, which in my opinion, is a better indicater of long term well being. The big 5 made 48% of our GDP this year, compared to 32% in 2008, thanks to Dod Franklin. He's increasing middle class tax burden by about 3,000$ with the passing of Obamacare. ACA will increase our debt by 500M a year because it calls for 1T in funds, but only allows tax raises totalling half of that, causing our budget deficit to increase rapidly. At current rates, excluding the increases in deficit from ACA and others, in 2016 our spending will be 130% of our GDP, which is simply instable and can in no way be considered 'helpful' to our economy. Let's not forget the high intrest on our debt, so this number will only drastically increase in the long run. Some of you will be paying taxes by 2016, and as a taxpayer you will owe the government around 220K apeice, because at that point in time an even lower fraction of our population will be paying taxes than currently. I do not like Obama as a politician at
  • Savannah L on 10 Oct 12
     
    all. Also, I think that Romney much better as a debater, Obama stumbled through the entire debate and was unable to use statistics to his advantage, and I personally believe that an argument without statistics is a flop and as a result do not think that Obama is a good debater.
  • Sami Perez on 11 Oct 12
     
    Even though the article does not provide much proof, I think our debate here provides good evidence to this issue. Being in San Francisco, I know and have spoken with many people who seem very dedicated to Obama because of his persona, but are very ignorant to facts and news about our current national position. I think that Savannah's point is also valid, and can understand why many people would be on the GOP's side. Thus it is difficult to say one point should be more valid than the other, and these arguments amongst ourselves seem to prove why many still favor Obama and why many today favor the GOP.
Savannah L

Obama and Boehner Circle Each Other on Budget Impasse - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...h-other-on-budget-impasse.html

obama boehner house bush tax cuts

shared by Savannah L on 09 Nov 12 - No Cached
  • The Treasury Department expects the country to hit its debt ceiling, a legal limit on the amount the government is allowed to borrow, close to the end of the year.
    • Savannah L
      Savannah L on 09 Nov 12
       
      Anyone else completely frightnened that we will reach our new debt ceiling by the end of this year? We can't keep raising it to allow for this sort of spending. 
  • Savannah L on 09 Nov 12
     
    I think that it is nice to see some hope towards compromise at the white house, but at the same time respect Boehner so much more for saying that he simply will not accept any tax plan that isn't balanced. We  really can't afford to be increasing our budget deficit any more. At current rates, our debt to gdp ratio will be up 40% by the end of 2016, and we cannot afford to be increasing our deficit. By 2016, the interest on our massive debt because of our skyrocketing budget deficit will have tripled. We are financially headed in a horrible direction, and I am trusting Boehner to shut down any attempts to pass more debt-skyrocketing bills. I agree with this article's position on tax cuts to the wealthy, increasing taxes will only hurt the private sector even further. Even the CBO agrees that if bush tax cuts were to expire unemployment would rise to a whopping 9%, and as such should not be allowed to expire.The private sector, not the government, creates jobs, and this article confirms to me why the government should make it easier for the private sector to create jobs by allowing the bush tax cuts to continue. 
Savannah L

Romney Strggles to Gain Traction in Battlegrounds - 3 views

online.wsj.com/...3921504577641694168291460.html

romney swing state

shared by Savannah L on 10 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Savannah L on 10 Sep 12
     
    Overall, this article is very critical of Romney, claiming that Obama is making bigger leads in swing states. Romney is extremely shifty in his views and doesn't make it clear what finances he has planned. Also, this article hints towards the end the slight opinion differences of Romney and ryan which could be very problematic.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 16 Sep 12
     
    What I found interesting in this article was Ryan's statement that "You know, it depends on the quality of the agreement," which indicates that his ideals aren't very set and could easily be changed by a convincing argument. Also, this seems to disagree with what Rush Limbaugh said about Obama just giving up. This race is still open to either candidate.
  • Abby Schantz on 16 Sep 12
     
    What stood out to be in this article was the quote from Charlie Cook saying, "the case for firing President Obama is really pretty obvious, but the case for hiring Mitt Romney is one that has yet to be made." I think this is a really strong point. Romney has made his points of why we should get Obama out of obvious very clear but I think for the remainder of the election it might be a smart move to start convincing people why he should be the replacement.
  • Danielle Polevoi on 16 Sep 12
     
    I was struck by the same quote that Sabrina mentioned that "You know, it depends on the quality of the agreement" (Ryan). I think there is plenty of time left in the election and I think Romney will be pushed to clarify his ideals.
  • Eli Chanoff on 19 Sep 12
     
    "sixty days is like sixty years in campaign time" seems like an overplay of hopefulness. I take from this article that Romney's people can only really argue that Mitt still has a chance while Obama's people believe he will more than likely win.
  • Savannah L on 19 Sep 12
     
    Romney really does need to get his act together. Ryan seems to be running the show a little bit more than he should, but with the debates soon to start, Romney will have a little more hope on his side. Also, unemployment has risen from 1.9% through Obama's term, and statistically when unemployment is greater than 7.2 the incumbent doesn't win. The election has even changed drastically since I posted this article: The libyan assassination, the Romney 47% dependent on Government, etc, I do agree that 60 days can seem like 60 years. Romney does have to cover a lot of ground.
Savannah L

14 Things Obama Doesn't Want You to Know - 1 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...to-know-economy_n_1855172.html

obama economy housing banks

shared by Savannah L on 20 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Savannah L on 20 Sep 12
     
    Wow, very interesting and enlightening article that I feel like a lot of Obama supporters aren't aware of. Certainly goes against everything that Obama argued for, which I thought was very interesting. Statistically, it checks out.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Danielle Polevoi on 23 Sep 12
     
    This was an interesting article but I feel like it simplified a lot of the issues that Obama was being criticized on. While he didn't create as many jobs as he set out to, he did create many and it seems nit picky to me to discredit him because they were "low-income" jobs.
  • James Foster on 23 Sep 12
     
    This article isn't discrediting Obama because the jobs he created were "low-income" jobs, but because the many low-income jobs that he created replaced the middle wage jobs that were there before they were lost during the recession.
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 24 Sep 12
     
    What's most interesting about this article to me is that the Huffington Post, which is very liberal, is very openly criticizing Obama. I think this says a lot for their integrity and not just reporting news that supports their opinions.
  • Abby Schantz on 24 Sep 12
     
    I agree with Sabrina that it's interesting to see the Huffington post writing this. I really did enjoy the way this article was formatted though, it was a nice change to most of the articles I have been reading. It also left points that will stick with me as they were concise and came with visual as well.
  • Savannah L on 25 Sep 12
     
    James, you are right. College graduates from 2008-2012 are more likely to be overqualified for their jobs more than ever, in addition, short term unemployment has increased by 3% and long term unemployment under Barack has doubled. And besides, if you look at the current rates of which we are spending, failing to ignore the next four years of "more progress" that Obama wants to implement, our national debt will be 23 trillion dollars. This is the pure definition of fiscal irresponsibility, Obama alone will have spent twice as more as all of the presidents before him. And this is if his current policies stay the same, not taking into account on whether he will spend more money. This is all neglecting the 520 billion dollar interest, and neglecting the fact that less than half of each dollar being spent will be our own, the rest China's. I can't think of a more fiscally irresponsible president. These are some statistics I never hear mentioned at the DNC and am ecstatic that even a liberal news site recognizes their magnitude.
Will Rothman

BBC News - Barack Obama in Ohio Labor Day campaign stop - 4 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-us-canada-19468885

Obama Ohio BBC swing state

shared by Will Rothman on 04 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • "paying off for America".
  • For far too many Americans, today is another day of worrying when their next paycheck will come."
  • A Gallup opinion poll released on Monday suggested the convention had given the Republicans only the slightest of boosts, with 40% saying they were now more likely to vote for Mr Romney but 38% of respondents describing themselves as less likely to.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • He roused the crowd with the familiar slogan: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."
  • Will Rothman on 04 Sep 12
     
    Obama is really emphasizing the Auto-industry bailout and the positive outcomes that have resulted from his revenue injection. Also, Romney is gaining ground.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Danielle Polevoi on 06 Sep 12
     
    Although Obama stresses the positive outcomes from "reviving" General Motive,s I'm wondering why he didn't (maybe it just wasn't discussed in this article) continue talking about the jobs he will create. The unemployment rate is still high despite the Auto-industry bailout and I would think Ohio needs to hear what he WILL do along with what he has accomplished.
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 08 Sep 12
     
    I think Obama is making a smart move to reflect on the improvements he has made in Ohio, but I agree with Danielle that it's strange that he doesn't mention future progress. He also revisits a risky idea that he mentioned in his DNC speech: that the road to recovery is long and far from easy, and we're just starting.
  • Abby Schantz on 08 Sep 12
     
    I understand why Obama's campaign continues to focus on their success in the past four years because it is a lot easier for people to pick out the negatives themselves than the positives. That being said, I agree that it is important that he focus a lot on future progress which I think he usually does tend to do.
  • Yadira Rodriguez on 10 Sep 12
     
    I feel like this speech that Obama made at the car maker factory is similar to what Romney was doing at his stump speech at the oil company. They were both relating to their audience. This makes sense since North Carolina is a swing state. Obama was trying to appeal to them and gain their vote.
Abby Schantz

Are You Better Off Than You Were 4 Years Ago? - 3 views

thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...-off-than-you-were-4-years-ago

better off economy Obama Paul Ryan

shared by Abby Schantz on 03 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Abby Schantz on 03 Sep 12
     
    Obama's campaign is fighting to say that the country is better off than it was 4 years ago in response to Republicans saying otherwise.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Danielle Polevoi on 06 Sep 12
     
    I'm looking forward to Obama's speech tomorrow night because I'm really curious the tone he will take. I liked the comment a lot in this article that said if he's too optimistic the Republicans will "pounce" and people will think he isn't taking the economic situation gravely.
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 08 Sep 12
     
    One thing that stand out to me in this article is the idea that both candidates claim to be a champion for the middle class, and say that the other would crush the middle class. It's interesting that while they disagree in many areas, giving power back to the middle class is one that they agree on. I think the biggest mistake in this article is the lack of preparation on the part of the Democrats. "Are you better off?" is a fairly simply question…and one that you shouldn't say no to if you're hoping to reelect the president.
  • Yadira Rodriguez on 10 Sep 12
     
    This question of whether America is better of now than it was four years ago is really hard to measure. What does better of mean? Obama has been able to accomplish things like kill Osama bin Laden, create obamacare, and stop the war in Iraq. These things that Obama has done make me believe that we are better of.
  • Savannah L on 10 Sep 12
     
    This article really highlights their wars over the middle class and shows different definitions on what is considered to make the country better off. I'm not surprised that both the GOP and the democrats are trying their hardest to make themselves better in the eyes of the middle class, which is the 'swing state' of the financial world. I agree with the republicans completely on this, I feel like 50,000 dollars per citizen in debt, a doubling of our long term unemployment rates, the 40% of every dollar being spent that is borrowed, and that our national debt under him is growing at a rate fast enough to equal our gdp in a couple of months are all overshadowing anything else from obama's presidency. ACA is only going to increase our national debt at the steep price of those it is trying to help, not to mention the wars on terrorism are far from over even though Osama is dead.
Sami Perez

Ohio Unions Face Tough Battle With 'Super PACs' - NYTimes.com - 5 views

www.nytimes.com/...gh-battle-with-super-pacs.html

unions face tough battle super PACs nytimes Ohio

shared by Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • The ruling in the Citizens United case and subsequent court rulings opened the door to unlimited corporate and union contributions to political committees and made it possible to pool that money with unlimited contributions from wealthy individuals.
    • Sami Perez
      Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12
       
      Working around the McCain-Feingold Act
  • unions boast that they will reach a far larger universe of voters than ever in 2012.
  • volunteer
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • wider audience
  • Many union members are frustrated with Mr. Obama’s performance, having hoped he would do more to reduce unemployment, push for stimulus and infrastructure spending and stand up to Congressional Republicans.
    • Sami Perez
      Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12
       
      Speaks to the issue of whether or not we are better off now than four years ago. Also proves that this labor is motivated by reason/logic rather than pure partisanship
  • large majority among white working-class workers
    • Sami Perez
      Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12
       
      political target
  • In July and August alone, forces on both sides of the presidential race spent $43 million on commercials in Ohio, according to Kantar Media/CMAG, with supporters of the Republicans outspending Democrats by $3 million.
    • Sami Perez
      Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12
       
      What does this mean in terms of how the large corporation donations will affect decisions made by the political leaders they sponsored? 
  • high-tech update
  • social media.
  • In the end, she said, she thought she had swayed perhaps two voters.
    • Sami Perez
      Sami Perez on 04 Sep 12
       
      How affective can you be without the money/power of a large corporation?
  • Sabrina Rosenfield on 16 Sep 12
     
    It's so frustrating to me that campaigns seem to be all about money. Shouldn't they be about the candidates ideas?
  • Abby Schantz on 16 Sep 12
     
    I agree that it is frustrating how much a campaign is dependent on money but when I think about it, money is what gives candidates the ability to share their ideas with the most people. Whether or not something just as a TV commercial is more about a candidates ideas or solely bashing another candidiate, the advertisement is reaching a population who may not ordinarily have much interest in the election. Money is what enables candidates to travel around the nation to give speeches ect. So although it is extremely frustrating, money does play a crucial role in even just spreading the candidates ideas.
  • Danielle Polevoi on 16 Sep 12
     
    It frustrates me too. It seems that all of the money spent campaigning could go to something much more useful in our government. But I agree with you Abby that for many people, commercials and any media are some of the only exposure that people have to the current election, which is why they are so crucial.
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