DC & MARYLAND'S YOUNG BLACK MEN REMAIN UNEMPLOYED & ARRESTED (EARLY VOTING 2018)

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DC & MARYLAND'S YOUNG BLACK MEN REMAIN UNEMPLOYED & ARRESTED (EARLY VOTING 2018):

IT APPEAR AS IF DC & MARYLAND'S BLACK POLITICIANS HAVE FORGOTTEN YOUNG UNEMPLOYED BLACK MEN.

JOB NUMBERS AMONG BLACK MEN IN DC & MARYLAND STILL LAG.

WHERE ARE THE JOBS IN DC & MARYLAND FOR YOUNG BLACK MEN?

YOUNG BLACK MEN IN DC & MARYLAND BELONG ON JOBS NOT IN JAIL.

BUT HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUNG BLACK MEN TO STAY OUT OF JAIL WITHOUT JOBS WHICH THEY NEED TO SURVIVE??


Post Sources: EPI, Baltimore Sun, WTOP, Youtube


****** In 14 states and DC, the African American unemployment rate is at least twice the white unemployment rate.


The highest African American unemployment rate is in the District of Columbia at 12.9 percent, while the highest white unemployment rate is in West Virginia at 5.2 percent.

In the first quarter of 2018, African American workers had the highest unemployment rate nationally, at 7.2 percent, followed by Hispanic (5.1 percent), white (3.3 percent), and Asian workers (3.0 percent).1

This report provides a state-by-state breakdown of unemployment rates by race and ethnicity and racial/ethnic unemployment rate gaps for the first quarter of 2018. It shows that while there have been state-by-state improvements in prospects for black and Hispanic workers, their unemployment rates remain high relative to those of white workers. Following are some key highlights of the report:

While the African American unemployment rate is at or below its pre-recession level in 17 states (of the 22 states and the District of Columbia for which these data are available), in 14 states and the District of Columbia, African American unemployment rates exceed white unemployment rates by a ratio of 2-to-1 or higher.

The District of Columbia has the highest black–white unemployment rate ratio overall, at 8.5-to-1, while South Carolina and Maryland have the highest ratios among states (3.2-to-1 and 2.8-to-1, respectively).

The highest African American unemployment rate is in the District of Columbia (12.9 percent), followed by Illinois (9.1 percent) and New Jersey (9.0 percent). The highest Hispanic state unemployment rate is in Connecticut (10.0 percent). In contrast, the highest white state unemployment rate is 5.2 percent, in West Virginia.

While the Hispanic unemployment rate is at or below its pre-recession level in 13 states (of the 16 states for which these data are available), there is no state where the Hispanic unemployment rate is lower than the white rate.

In five states and the District of Columbia, Hispanic unemployment rates exceed white unemployment rates by a ratio of 2-to-1 or higher (Connecticut, 3.4-to-1; Massachusetts, 2.1-to-1; Washington, 2.1-to-1; Colorado, 2.0-to-1; District of Columbia, 2.0-to-1, and Idaho, 2.0-to-1).

Background

In March 2018, the national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017.2 State unemployment rates in March ranged from a low of 2.1 percent in Hawaii to 7.3 percent in Alaska.3 According to a previous EPI analysis of unemployment by state, from December to March 2018, 25 states and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates decline, 7 states saw unemployment rates rise, and 18 states saw no change.

State unemployment rates, by race and ethnicity

EPI analyzes state unemployment rates by race and ethnicity, and by racial/ethnic unemployment rate gaps, on a quarterly basis to generate a sample size large enough to create reliable estimates of unemployment rates by race and ethnicity at the state level. We only report estimates for states for which the sample size of these subgroups is large enough to create an accurate estimate. For this reason, the number of states included in our map and data tables varies based on the analysis performed (unemployment rate, change in unemployment rate since the fourth quarter of 2007, and ratio of African American or Hispanic unemployment rate to white unemployment rate).

Trends among white workers

In the first quarter of 2018, the white unemployment rate was lowest in the District of Columbia (1.5 percent) and highest in West Virginia (5.2 percent), as shown in the interactive map and underlying data, which present state unemployment rates by race and ethnicity. Among states, North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate for white workers (1.9 percent).

Trends among African American workers

African American unemployment rate estimates are available for 23 states and the District of Columbia.

During the first quarter of 2018, among states, the African American unemployment rate was lowest in Indiana (4.8 percent) and highest in Illinois (9.1 percent); in the District of Columbia, it was 12.9 percent. The District of Columbia also had the highest black unemployment rate during the previous six quarters.

In the first quarter of 2018, of the 23 states with African American unemployment rate estimates, all had black unemployment rates below 10 percent; in 14 of these states, the rate was at or below the first quarter national average for African American workers (7.2 percent).

The black unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2018 was at or below its pre-recession level in 17 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

(Data on the change in black unemployment over this period are available for 22 states and the District of Columbia).

However, all states except for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas have black labor force participation rates that were lower in the first quarter of 2018 than at the end of 2007, indicating that the return to pre-recession levels of unemployment in these states was not a full recovery for African American workers because not all discouraged job seekers have returned to the market.5

Trends among Hispanic workers

Hispanic unemployment rate estimates are available for 23 states and the District of Columbia, and data on changes in Hispanic unemployment rates since the fourth quarter of 2007 are available for 16 states. In the first quarter of 2018, among states, the Hispanic unemployment rate was highest in Connecticut (10.0 percent) and lowest in Arkansas and Virginia (both at 3.3 percent).

The Hispanic unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in the District of Columbia. Connecticut and Washington were the only states with Hispanic unemployment rates above 8.0 percent in the first quarter.

The Hispanic unemployment rate is at or below its pre-recession level in 13 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The Hispanic unemployment rate was most elevated above its pre-recession level in Washington (by 2.3 percentage points).

In no state was the Hispanic unemployment rate lower than the white unemployment rate. In Arkansas, the Hispanic unemployment rate and white unemployment rate were exactly the same (3.3 percent). The ratio of Hispanic unemployment to white unemployment was highest in Connecticut (3.4-to-1), Massachusetts (2.1-to-1), and Washington (2.1-to-1).

Trends among Asian workers

Asian unemployment rate estimates are available for 10 states, and data on the change in Asian unemployment rates since the fourth quarter of 2007 are available for seven states. For the third consecutive quarter, the Asian unemployment rate was lowest in Hawaii (1.6 percent). The highest Asian unemployment rate was in Massachusetts (6.2 percent).

The Asian unemployment rate was at or below its pre-recession level in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. In only one state—New Jersey—was the Asian unemployment rate was more than 2 percentage points above its pre-recession level (at 2.6 percentage points higher).
Methodology

The unemployment rate estimates in this report are based on the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall state unemployment rate is taken directly from the LAUS. CPS six-month ratios are applied to LAUS data to calculate the rates by race and ethnicity.

For each state subgroup, we calculate the unemployment rate using the past six months of CPS data. We then find the ratio of this subgroup rate to the state unemployment rate using the same period of CPS data. This gives us an estimate of how the subgroup compares with the state overall.

While this methodology allows us to calculate unemployment-rate estimates at the state level by race and ethnicity by quarter, it is less precise at the national level than simply using the CPS. Thus, the national-level estimates may differ from direct CPS estimates.

In many states, the sample sizes of particular subgroups are not large enough to create accurate estimates of their unemployment rates. We report data only for groups that had, on average, a sample size of at least 700 in the labor force for each six-month period.

North Carolina's Unemployment Rate Creeps Up Again; Many Have Given Up!

Triangle's unemployment rate creeps up to 8 percent


Unemployment in the Research Triangle area increased to 8 percent in December, up slightly from November and four-tenths of a percentage point higher than a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted rate was even higher at 8.3 percent, according to data provided by East Carolina University.

Statewide, the number of people working fell by 32,021 to just over 4 million. The number of those unemployed climbed by 12,412 to 440,022.

The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits climbed to 39,445, up 1,368 from November. A year ago, new claims were 47,056. In December 2009, initial claims totaled 54,989.

The difference in the numbers of working and unemployed includes factors such as people who have dropped out of the work force, are no longer seeking work or receiving benefits, or retired or moved out of state.

Durham-Chapel Hill market added a net 300 jobs in December, but the number of jobs was down 1,500 from a year ago.

In Raleigh-Cary, employers cut a net 300 jobs. Employment was down 7,700, or 1.5 percent, from December 2010.

Fayetteville (600) and Rocky Mount (200) added jobs in December. Goldsboro lost 200.

The jobs numbers from the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division as reported Wednesday are not seasonally adjusted. Economists consider numbers adjusted for seasonal factors as a more reliable indicator of the job market’s real condition.

The unadjusted jobless rate for the Triangle in November was 7.8 percent. The adjusted rate was 8 percent.

Across the state, unemployment increased in 93 of 100 counties. The jobless rate was 9.8 percent. The adjusted rate was 9.9 percent.

Unemployment climbed in 13 of the state’s 14 major metropolitan areas. Only in Burlington did the rate decline, dropping to 9.7 percent from 10.3 percent.

The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area had the lowest rate at 7.5 percent. Raleigh-Cary's unemployment rate was 8 percent.

Rocky Mount’s rate of 12.9 percent was the highest.

The jobless rate for January will be released on March 13.


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Sources: WRAL, Google Maps

8.8% Unemployment Rate Great But Not Low Enough

So The Nation's Unemployment Rate Has Dropped To 8.8% Versus 9.8% Last November. Great News For Pres. Obama's Re-Election Bid, However More Than 200,000 People STILL Remain UNEMPLOYED! Instead Of Waiting Around For The Gov't To Help I Strongly Suggest You Create Your OWN GIG! Start A Small Business & Become A JOB Creator! Or If Applicable Take Advantage Of Gov't Sponsored Short-Term Job Training Programs Like QUICK JOBS.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Political importance of the unemployment trend line


In Politics, perception often matters more than reality. And that goes double for the politics of the economy.

Economists spend their lives poring over numbers that provide detailed information about how and whether the economy is growing. Average people, on the other hand, tend to look at a single number to assess the economy’s relative health: the unemployment rate.

And, it’s not even the exact number that most people fixate on. It’s the trend line. Are things getting marginally better, marginally worse or staying about the same?

That trend line is the single most telling image of how the American public feels — and how they are likely to vote on — the economy heading into the 2012 election.

Given that, today’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is good news for President Obama. The unemployment rate is still at 8.8 percent — that is down from 9.8 percent last November — and 216,000 jobs were created.

According to an analysis by Matt McDonald of Hamilton Place Strategies, a communications and policy consulting firm, if the economy can create roughly 185,000 jobs a month between now and November 2012, the unemployment rate will drop below eight percent by election day.

“This projection is down from last month’s benchmark of 190,000 new jobs and continues a string of modest good news on the jobs front for the President,” wrote McDonald.

The last time the unemployment rate was below eight percent was just prior to Obama taking office in January 2009, a fact Republicans will undoubtedly focus on in the campaign to come.

But, a downward trend line on the unemployment rate — if not a drastic reduction in the actual number — will allow the President to make the case that the economic policies he put into place over his first term in office are working and, therefore, he needs a second term to make things even better.

One need only to look as far as Ronald Reagan for evidence of the power of the economic trend line.

In March 1983, the unemployment rate stood at 10.3 percent. It steadily declined over the intervening 20 months and in October 1984 it stood at 7.3 percent.

While a 7.3 percent unemployment rate was no one’s economic dream scenario, the movement was in Reagan’s direction. And voters reacted accordingly — handing him a 49-state re-election victory over Walter Mondale.

Obama has to hope the unemployment trend line follows that same pattern for the remaining 19 months of his first term. If it does, his hand will be considerably strengthened in his bid for a second term.


Sources: MSNBC, Washington Post, WCNC, Youtube

October 2010 Unemployment Remains At 9.6%; Bush Tax Cuts

Eric Cantor Uses October 2010 Jobs Report To Make Pitch For Extending Tax Cuts

The man who is expected to be the next House majority leader says that ensuring that no one faces a tax increase will help the private sector take the lead in creating jobs.

Current House Minority Whip Eric Cantor made his comments moments after the release of October's jobs report.

"On Tuesday, Americans spoke decisively about their priorities, concerns and the role government should play in their lives. It's time to produce results, and job number one is getting people back to work. We must get the 'for hire' signs out of government windows and into the windows of small businesses. To do that, we need to end the uncertainty that continues to hang over the private sector, and that starts with ensuring that no one faces a tax increase in this economy," says Cantor, a Republican from Virginia who is expected to become the next House majority leader.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation gained 151,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 9.6 percent, the Labor Department says. The report indicates that the private sector grew by 159,000 jobs.

"I am encouraged that the White House now seems to acknowledge that raising taxes in this environment will only make things more difficult for struggling small business people, families, and investors. In the spirit of working together and listening to the people, I hope that when Congress returns in 10 days we will pass legislation that ensures that no one faces a tax increase," added Cantor.

According to CNN national exit polls, 39 percent of Americans say the tax cuts, implemented by President George W. Bush early in his administration, should be continued for all Americans, with 37 percent saying the cuts should be continued for families making under $250,000, and 15 percent saying the tax cuts should not be extended. The cuts are currently scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.


Sources: CNN, MSNBC

Unemployment Rate For Sept. 2010 Remains At 9.6! Hurts Democrats

Will The Job Numbers Affect The Election?


The new national unemployment rate released this morning held steady at 9.6 percent, marking the final time this economic data point comes out before the November elections. But voters’ perceptions of the economy were likely determined months ago, according to political scientists and economists, and this latest number should have little effect on the outcome of the races. “It’s way too late to change the public’s very pessimistic view of the economy,” says Thomas E. Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Although the midterm congressional elections have dominated news headlines during the past few weeks, Americans remain focused on the state of the economy, according to the latest poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Roughly 28 percent of the 1,002 people surveyed paid close attention to economic news, compared to just 12 percent of respondents who said they followed congressional races.

And the economy remains the key issue in the fall campaign, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll.

This new unemployment number re-enforces voters’ dismal view of the economy, Mann says. Roughly 14.8 million people remain unemployed, with jobless rate virtually unchanged for all major demographic groups, and the number of discouraged workers has risen to 1.2 million, up by roughly 500,000 from one year ago, according to the labor department data.

Historically, a weak economy has hurt the political fortunes of incumbent candidates. It’s hard to imagine voters in the state of Nevada, for instance, being as receptive to the advances of GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle if the unemployment rate were lower than its current 14.4 percent. President George H.W. Bush was tripped up by a bad economy when he reneged on a campaign promise to not raise taxes, and Jimmy Carter’s presidency, which lasted for one term, was similarly hurt by a recession and a spike in oil prices.

The latest unemployment numbers won’t do anything to counteract voters’ impression that President Obama is not doing enough to tackle the economy. Now that the president has been in office for close to two years, the sputtering recovery and lack of economic growth and substantial job creation inevitably hangs on him. “He went for health care over jobs. It turns out the sequencing was wrong,” says Sharyn O’Halloran, a political economist at Columbia University.

The weak economy also has disproportionately hurt the blue-collar workers nicknamed “lunch-pail Democrats,” who can easily swing toward Republicans if they’re dissatisfied. The unemployment rate for men now stands at 9.8 percent; the gap between the unemployment rate for men versus women remains at 9.8 percent versus 8 percent, continuing the trend of this economic downturn being a “mancession.”

The only way Democrats won’t suffer losses in the midterms is if the economy makes a dramatic comeback, and that seems unlikely over the next few weeks. All the party can do now is focus on long-term economic growth—not just the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts, O’Halloran says, but investments in infrastructure that hopefully can boost productivity and create jobs eventually.


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Sources: CBS News, CNBC, Newsweek, Pew Research, Google Maps

Unemployment Rate Remains High At 9.9%, Trouble For Dems

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Cheers Job Growth In April, But Says There's Still A "Ways To Go"


President Obama said Friday that the job growth in April is "heartening considering where we were last year," but added, "we've got a ways to go."

The U.S. added 290,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in April, but unemployment as a whole rose to 9.9 percent as 805,000 people began returning to look for positions in the workforce.

The hiring of 66,000 temporary government workers to conduct the census helped overall payroll growth last month. However, private employers boosted figures by adding a surprisingly strong 231,000 positions last month, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Obama said the controversial steps by his administration, including last year's stimulus bill, have helped the nation pull out of a serious recession.

"Yes, we've got a ways to go but we've also come a long way," he said.

The numbers are the biggest growth since March 2006, and the White House noted that revised numbers for February and March added an additional 120,000 jobs.

Many economists have predicted the unemployment rate would rise as people come back into the labor force. The jobless rate hit 10.1 percent in October, a 26-year high.

All told, 15.3 million people were out of work in April.

Counting people who have given up looking for work and part-timers who would prefer to be working full time, the so-called underemployment rate rose to 17.1 in April. That shows just how difficult it is to get work

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor said it's always a good thing to see positive gains, but Washington's spending could make it impossible to sustain growth.

"Out-of-control spending in Washington has produced a Mount Everest of debt that we are asking future generations to climb. Even if the economy added 250,000 jobs every month, it would take nearly five years to get back to full employment. Five years is too long," Cantor said.

Cantor argued that a massive health care program instituted by the federal government will make it more difficult for employers to increase hires.

Economists estimate that the economy would need to grow at an annual rate of 6 percent to 8 percent a quarter for a major reduction in unemployment rates. The economic pace was 3.2 percent in the first three months of this year.

President Obama will be joined by his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, among others on his economic team, when he comments on the latest unemployment numbers Friday morning.

Job gains in April were widespread. Manufacturers, construction companies, retailers, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality and government all showed gains. Among the weak spots: transportation and warehousing, and information companies, which all all cut jobs last month.

The improvements, however, were taking place before the stock market plunged this week on concerns that the European debt crisis could spread. There are fears the crisis could make companies more cautious about hiring in the future, economists warned..

Hiring isn't expected to be robust enough anytime soon to lower the unemployment rate much. Economists think it will remain above 9 percent by the November midterm elections. That could make Democratic and Republican incumbents in Congress vulnerable.

Europe's debt crisis will probably dampen demand for U.S. exports. And the debt crisis may continue to weigh on markets. Thursday's stock market plunge -- the Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 1,000 points before recovering two-thirds of its losses -- introduced fresh uncertainties.

High unemployment and sluggish wage gains are likely to prevent consumers from going on spending sprees any time soon. Small businesses, which usually help drive job creation during recoveries, are having trouble getting loans. That tight credit is crimping their ability to expand operations and hire.

Americans aren't very optimistic either, according to the Associated Press-GfK Poll of April 7-12, which showed just 21 percent of Americans say the economy in good condition.


Sources: Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC

Obama Heads To Charlotte Where Unemployment Rate Is 12%

Pres. Obama Moves On To Jobs, And To Charlotte


Pivoting quickly from health care to jobs, President Barack Obama on Friday will visit the Charlotte region as the area continues to reel from the highest unemployment rate in at least 20 years.

White House officials have not yet settled on where Obama will speak, or in what format. But his administration has been emphasizing job creation, small businesses and a "green economy" that focuses on the production of clean energy.

Obama will arrive in the Charlotte region - where the jobless rate remains above 12 percent - on the same day new national employment numbers are released that could indicate which way the nation's business climate is turning.

Local leaders say the president's visit will highlight Charlotte's successes just as Mayor Anthony Foxx is trying to promote the Queen City as a national example of how a midsized city can thrive in a new economy.

"Many of the messages that we conveyed about the symmetry between the administration's focus on strengthening and diversifying our national economy are very much in sync with what we want to accomplish in Charlotte," Foxx, a Democrat, said in an interview Friday.

Foxx and retired Bank of America chief Hugh McColl Jr. led an entourage of business leaders to Washington two weeks ago. They met with top administration officials about Charlotte's needs and the goals for some of its major industries: health care, energy and financial services.

"There's a direct correlation between the work we're doing here on job creation and the visit we took to Washington," Foxx said. "It's an extension of the work the White House is doing, and we're trying to help the White House do, here in Charlotte: to promote job growth."

McColl called Obama's visit "a positive thing."

"I'm very optimistic about the fact that he's coming to Charlotte," he said. "I don't think it's just show and tell. I think it's got to be something positive."

Jobless rate higher here

Foxx said the economic recovery should blend the needs of both Wall Street and Main Street.

The region's unemployment rate hit 12.8 percent in January. Nearly 62,000 area residents have lost work since the recession began. But Charlotte has seen recent successes, with the Siemens Energy announcement this month of 825 new jobs and other jobs announcements from Electrolux and Husqvarna.

Duke Energy Carolinas President Brett Carter, who went on the Washington trip, said the company is forging ahead with investments in solar energy and wants to do more with nuclear power.

"We as an energy company need small businesses to create those jobs," Carter said Friday. "We don't build everything ourselves; we rely on small and medium-sized businesses to help in creation of jobs. ... If they don't have access to funds, then we cannot buy the solar power from them."

Foxx said he wants the White House to look to Charlotte for future investments in major energy projects, pointing out that the city already has a light-rail line and a major firm developing solar power and other green energy.

"We can do it faster than other cities," Foxx said. "We've already got assets in place."

In the energy sector, Obama last month announced a loan guarantee to build the first new U.S. nuclear reactors in 30 years, at a plant in Georgia.

Small business needs help

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a Biscoe Democrat, said Friday that he intends to attend the Obama event, even though he recently voted against the health care overhaul Obama has pushed for during the past year.

"The bill's passed," Kissell said. "I don't look backwards; I look forwards."

Kissell met with Charlotte's entourage in Washington and said the government should focus on small businesses.

"We're trying to find those opportunities for growing the small business jobs and expanding the businesses that are there," he said. "That's our biggest opportunity, and always has been, even in the more metropolitan areas."

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, said he hopes to see more positive employment numbers next week. Already, he said, some businesses are starting to hire temporary workers - a precursor to a stronger recovery.

"The cycle has started, but I don't think anybody believes it still won't take a long time to turn around," Watt said.

Obama recently signed a modest jobs bill that provides tax credits to companies that hire long-term unemployed workers.

GOP: Expect protests

Obama last visited Charlotte the day before he was elected president in 2008. He has been to North Carolina since then, a signal that he intends to keep up with the state that went from red to blue for him and helped push him into the presidency.

But Republicans said Obama may hear from some critics.

"It would not surprise me at all if there were protests with him coming, especially on the heels of the health care bill being passed," said Mecklenburg GOP Chairman Rob Bryan.

When Obama spoke at the University of Iowa on Thursday, about a dozen protesters greeted him. One waved a hand-lettered sign reading "Dictator Obama" on one side and "Can we impeach him yet?" on the other.

Charlotte Republican Hal Jordan, seeking to unseat Kissell in the 8th Congressional District, said he wants the president to hear from people who disagree with him.

"I actually think it's great he's coming to Charlotte, and I hope he listens to what the people of Charlotte have to say," Jordan said. "If he listens to more than a handful, he'll hear that most people are not in favor of a government takeover of our health care system."




Can Obama Win Back Former Ardent Supporters?


(Letter to President Barack Obama from a former strong supporter)


Dear President Obama:

Congratulations on the recent passage of your Health Care Reform bill.

I'm a Voter, Blogger and a former ardent supporter you lost during the Health Care Reform debate.

Before I proceed its imperative you know I do not agree with all of the provisions listed in the HC Reform bill (now law).

However since Health Care reform was so desperately needed in our country, at least your law could be considered the framework for a future system that will work well for all legal citizens.

Mr. President in your quest for Bi-Partisanship support, it appears you procrastinated too long during the Health Care Reform bill drafting process.

This procrastination hindered your administration from focusing on Jobs and Education.

Why did you allow this to occur?

When it was evident Republicans were NOT going to support HC Reform, why didn't your administration and other Dems just pass the bill anyway?
After all didn't Democrats have the majority?

Why did you wait until Scott Brown won to finally take charge?

While I do agree that having Bi-Partisan support on major legislation is of vital importance, both parties must fully cooperate and/or compromise to achieve Bi-Partisan success.

Because you allowed the GOP to kill your Health Care message, even I became Angry and began attacking your administration's weakness, or what appeared to be weakness on my Blog.

Today I wish to offer my deepest apologies but I hope while your still in office you never, ever allow such complacency on important issues to occur again.

You are our President! We believed in you! We voted for you!

Effective Leaders don't second guess themselves, over analyze situations, procrastinate, they're NOT afraid to take risks and they aren't satisfied with being in second place.

Real Health Care Reform, Education Reform, Financial Reform are the CHANGEs we voted for and are still seeking.

Again I apologize but how can you win back millions of American Voters and former supporters like myself?

How can you help make us believe in the substance of your administration's agenda and efforts again?

I live in North Carolina where Public Schools are being Re-Segregated across the board. (Wake County & Charlotte-Mecklenburg, etc.,)

NC BCBS increased their rates but decreased Patient Care & Quality of Care for their members.

(NC Blue Cross, Blue Shield (North Carolina's Health Care Insurance monopoly) increased their rates again prior to the passing of your health care reform bill.)

Will your administration just sit back and allow these injustices to continue or will you as our nation's Leader take charge?

I represent average Americans and we need help!

Please no more procrastination or political games. Please.

As a current resident of Charlotte, North Carolina I've seen enough Corrupt, Slack Leadership to last a lifetime. Now I'm ready for CHANGE.

God Bless

Regards,

Laurel


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Sources: WCNC, McClatchy Newspapers, WRAL, SMH.com, Flickr, Google Maps

Mort Zuckerman Slams Obama's Policies Just Like Warren Buffet

Mort Zuckerman: Obama's Done Everything Wrong!


Obama punted on the economy and reversed the fortunes of the Democrats in 365 days.

He’s misjudged the character of the country in his whole approach. There’s the saying, “It’s the economy, stupid.” He didn’t get it. He was determined somehow or other to adopt a whole new agenda. He didn’t address the main issue.

This health-care plan is going to be a fiscal disaster for the country. Most of the country wanted to deal with costs, not expansion of coverage. This is going to raise costs dramatically.

In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It’s now worse than it was. I’ve now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I’ve never seen before. It’s politically corrupt and it’s starting at the top. It’s revolting.

Five states got deals on health care—one of them was Harry Reid’s. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I’ve never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It’s a bizarre form of political corruption. It’s bribery. I suppose they could say, that’s the system. He was supposed to change it or try to change it.

Even that is not the worst part. He could have said, “I know. I promised these things, but let me try to do them one at a time.” You want to deal with health care? Fine. Issue No. 1 with health care was the cost. You know I think it was 37 percent or 33 who were worried about coverage. Fine, I wrote an editorial to this effect. Focus on cost-containment first. But he’s trying to boil the ocean, trying to do too much. This is not leadership.

Obama’s ability to connect with voters is what launched him. But what has surprised me is how he has failed to connect with the voters since he’s been in office. He’s had so much overexposure. You have to be selective. He was doing five Sunday shows. How many press conferences? And now people stop listening to him. The fact is he had 49.5 million listeners to first speech on the economy. On Medicare, he had 24 million. He’s lost his audience. He has not rallied public opinion. He has plunged in the polls more than any other political figure since we’ve been using polls. He’s done everything wrong. Well, not everything, but the major things.

I don’t consider it a triumph. I consider it a disaster.

One business leader said to me, “In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the center, and the political people were on the sideline. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the center, and the policy people are on the sidelines.”

I’m very disappointed. We endorsed him. I voted for him. I supported him publicly and privately.

I hope there are changes. I think he’s already laid in huge problems for the country. The fiscal program was a disaster. You have to get the money as quickly as possible into the economy. They didn’t do that. By end of the first year, only one-third of the money was spent. Why is that?

He should have jammed a stimulus plan into Congress and said, “This is it. No changes. Don’t give me that bullshit. We have a national emergency.” Instead they turned it over to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who can run circles around him.

It’s very sad. It’s really sad.

He’s improved America’s image in the world. He absolutely did. But you have to translate that into something. Let me tell you what a major leader said to me recently. “We are convinced,” he said, “that he is not strong enough to confront his enemy. We are concerned,” he said “that he is not strong to support his friends.”

The political leadership of the world is very, very dismayed. He better turn it around. The Democrats are going to get killed in this election. Jesus, looks what’s happening in Massachusetts.

It’s really interesting because he had brilliant, brilliant political instincts during the campaign. I don’t know what has happened to them. His appointments present somebody who has a lot to learn about how government works. He better get some very talented businesspeople who know how to implement things. It’s unbelievable. Everybody says so. You can’t believe how dismayed people are. That’s why he’s plunging in the polls.

I can’t predict things two years from now, but if he continues on the downward spiral he is on, he won’t be reelected. In the meantime, the Democrats have recreated the Republican Party. And when I say Democrats, I mean the Obama administration. In the generic vote, the Democrats were ahead something like 52 to 30. They are now behind the Republicans 48 to 44 in the last poll. Nobody has ever seen anything that dramatic.





Warren Buffett Would Scrap Current Health Care Bill


Billionaire investor Warren Buffett advised President Barack Obama on Monday to scrap the health care bill and start over.

In an interview with CNBC, Buffett said the current bill does not focus on controlling costs, which he sees as the central problem that must be addressed to reform the system. He added that while he does not like the Senate bill, he’d vote for it in preference to doing nothing.

“What we have now is untenable over time,” said Buffett, an early supporter of Obama’s candidacy. “That kind of a cost compared to the rest of the world is really like a tapeworm eating, you know, at our economic body.”

“We have a health system that, in terms of costs, is really out of control,” he added. “And if you take this line and you project what has been happening into the future, we will get less and less competitive. So we need something else.”

But while Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, applauded Obama for taking up the reform effort, he said that “unfortunately, we came up with a bill that really doesn't attack the cost situation that much.”

Asked if he would be in favor of scrapping the Senate health care bill, Buffett responded: “I would be.”

If the president were to start over, Buffett would advise him to “just show this chart of what's been happening and say this is the tapeworm that's eating at American competitiveness. And I would say that one way or another, we're going to attack costs, costs, costs, just like they talk about jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Buffett urged Obama to say that “we're going to cut off all the kinds of things like the 800,000 special people in Florida or the Cornhusker kickback, as they called it, or the Louisiana Purchase, and we're going to — we're going to get rid of the nonsense. We're just going to focus on costs and we're not going to dream up 2,000 pages of other things. And I would say, as president, `I'm going to come back to you with something that's going to do something about this, because we have to do it.’”

Like Democrats in Congress, Buffett would like to expand access to health insurance, but he said he does not “believe in insuring more people till you attack the cost aspect of this.”

“If it was a choice today between plan A, which is what we've got, or plan B, what is in front of — the Senate bill, I would vote for the Senate bill,” Buffett said. “But I would much rather see a plan C that really attacks costs. And I think that's what the American public wants to see. I mean, the American public is not behind this bill. And we need the American public behind the bill, because it's going to have to do some tough things.”

Sources: The Daily Beast, Fox News, Politico, CNBC, Youtube

The Real Job Loss Numbers: 15.3 Million Americans Unemployed!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sources: MSNBC, CNBC

85,000 Jobs Slashed! Obama's 2010 Economic Setback

U.S. Job Losses in December Dim Hopes for Quick Upswing


The American economy lost another 85,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate remained at 10 percent, setting back hopes for a swift recovery from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

The latest monthly snapshot of the national job market released by the Labor Department on Friday provided one potentially encouraging milestone: Data for November was revised to show that the economy gained 4,000 net jobs that month, in contrast to initial reports showing a loss of 11,000 jobs. That was the first monthly improvement since the recession began two years ago.

But the December data failed to repeat the trend, and the report disappointed economists who had generally been expecting a decline of perhaps 10,000 jobs.

The report broadly confirmed that while the pace of job market deterioration declined markedly in recent months, companies remained reluctant to hire, heightening the likelihood that scarce paychecks would remain a dominant feature of American life for many months.

“We’re still losing jobs,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “It’s nothing like we had in the free fall of last winter, but we’re not about to turn around. We’re still looking at a really weak economy.”

The report intensified pressure on the Obama administration to show progress for the $787 million spending bill it championed last year to stimulate the economy. In recent months, the administration has emphasized initiatives aimed at encouraging jobs, knowing that concerns about the federal deficit limit its ability to pursue further spending.

Mr. Obama said Friday afternoon that December report showed that the “road to recovery is never straight."

“In November we saw the first gain in jobs in nearly two years,” the president said. “Last month, however, we slipped back, losing more jobs than we gained, though the overall trend of job loss is still pointing in the right direction.”

Some economists fixed on a potentially positive trend tucked within the data: for a fifth consecutive month, temporary help services expanded, adding 47,000 positions in December. The increase buttressed the notion that companies were recognizing fresh opportunities and were inclined to add labor, even as they held off on hiring full-time workers.

“We’re going in the right direction,” said Michael T. Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, a research and trading firm in Greenwich, Conn. “If we just have a little bit of patience, we’ll start to see monthly increases of 200,000 to 300,000 jobs within six months.”

But in millions of households still grappling with the bite of a wrenching downturn, patience has long been exhausted — along with savings, credit and cash to pay the bills.

In Charlotte, N.C., Kumar G. Navile, 33, has applied for 500 positions across the country since he lost his job as an engineer a year ago. Each month, he finds himself about $600 short in his monthly expenses after the $1,680 he secures in unemployment benefits. He pays the difference from a savings account, but expects that money to dry up in the next two months.

“You get up every day and say today will be different, but it is mentally challenging when you don’t find opportunities,” Mr. Navile said. “I performed well in school. I got a job the day I graduated. It’s been a struggle, and it continues to be.”

For those out of work, the market is bleaker than ever. Unemployed people had been jobless for an average of 29 weeks in December, the longest duration since the government began tracking such data in 1948. Roughly 4 in 10 unemployed workers had been jobless for six months or longer.

In recent weeks, the number of new claims for unemployment insurance benefits has tailed off sharply. But the persistence of double-digit unemployment underscored that companies remain unwilling to add payroll.

“There is almost no hiring going on outside the temporary help sector,” said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project. “Just slowing layoffs is not enough to produce jobs.”

Indeed, even as temporary workers increased, the average workweek for rank-and-file employees — roughly 80 percent of the work force — was essentially unchanged in December, at 33.2 hours.

Amid the usual parsing of data that accompanies the monthly jobs report, the spinning of forecasts and dueling outlooks, no complexity cloaked the simple fact that employment remains scarce. Experts assume the economy needs to add about 100,000 jobs a month just to keep pace with new people entering the work force.

“There’s really no dynamism in this economy,” Mr. Baker said. “Most people, they’re not looking at the data. They’re just asking, ‘Can I get a job?’ And that’s not getting any easier.”

The government’s monthly jobs report is always important, yet in recent times it has emerged as the crucial indicator of economic health.

For years, ordinary households have spent in excess of incomes by borrowing against the value of homes, leaning on credit cards and tapping stock portfolios. But home prices have plummeted in much of the country. Stock holdings have diminished. Nervous banks have sliced credit even for healthy borrowers. That has left the paycheck as the primary source of household finance in an economy in which consumer spending comprises roughly 70 percent of all activity.

Economists have grown increasingly divided over the nation’s economic prospects. Some argue that recent expansion on the American factory floor presages broader economic improvement that will eventually deliver large numbers of jobs.

The December report failed to deliver clear evidence for that scenario, even as it saw the pace of job losses continue to slow. Construction lost another 53,000 jobs and manufacturing saw 27,000 positions disappear. Despite a surprisingly strong holiday shopping season, retail trade gave up 10,000 jobs in December.

Health care remained a rare bright spot, expanding by 22,000 jobs.

Skeptics argue that the factory expansion merely reflects a rebuilding of inventories after many businesses slashed stocks during the panic that accompanied the fall of prominent financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008. Expansion has also been aided by $787 billion in federal spending aimed at stimulating economic growth, and by tax credits for homebuyers.

Once these factors fade in coming months, skeptics argue, the economy will confront the same challenges that have dogged it for more than two years — strapped households fretting about debts and weak job prospects, curtailing spending; banks still worrying about losses to come on mortgage holdings, reluctant to lend; businesses unwilling to hire.

Those with the gloomiest outlooks envision a so-called double dip recession, in which the economy resumes contracting. Others fear years of stagnant growth much like Japan’s Lost Decade in the 1990s.

The one point of agreement among economists is that the nation cannot recover without millions of new jobs. Workers must gain fresh wages they can spend at other businesses, creating jobs for other workers — a virtuous cycle, in the parlance of economists.

Recent months have produced tentative signs that such a cycle might be unfolding, even as economists debate its sustainability. The December jobs report only added to the ambiguity that now grips economic forecasting.

“Standing still feels good when you’ve been used to falling backwards,” said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. “But we want to move forward.”


Sources: AP, NY Times, CNBC

Obama Returns Focus To The War On Jobs; Unemployment Rate 10.1%

President Obama Pivots To Jobs As Key Theme


President Barack Obama on Friday is making his promised hard pivot to Jobs, following up the morning’s release of December Unemployment figures with an East Room announcement at 2:40 p.m. ET about stimulus dollars going to clean-tech jobs.

A White House official said: “The President will announce new Recovery Act funding for clean technology manufacturing jobs. The funds will be awarded to deserving projects that will support tens of thousands of high quality clean energy jobs and the domestic manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies including solar, wind and efficiency and energy management technologies.”

Also, the White House is expected to focus on events on the economy next week.

The president will be pushing Congress to pass several new jobs measures that he’ll be rolling out in the run-up to his State of the Union address, likely in early February.

The key elements were foreshadowed in a Dec. 8 speech at the Brookings Institution: Infrastructure improvements, green jobs and small-business incentives for hiring and investment. All that will fit into a middle-class agenda that is designed to boost Democratic congressional candidates in a dicey political environment.

As the second part of a one-two administration economic punch, Attorney General Eric Holder has chosen Palm Beach — ground zero for Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme – for a major speech at lunchtime today setting out a marker that financial security will be a priority, in addition to national security.

This is the most specific the attorney general been about his determination to target mortgage, security, and bailout and stimulus fraud.

From the attorney general’s prepared remarks, to be delivered at 12:15 p.m. in West Palm Beach, to the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches:

“In times of recession, when every dollar counts and each dollar is counted, financial wrongdoing comes to light. Unbalanced books are revealed. Pyramid schemes collapse. We need a bold strategy equal to the challenge – a comprehensive, coordinated plan of action that strikes at the core of financial fraud schemes wherever they may be found.

This is precisely what our new, national effort will accomplish. The Department of Justice, working in concert with the White House and a network of government agencies, will use every tool at our disposal – including new resources, advanced technologies and communications capabilities, and the very best talent we have – to prevent, prosecute, and punish financial fraud.

“The cornerstone of this work is a new, Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. This Task Force was established by Executive Order of the President. It was launched in December and is led by the Department of Justice.

At the core of the Task Force’s mission is a more robust and strategic law enforcement effort. Through this effort, critical information will be shared in real time across the federal government – and with our state and local law enforcement partners – so that we can stop fraud schemes in their tracks.

We will focus on four key types of financial crime:

Mortgage Fraud) — from the simplest of ‘flip’ schemes to systematic lending fraud in our nationwide housing market;

Securities Fraud) – from traditional insider trading,

Ponzi Schemes):, Ex: Accounting fraud, to misrepresentations to investors;

Recovery Act and Rescue Fraud) – including the theft of federal stimulus funds and the illegal use of taxpayer dollars intended to shore up our financial institutions; and Financial discrimination – including predatory lending practices in minority communities and the sale of financial products that exploit the elderly and disadvantaged.”



December 2009 Unemployment Rate 10.1% ;Economy Sheds More Jobs Than Expected


The economy lost more jobs than expected in December while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent, as a sluggish economic recovery has yet to revive hiring among the nation's employers.

The Labor Department said Friday that employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, worse than the 8,000 drop analysts expected.

A sharp drop in the labor force, a sign more of the jobless are giving up on their search for work, kept the unemployment rate at the same rate as in November. Once people stop looking for jobs, they are no longer counted among the unemployed.

When discouraged workers and part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs are included, the so-called "underemployment" rate in December rose to 17.3 percent, from 17.2 percent in October. That's just below a revised figure of 17.4 percent in October, the highest on records dating from 1994.

Revisions to the previous two months' data showed the economy actually generated 4,000 jobs in November, the first gain in nearly two years. But the revisions showed it also lost 16,000 more jobs than previously estimated in October.

The report caps a disastrous year for U.S. workers. Employers cut 4.2 million jobs in 2009, and the unemployment rate averaged 9.3 percent. That's compared to an average of 5.8 percent in 2008 and 4.6 percent in 2007. The economy has lost more than 8 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.

Most economists worry that 2010 won't be much better. Federal Reserve officials, in a meeting last month, anticipated that unemployment will decline "only gradually," according to minutes of the meeting released earlier this week. The Fed and most private economists expect the unemployment rate will remain above 9 percent through the end of this year.


Sources: Politico, MSNBC

$200 Bil TARP Funds Never Touched! Should Be Used For Jobs

Estimated TARP Cost Is Cut by $200 Billion


The Obama administration, buoyed by a resurgent Wall Street, plans to cut the projected long-term cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by more than $200 billion, in a move that could smooth the way for the introduction of a new jobs program.

The White House and leaders in Congress are debating whether to use any of the remaining TARP funds for other domestic efforts, such as a jobs bill. Congress authorized $700 billion for the program during the height of the financial crisis.

The Treasury now estimates that over the next 10 years TARP will cost $141 billion at most, down from the $341 billion the White House projected in August. The reduction stems in large part from faster-than-expected repayments by some of the nation's largest banks, as well as less spending on programs to help shore up the financial sector.

The government's efforts appear to have helped stabilize the financial sector, and banks have already repaid the Treasury about $70 billion. Bank of America Corp. has said it will return its $45 billion investment as early as this week, and the government now expects total repayments to reach as much as $175 billion by the end of next year. Altogether, it invested $204 billion in 690 firms. The Treasury has also collected more than $10 billion in interest and dividend payments from firms in which it has invested.

The lower-than-expected TARP losses could help the White House tap remaining funds for a jobs program because the revised estimates will help bring down the projected federal budget deficit since the White House will be able to assume less spending associated with the program.

The White House has been under pressure to tame the $1.4 trillion budget deficit, which has ballooned as the U.S. borrows vast sums of money. But with unemployment at 10%, the administration is also under pressure to find ways to create new jobs. Lowering deficit projections could help alleviate concerns that a new jobs bill would further inflate the deficit.

President Barack Obama is expected to raise the idea of using repaid TARP funds for a jobs bill in a speech he plans to give on Tuesday. On Friday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that repaid bailout money is "certainly being looked at" for a jobs bill.

Many Republicans are opposed to recycling TARP funds for a jobs bill, calling instead for the money to go toward reducing the deficit. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R., Ohio), on Bloomberg television Friday, called it "the worst idea" he had ever heard.


Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast

Obama's Black America: An Ugly Future For His Black Voters...Just Politics

President Obama talks about the African American community and "getting out of this together."





Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Elijah Cummings converses with Morning Joe show panel members about stark differences between White and Black U.S. Unemployment rates.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Black in the Age of Obama


A hundred and fifty years ago, Charles Dickens opened “A Tale of Two Cities” with the now-famous phrase: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. ...”

Those words resonated with me recently while contemplating the impact of the Obama Presidency on Blacks in America. So far, it’s been mixed. Blacks are living a tale of two Americas — one of the ascension of the first black president with the cultural capital that accrues; the other of a collapsing quality of life and amplified racial tensions, while supporting a president who is loath to even acknowledge their pain, let alone commiserate in it.

Last year, blacks dared to dream anew, envisioning a future in which Obama’s election would be the catalyst for an era of prosperity and more racial harmony. Now that the election’s afterglow has nearly faded, the hysteria of hope is being ground against the hard stone of reality. Things have not gotten better. In many ways, they’ve gotten worse.

The recession, for one, has dealt a particularly punishing and uneven hand to blacks.

A May report from the Pew Research Center found that Blacks were the most likely to get higher-priced subprime loans, leading to higher foreclosure rates. In fact, blacks have displaced Hispanics as the group with the lowest homeownership rates.

According to the most recent jobs data, not only is the unemployment rate for blacks nearly twice that of whites, the gap in some important demographics has widened rapidly since Obama took office. The unemployment rate over that time for white college graduates under 24 years old grew by about 20 percent. For their black cohorts, the rate grew by about twice that much.

And a report published last month by the Department of Agriculture found that in 2008, “food insecurity” for American households had risen to record levels, with black children being the most likely to experience that food insecurity.

Things on the racial front are just as bad.

We are now inundated with examples of overt racism on a scale to which we are unaccustomed. Any protester with a racist poster can hijack a news cycle, while a racist image can live forever on the Internet. In fact, racially offensive images of the first couple are so prolific online that Google now runs an apologetic ad with the results of image searches of them.

And it’s not all words and images; it’s actions as well. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2008 hate crimes data released last week, anti-black hate crimes rose 4 percent from 2007, while the combined hate crimes against all other racial categories declined 11 percent. If you look at the two-year trend, which would include Obama’s ascension as a candidate, anti-black hate crimes have risen 8 percent, while those against the other racial groups have fallen 19 percent.

This has had a sobering effect on blacks. According to a Nov. 9 report from Gallup, last summer 23 percent of blacks thought that race relations would get a lot better with the election of Obama. Now less than half that percentage says that things have actually gotten a lot better.

The racial animosity that Obama’s election has stirred up may have contributed to a rallying effect among blacks. According to a Gallup Report published on Nov. 24, Obama’s approval rating among whites has dropped to 39 percent, but among blacks it remains above 90 percent.

Also, this hasn’t exactly been a good year for black men in the news. Plaxico Burress was locked up for accidentally shooting off a gun in a club. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was locked up for intentionally shooting off his mouth at his own home. And Michael Jackson died after being shot full of propofol. Chris Brown brutally beat Rihanna. Former Representative William Jefferson was convicted. And most recently, the “personal failings” of Tiger Woods portray him as an alley cat. Meanwhile, the most critically acclaimed black movie of the year, “Precious,” features a black man who rapes and twice impregnates his own daughter. Rooting for the president feels like a nice counterbalance.

However, the rallying creates a conundrum for blacks: how to air anxiety without further arming Obama’s enemies. This dilemma has rendered blacks virtually voiceless on some pressing issues at a time when their voices would have presumably held greater sway.

This means that Obama can get away with doing almost nothing to specifically address issues important to African-Americans and instead focus on the white voters he’s losing in droves. This has not gone unnoticed. In the Nov. 9 Gallup poll, the number of blacks who felt that Obama would not go far enough in promoting efforts to aid the black community jumped 60 percent from last summer to now.

The hard truth is that Obama needs white voters more than he needs black ones.

According to my analysis, even if every black person in America had stayed home on Election Day, Obama would still be president. To a large degree, Obama was elected by white people, some of whom were more able to accept him because he consciously portrayed himself as racially ambiguous.

In fact, commiserating with the blacks could prove politically problematic.

In a study to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences this month, researchers asked subjects to rate images of the president to determine which ones best represented his “true essence.” In some of the photos, his skin had been lightened. In others, it had been darkened. The result? The more people identified him with the “whiter” images, the more likely they were to have voted for him, and vice versa.

The Age of Obama, so far at least, seems less about Obama as a black community game-changer than as a White House gamesman. It’s unclear if there will be a positive Obama Effect, but an Obama Backlash is increasingly apparent. Meanwhile, black people are also living a tale of two actions: grin and bear it.





Pres. Obama Gets an "F" from Black Agenda Report


Bruce A. Dixon at Black Agenda Report, a progressive “journal of African American political thought and action,” has graded the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s Presidency on 18 general issues…

1. Health Care Reform (9 points)
2. Creating New Jobs and Preserving Old Ones (5 points)
3. Fully Funding and Preserving Public Education (6 points)
4. War & Peace (9 points)
5. Transportation (5 points)
6. Caribbean and Latin America (4 points)
7. Obama’s Africa Policy; Our Brotherman and the Motherland (5 points)
8. Wall Street Bailout (6 points)
9. Debt and Foreclosure Crises (6 points)
10. Investigating Bush-era Crimes (5 points)
11. Criminalizing Immigration, Militarizing the Border (5 points)
12. Broadband For Everyone and a Just and Fair Media (5 points)
13. Environment (5 points)
14. Agricultural Policy, and Policy Toward Black Farmers (5 points)
15. Mass imprisonment (5 points)
16. Employee Free Choice Act (5 points)
17. Urban Policy (5 points)
18. Privatization of Government Agencies and Services (5 points)

Out of 100 possible points, 55 was considered passing.

Pres. Obama scored 22.5

This is so far down in the failing scores that the most appropriate letter-grade is probably… "F-"



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Sources: NY Times, TPM, Black Agenda Report, Gallup Report, MSNBC, Morning Joe, Coast Guard Report, Whitehouse.gov, Newsweek, USA Today, CBC, NAACP, AP, Flickr, Google Maps