Administration's Unemployment Claim Proves Gruber's Not Alone In Belief of American's Stupidity

To paraphrase Jonathan Gruber, the White House is trying to fool the “stupid American” voters again. On Wednesday, they released a chart reflecting that unemployment “is dropping faster than projected” in the years 2010-2014. Not so, according to the 2009 projection used to sell the public on the stimulus bill. Compared to the 2009 projections, unemployment has declined slower than estimated.

First released in the tweet below, the White House chart compares the actual unemployment rate with forecasts made by the Administration in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014:

“For the first time in more than six years, the unemployment rate is below 6%.” —President Obama pic.twitter.com/KpPXrSnsfc
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 19, 2014

That chart omits the projection from the “Romer-Bernstein Report” issued by the administration in January 2009 used to sell the the almost one trillion dollar stimulus plan. If those projections were included they would present a different story.

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Based on the Romer-Bernstein Report, the unemployment rate of 5.8% was supposed to have been achieved over two years ago (in early 2012).

The truth that the Administration is hiding is that this has been the slowest recession jobs recovery the United States has ever experienced in the post-war period, and that the 2009 stimulus plan failed to meet its objectives.

Chart Source: Calculated Risk

Jonathan Gruber wasn’t the first person associated with the Obama Administration to believe that the American voters were a stupid lot, he was just the first one caught on tape vocalizing the concept.

The Administration’s misleading tweet/chart on unemployment is just one more example of their low opinion of the intelligence of the American voter.

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