Unemployment During the Obama Years

Meet the Press had an incredibly stupid discussion of the economy this morning. The Republican governor of Ohio wanted to talk about how the unemployment rate now is higher than it was when Obama became President, while the host kept talking about how the unemployment in certain states (such as Ohio) has declined since October 2010. Our graph of the unemployment rate is illustrative. But suppose we also graph the employment to population ratio. Yes – President Obama took office in the middle of the Great Recession and that early fiscal stimulus kept a horrific situation from getting worse. But all Governor Kasich could talk about is the usual “uncertainty” spin. Alas there was little talk about how the early fiscal stimulus – which was clearly inadequate – has unfortunately turned to austerity.