Do you think President Obama will make the economy better?

[Moneymaker777]

Well, demand for the product don't pick up when people are out of work and have no money to buy the product. I can't see all the blame being put on Obama,though. It was in a mess when he was elected into office. However I can't say I see any progress being made by anything he's done. Nobel Peace Prize? Ha ! What has he done to deserve one? I think that is ridiculous.  I think it will be a very long time before the economy improves. In the state I live in there are still places shutting down. There are new ones scheduled to open in the Fall of 2010. Most of us will have run out of unemployment benefits long before then. An Apple company is scheduled to be opened in my area in Fall 2010. I don't hold out high hopes for many jobs, though. It probably will be like another company that moved to this state recently. Most of the jobs they had available were Supervisor positions.The company had very few jobs that weren't Supervisor positions. People just out of college don't have experience, so they don't qualify to apply for Supervisor jobs. People that haven't went to college don't qualify. The only ones who do qualify are the people that moved here with the company. Kind of makes you wonder who the Supervisors are Supervising. Online workers perhaps, from across the states? There is a Call Center company intending to move to this state by next fall too. There are supposed to be about 400 jobs from that company. But there are thousands out of work. And , alas, the jobs that are being created that I have found are low paying. And there are so many people applying for the same job that you don't have much chance of getting it, unless you know someone in the company. I know a low paying job is better than no job, but still, how can you climb out of a mess and buy products to stimulate the economy , when you are barely surviving affording basic needs? I am 50 years old and have lived through recessions before. I have never seen jobs this unobtainable. I was always able to find something , even if it was a job I'd rather not have. And no, I don't believe my whole problem is my age. Some companies would rather hire people that are older. They see them as more dependable. Just venting my anger.

[liljp617]

Well, demand for the product don't pick up when people are out of work and have no money to buy the product.

That's not entirely true. 

When the economy is in a downturn/recession, even people with jobs are less likely to consume and spend money, because they know their job could be the next one in jeopardy.  Instead of spending, they save.  But they tend to "put it under their mattress" rather than putting it in banks or other investments.  When this happens, banks have less money to lend out and people are less likely to take out loans, because again, they know their job could be next and they don't want to be stuck with a loan at such a time.

Now that we're supposedly seeing indications of upturn and growth, the people who have been saving due to fears over their job become more open to consuming and taking loans.  People start putting more of their money into banks because they become less concerned over their failure -- this allows the banks to have something to loan out.  Also, one of the goals of the stimulus was to keep interest rates low, and it has done precisely that...interest rates are at record lows.  This persuades more people to take out loans, as it is obviously now cheaper.

That's the theory behind it at least

This is all another reason that unemployment lags behind the real time economy.  You can see that it takes time for people to start investing, taking out loans, making payments, etc.  Firms wait to see what the economy is really looking like before they start opening their doors to applicants.

[eSineM]

Well that's interesting that you say "unemployment is a lagging indicator, meaning its indications only show up 6-12 months after the fact." it was about 12 months ago that Obama first came out publically supporting Bush's bailout plans. Then it was about 11 months ago that Obama took office... so basically if what you say is accurate, then without a doubt Obama could be held responsible for the current unemployment trend... He has been making the bailout decisions and running the economy with his advisers ot at least supporting the economic decisions for about 11-12 months. 6 months ago without a doubt his decisions were already in play. So if the increase of layoffs/unemployment is not a good measure of the economy, what is>? the high gas prices which have also went up in the last year? Please don't tell me your judging by wallstreet investors and their funny money.. the bankers and how rich they are getting with bailouts.. Tha'ts what the mainstream uses, "walstreet looks good today, so the economy has improved, ignore the fact your losing your jobs and this is temporary gain" xD. Bottom line is, unemployment, the difficulty of putting food on the table and paying rent. That's a direct indicator of the economy. Anyone who says otherwise is just brainwashed into believing the news more than what they see around them with their own eyes and how they live. I don't believe its just Obama or even just Bush who is responsible for this economicproblem however. Its all about the benjamin's.. and I don't mean the biull's, Im talking about Mr. Bernanke and the Federal Reserve. Obama just has done nothing to help and perpetuates this robbery.

[liljp617]

I can't have discussions with you.

All I will say is that the "lag effect" comes into play after the economy has grown and continues to show signs of growth, not after any government entity says they're fixing the economy.  In other words, I don't care when Bush or Obama toss out stimulus plans -- that's not what I was referring to when discussing the lag of the unemployment rate.  Again, the real time indicators that are most used to define economic upturn are just now showing a positive picture.  If they continue to show a legitimate upturn, then yes, in about a year or a year and a half we'll see noteworthy changes in the unemployment rate.  Basic macroeconomics.

Common real-time indicators?  Average workweek for production workers in manufacturing, index of consumer expectations, interest rate spread, money supply (M2 particularly), vendor performances, and so on.

[eSineM]

Simple question. What has Obama done to help the economy?

[berserker1121]

That is a good question. Really, What has Obama done for the economy. It seems to me that not much has changed. More and more people are still becoming unemployed, gas prices continue to rise (very rapidly at the moment), and schools are still facing major budget cuts. It seems everyone is spending too much time fighting over the health care plans and ignoring other problems. However I do not blame Obama. I do believe he is at least trying to do a good job and the right thing at the same time which can be very difficult with so many different views about different subjects. You just can't make everyone happy.

[dmgsurv22]

I hope so but so far I'm not impressed.

[AmyTrivitt]

I like the question posted earlier, "What has he done"?
Nothing is getting better were I live in fact things are getting much worse!! Allot of good paying jobs around here are going under or laying off like leaves!!!
My husband works two jobs so I am able to be a stay at home mom. And for years we lived comfortable till just this year. My husbands longest running job he has had is about to do a shut down, we will know further this week. Its the economy. Last year they did three lay offs and several people lost their jobs, with the hopes that this would pass and the plant would hire all back. Things in my opinion are not getting better but worse. I pick up the local paper everyday and read of another job lost, a family in need or people begging to be hired what they are capable of doing, as most places around here are not hiring!!

[Graeth]

Well its easy to blame things on the guy before you. But it takes a real leader to prove that he's different.

So far, I'm unimpressed. But not surprised.

[southernhorizons]

No, he won't. What we need is to bring back manufacturing to this country, and he won't do that. Also, with his healthcare plan creating a larger burden on employers, we will see even more jobs leave the country. and add the extra taxes to pay for his out of control spending, and we'll be in a real depression before you know it.

[bschumacher]

He's trying his best, but he is fighting very powerful, entrenched economic and political forces that will not give up  easily.

[liljp617]

No, he won't. What we need is to bring back manufacturing to this country, and he won't do that. Also, with his healthcare plan creating a larger burden on employers, we will see even more jobs leave the country. and add the extra taxes to pay for his out of control spending, and we'll be in a real depression before you know it.

We have been a predominantly service providing economy through some of the best economic periods in this country's history.  The idea that manufacturing is the key to a great economy seems a bit odd when it wasn't the key to a great economy in the past.

[walksalone11]

Will the economy get better? Probably. Will Obama be the reason? No.

Obama is doing just the same as all presidents for years have done.....exactly what they are told to do.