Obamanomics failed

Jeff Jacoby writes: Barack Obama claims that the economy, "by every metric," is better than when he came into office. In truth, a depressing array of "metrics" shows an economy that has yet to get back on its feet — notwithstanding the unprecedented sums spent by Washington in the form of stimulus projects, bailouts, and gargantuan budget deficits. This has been the weakest economic recovery in modern times. Seven years in, it's clear: Obamanomics was tried . . . and failed. . . The labor force participation rate — the share of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one — has sunk to 62.5 percent, a level not seen since the Carter administration. Since the recession ended, the economy has grown at an annual rate of just 2.2 percent. That is way below average for post-recession recoveries."

http://www.jeffjacoby.com/18338/the-weakest-economic-recovery-in-modern-times

What the Democrat candidates say about a recession that ended in June 2009:

"Our middle class is shrinking," one candidate warned during a debate. "Our poor families are becoming poorer, and 70 percent of us are earning the same or less than we were 12 years ago. We need new leadership."

Another candidate scorned the administration's happy talk about unemployment falling to just over 5 percent. "What they forgot to tell you," he told an audience, "is that statistic doesn't include those people who have given up looking for work, those people who are working part time. Add it all together and real unemployment is over 10 percent."