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 There's No Doubt - Air Force One Press Gaggle by Robert Gibbs 7/14/09 — Tuesday, July 14, 2009 —  Q Robert, can you describe what the President's mood is coming to Michigan, given the unemployment numbers here and the, sort of, mood?MR. GIBBS: Look, obviously this is -- I think as he said this afternoon in the Oval -- or this morning in the Oval Office, obviously you've got a state that the unemployment rate is the greatest in the nation and obviously is a state that has dealt with economic transformation, the loss of auto and manufacturing jobs well before the recession hit. So obviously this is probably as hard-hit an area as there is in the entire country. I think one of the things that is important about today's stop is one aspect of putting people back to work and laying that long-term foundation for economic growth is increasing the number of people that we have in this country that get a post-high school education, that get the job training and placement help necessary for the jobs of the future. And that's the program -- the new initiative that the President will highlight today that he talked originally about in the joint session of Congress. But obviously, look, there are lots and lots of people that are hurting all throughout Michigan and the Midwest as a result, again, of not just the downturn in the economy but things that they've struggled with economically for quite some time. Q Do you feel like you guys are moving money fast enough into Michigan -- stimulus money fast enough into Michigan? MR. GIBBS: The recovery plan is ahead of the pace that was originally set -- Q (Inaudible.) MR. GIBBS: Well, in Michigan and throughout the country. I think Michigan is one of the -- one of the top 10 state recipients for money. Look, I think you can talk to people in Michigan that have watched recovery money go in. There's no doubt that there are fewer teachers that have been laid off because of money that has come in to help education funding. There's no doubt that people have been hired because road construction projects are starting here and in the Detroit area and throughout the state that have put people back to work. Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do in the Midwest and in Michigan and throughout the country. Money has moved quickly. It has moved ahead of pace. And it has prevented an even sharper economic downturn from occurring. Q Do you know how many jobs have been created so far in Michigan? MR. GIBBS: I don't have an exact Michigan figure, no. Air Force One | Economy | President Obama | Press Gaggle | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | White House Press Corps Labels: Air Force One, Economy, President Obama, Press Gaggle, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 10:53:00 PM  The Stimulus Is Working: We're Definitely Headed Toward 10% - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 7/2/09 — Friday, July 03, 2009 —  Q President Obama announced on June 8 that the administration was accelerating stimulus spending to save or create 600,000 jobs. The U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate went up to 9.5 percent. I just wondered what's the President's reaction to the higher unemployment rate, and are you concerned that the economy is losing steam faster than the Recovery Act can help it?MR. GIBBS: Well, let me take that question and address it on a couple of different levels. I think you saw the President already say today, and he'll say it again later today, that obviously he's deeply disappointed by the continued job loss in our economy. Continuing to lose jobs is something that he and the administration are working to address. Understand that it has been 549 days since we have been in a month that has seen a net positive job creation. I think -- though the President remains deeply concerned that we are losing jobs month to month, I do think if you look at some -- if you step back and look at the numbers through a quarterly basis, or as the Bureau of Labor Statistics did today, they looked at -- from November of 2008 through I believe March of 2009 -- the average job loss for those months approached 700,000. In the most previous quarter, that job loss averaged 436,000. So I think there is a sense that the beginnings of stabilization are taking hold and hopefully the worst job loss is behind us. You all heard me say the second time I walked into this room that it was likely to get worse before it was going to get better. I don't think anybody believed, and we certainly never said, that a recovery plan in and of itself would solve our economic problems or that after only a hundred-some days it would turn an economy, as I said, that's been in the worst financial shape that we've seen it in since the Great Depression. I do think there's obviously evidence that the recovery plan is working. Last month personal incomes were up as a result of the recovery plan. But I think you'll hear the President say later today that he sees this economy through the eyes of the American people, and obviously the American people are continuing to hurt. Q Does the government think it's doing everything it can do at this point to -- MR. GIBBS: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, there's -- again, there's money in the recovery plan to deal with -- health and education money to states to plug those holes. But understand that the recovery is just one aspect of it, as we've talked about. There is financial stabilization. There's housing that you have to be -- there's a whole host of issues that the President and the administration are focused on in order to turn the economy around. Q So, again, just to follow up on that, is the message to the American people that the recovery, the stimulus, are working, just be patient? MR. GIBBS: Well, our message is we didn't get into this problem overnight, as the American people understand, and it's not likely we're going to get out of this economic problem overnight. We've said that repeatedly. I said this weekend last we think unemployment will continue to grow. We do see some less negative trends in the way unemployment is going, understanding we've still got quite some ways to go. Q At what point would that be? I mean, when is it no longer overnight? MR. GIBBS: When is what no longer overnight? Q You said we didn't get into this problem overnight; we're not going to get out of it overnight. MR. GIBBS: Right. Again -- Q So how long can you still say "overnight"? What's the time that we're talking here? MR. GIBBS: I think this is going to take some time. I think it's going to take months and months. I think we've said that from the very beginning. This is not, again, something that -- remember, the last month in which we created -- we net created jobs in this economy was December 2007. So we understand that in his -- we are in the deepest recession since World War II, and the worst financial crisis, when you take into account the markets and housing, since the Great Depression. That's going to take some time. But I think there certainly is credible evidence -- there's 1,900 construction projects that are in progress. There are -- there's $160 billion in recovery money that's been obligated to this point. And that's going to make a difference. [...] Yes, ma'am. Q Robert, just to follow on what Dan was saying earlier. Yesterday the President, at the health care forum, said the stimulus has done its job. Are we to take that as an indication that the President thinks the stimulus is working? MR. GIBBS: The stimulus is working. The stimulus plan is injecting money into the economy. The stimulus plan has obligated $160 billion to deal with the dip in the amount of growth. The stimulus plan is creating 1,900 road and construction projects. I think you'll hear the President say today, as he's said each and every day of his administration, that we've got a long way to go, that he's not going to be satisfied until we see positive job growth, positive economic growth, and that's going to take some time. Q Well, is it working fast enough? MR. GIBBS: Well, again, this was a program over the course of -- spend out I think 75 to 80 percent of the money over the course of two fiscal years, to do so in a way that's transparent, to do so in a way that's accountable -- which is what has happened in this piece of legislation. And it's just going to take some time. We understand that. Again, the President sees this through the eyes of the American people. The American people are hurting. More and more people are losing their jobs, they're losing their health care, they're losing their hope and their opportunity. And that's what the President is focused on each and every day. Q But the message seems to be, well, just wait, it's coming, it's coming. MR. GIBBS: Well, Yunji, again, let's look at in the second quarter of 2008 -- we just finished the second quarter of 2009 -- in the three-month average, we were losing 153,000 jobs a month. This past quarter it's 436,000 -- because that trend line shows that in the third quarter we went from averaging 153,000 a month in that quarter to 208,000; in the fourth quarter of 2008, we had gone to 553,000 jobs a month. In the first quarter of 2009, we were almost at 700,000 jobs lost a month, including a January number, 741,000 jobs lost, which is the greatest one-month total in the history of our country. That is not something that's going to turn around overnight. The American people understand that. The President understands that. That's why we've taken important steps to get the economy moving again. Is it going to take some time? Absolutely. Is the President impatient for results? You heard him say that last week when you all had a chance to ask him questions about our economy. [...] Peter. Q Robert, you said that hopefully the worst job losses are behind us. Do you still believe that unemployment is going to hit 10 percent sometime this year? MR. GIBBS: Absolutely. We went from 9.4 to 9.5. It may not be next month, but I would assume in the next two to three months I think it's quite clear that we'll hit that number. Again -- and as we talked about earlier, you've got to create about 150,000 jobs a month simply to have the rate stay at the level that it was the previous month. So, yes, I think we're headed -- we're definitely headed toward 10 percent. Q So it'll be a while before the country crosses the threshold of having these job losses end at these levels. MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry? Q It'll be a while, then, yet -- past that before the country passes its threshold where you have these job losses at these levels that we're seeing. MR. GIBBS: Yes, look, I think we're going to continue to -- as we talked about yesterday, employment and unemployment are -- tend to be one of the last things that improve in an economic downturn -- again, understanding the recession we're in is statistically the worst since World War II. Adding in the financial situation, obviously this is the worst economic crisis that our country has dealt with since the Depression. Ensuring that financial stabilization happens, ensuring that small businesses are free to borrow, consumer confidence goes up, people begin to spend money -- a lot of those things are going to have to happen until businesses feel confident enough that we are out of the woods to begin to hire more people. I think that's what you're going to see happen -- businesses having to make those decisions over the course of many months or year. Economy | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | Unemployment | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, Unemployment, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 11:04:00 PM Jobs Created or Saved Through Smoke & Mirrors - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 6/8/09 — Monday, June 08, 2009 —  Q Just a few follow-ups. The 150,000 job figure, should we be identifying that as a projection, since it seems like Jared himself -- there is no hard evidence yet of this number, correct?MR. GIBBS: Well, I think, again, I would point you back to his answer about the reports and the economic formulation -- Q But he said it was based on multipliers and an economic formula and that we don't have the facts yet of how many hard jobs. MR. GIBBS: Well, again, Chuck, I think -- and I hate to paraphrase what Jared said, but again, if I move you money because you have a window business, just like the example I was using, or some economic stimulus, you are going to -- you're going to buy supplies from somebody else who is going to create -- Q But you don't know if that's going to create one job or two jobs -- MR. GIBBS: No, but -- Q You don't know that it's going to -- so it's a projection. MR. GIBBS: Based on a tried and true, as he said, economic formula on how to do that. Projections are -- Q Jobs trickling down the window pane -- I mean, why is that not trickle-down economics when you guys are talking about tax cuts and how -- MR. GIBBS: Are you suggesting that the multiplier effect of job creation is part of trickle-down economics? Q I'm suggesting that you guys are saying -- Q Sure, they're jobs -- MR. GIBBS: Point out for me how, if somebody builds a windmill -- right -- and needs -- Q You guys are saying that unmeasured jobs -- and they're out there -- and you're saying it's a result of tax cuts. MR. GIBBS: No -- in the example of window panes, absolutely. But what I'm talking about -- you don't make window panes out of papier-mâché, right? You're going to have to buy aluminum; you're going to have to buy glass. Does the production of aluminum and glass for the purchase of making windows in order to increase the production so that the tax credit can be fully taken advantage of -- are window producers doing that? Yes. Is the sale of aluminum for windows and glass creating jobs? Ask some of the readers of Bloomberg when they make investments in resources -- Q But you're not going to provide numbers on total jobs that have been created or saved through this window pane example. MR. GIBBS: Well, again, there's multipliers and there are formulas, as Jared talked about, in order to make determinations as to what that number is. Q Well, it did sound like you are going to provide a hard number on direct government contracts. Every quarter we will get a hard number. MR. GIBBS: Well, I think that's what Jared talked about as part of the obligation of those reports. Q So far we have none, because there hasn’t been any -- MR. GIBBS: Right. But again, just to build off your examples, Hans, you can't build a window out of nothing. You can't build a wind turbine out of nothing. The purchase of resources to build a wind turbine so that a wind company can take advantage of a tax credit is a multiplier effect that creates jobs based on the purchase of resources to construct that turbine -- right? Q Will you concede that the wind is free? (Laughter.) MR. GIBBS: I will concede that the wind is free. And some of it is blowing hot in my direction. Q Ooh! (Laughter.) Q There are a lot of numbers being thrown around here, and you guys are claiming credit for -- earlier you were claiming credit for summer jobs that won't be there in three years -- MR. GIBBS: No, no, no -- Q -- and that will be -- MR. GIBBS: Hans, I appreciate you asking -- you should ask as many questions as you want, but if Jared gives you an answer about how two part-time jobs equals one full-time employment job, don't act like the question didn’t get answered, because -- Q I'm not. MR. GIBBS: -- and he's not trying to say that -- he didn’t tell you that 125,000 was immediately being factored in. He gave you the formula for part-time and full-time jobs. Q I'm not saying -- I'm just -- I guess what you -- would you then concede that that job won't be there in three years when the stimulus -- MR. GIBBS: Will I concede that a summer job won't be there in the fall? Yes, I will concede that. Q You guys are counting this towards the 3.5. MR. GIBBS: I think Jared answered your question. Send a transcript to -- Economy | Jobs |Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | Unemployment | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, Jobs, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, Unemployment, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:53:00 PM The Party Now Is Over - Press Conference by the President 2/9/09 — Tuesday, February 10, 2009 — Q Thank you, Mr. President. In your opening remarks, you talked about that if your plan works the way you want it to work, it's going to increase consumer spending. But isn't consumer spending or overspending how we got into this mess? And if people get money back into their pockets, do you not want them saving it or paying down debt first before they start spending money into the economy? THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I don't think it's accurate to say that consumer spending got us into this mess. What got us into this mess initially were banks taking exorbitant, wild risks with other people's monies based on shaky assets. And because of the enormous leverage where they had $1 worth of assets and they were betting $30 on that $1, what we had was a crisis in the financial system. That led to a contraction of credit, which in turn meant businesses couldn't make payroll or make inventories, which meant that everybody became uncertain about the future of the economy, so people started making decisions accordingly -- reducing investment, initiated layoffs -- which in turn made things worse. Now, you are making a legitimate point, Chuck, about the fact that our savings rate has declined and this economy has been driven by consumer spending for a very long time -- and that's not going to be sustainable. You know, if all we're doing is spending and we're not making things, then over time other countries are going to get tired of lending us money and eventually the party is going to be over. Well, in fact, the party now is over. Economy | President Obama | Presidential Press Conference | Stimulus Package | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, President Obama, Presidential Press Conference, Stimulus Package, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:43:00 PM Animal House - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 1/27/09 — Thursday, January 29, 2009 —  Q At the meeting today Congressman Pence, among others, expressed concern that they had been shutout of this process when it comes to negotiation on Capitol Hill. Does the President think that Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Obey have been bipartisan the way he likes to hold out bipartisanship as a goal? MR. GIBBS: You know, Dick, I have not been in meetings about the stimulus bill. I can only talk most substantively about the viewpoint of the President and his involvement in this. And I think on any number of occasions -- whether it's going up there when he was President-elect, whether it's bringing a group down here last week, whether it's going back up there today -- that the President believes honestly that we can put something together with input from both parties that will most benefit the American people. Q But is he, for want of a better word, leaning on Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Obey and others to be more bipartisan? You're probably not going to get more than a dozen Republican votes tomorrow -- that's hardly bipartisan. MR. GIBBS: You know, I think we've all seen votes in this town where a few Republicans sometimes are hard to come by or a few Democrats are hard to come by. We'll take what we can get tomorrow. I think the most important thing about tomorrow is keeping this process going. Because again, the American people deserve a process that understands the severity of the crisis that they're involved in, not to get involved in some "Animal House"-type food fight on Capitol Hill about what's going to happen up there. I think what's most important is that we move this process along. The President was willing to go up there today and do what he can to help move that process along and get something quickly for the American people. Congress | Economy | Legislation | Press Briefing | Republicans | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | White House Press Corps Labels: Congress, Economy, Legislation, Press Briefing, Republicans, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:15:00 PM The War on the Economy - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 1/23/09 — Monday, January 26, 2009 —  Full 1/23/09 Press Briefing Transcript M. Garrett: [Major Garrett, FOX News] President Bush, after 9/11, said the United States and its government was engaged in a war on terror. Is that what this administration calls it, and if not, why? Secondarily, on your point about stimulative, the CBO has said that $219 billion of the $825 billion in the House bill cannot be spent and will not be spent until 2011 at the earliest. How is that…? Press Sec.: Is this the CBO report that came out earlier this week? M. Garrett: Yes. Press Sec.: Okay. M. Garrett: Yes. What is the President's appraisal of that CBO analysis, and what do you know here that the Congressional Budget Office, a neutral observer, doesn't know? Press Sec.: Well, let me outline what we know. M. Garrett: Don't forget the first question. Press Sec.: The first question I think I alluded to some yesterday. Look, I would point you to the words that the President said in his inaugural address about the challenges that we face. On the stimulus package – and I've got a letter that we'll make sure that each of you have that our OMB Director sent to the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, Kent Conrad – we believe, looking at the packages that exist, that 75 percent of the money will be spent out in an 18-month period of time, with great stimulative effect. The CBO report looked at a… only a portion of the legislation and looked at that portion of the legislation before it began the committee process that Jake was talking about – a snapshot in time that's long past. It doesn't reflect increased spend-out rates. The letter that Mr. Orszag sent to Conrad states that the administration will hold the line on ensuring that at least 75 percent of that money is spent out over an 18-month period. And there are things that can be done in the legislation to ensure that that happens. Let me give you an example, just so you know. There's a provision to speed the money that says if in -- I think in the CBO analysis was 120 days on some projects -- if the money is not spent, then that money is basically reshuffled to other projects. They found that the spend-out rate on 120 days was actually less than a spend-out rate on 180 days – right? So that legislation gets tweaked to 180 days, because the CBO determined that that reshuffling of money would delay its spend-out rates. So those tweaks can be made, and have – I think in some cases have been made, to ensure that three-quarters of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are spent in the first year and a half. That will create jobs; that would get people working again; get the economy moving again. That's what the President set out to do, and that's what this bill does. M. Garrett: If I could follow up, since you mentioned Christine Romer. She has a very substantial body of written work as an economist, assessing what brought the United States out of recession and depression. And in each of those reports, she concluded it was monetary policy that was a driving force in lifting the U.S. economy, not direct government spending. She said that about the Depression and subsequent recessions. What is it about this circumstance that gives you greater confidence than she found, looking at all of those economic circumstances that direct spending can turn the tide? Press Sec.: Well, I'm not an economist and I don't play one on TV, and I won't play one on TV today. Obviously, the Fed and a number of other places have taken a lot of monetary steps that I think many have commented – we have very few of those left. The report that she prepared for the President, based on the package that we were putting together, did show that the plan would create jobs, would stimulate the economy, would make important and necessary investments for our long-term growth. She's confident, the economic team is confident, and most importantly, the President is confident, that this is a package that will help turn our economy around. Things will likely get worse before they get better. But I believe, and the President believes, that Congress has to act quickly to ensure that this package gets on his desk by President's Day recess, so that we can begin turning the economy around. Congressional Budget Office | Economy | Major Garrett | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | War on Terror | White House Press Corps Labels: Congressional Budget Office, Economy, Major Garrett, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, War on Terror, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:33:00 PM
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