Economy will be tough issue for Obama in 2012
Adriene Hill: On Thursday, President Obama will offer his cure for some of the nation’s jobs woes. Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is sending an open letter to Congress and the White House with its ideas to get people back to work. The economy’s lackluster performance is weighing heavily on the political agenda. But where will things be on election day a year from now?
Marrketplace’s John Dimsdale gathered some opinions.
John Dimsdale: The President’s own forecasters have trimmed their growth predictions for 2012.
David Malpass: It’s going to be hard for President Obama to argue he’s done well on the economy.
David Malpass at Encima Global expects the economy will barely avoid another recession, and growth will be too slow to bring down unemployment. He says all Obama can do is say the financial crisis was worse than anyone expected.
Malpass: There’s already this academic argument out there that recoveries tend to be slow after a financial crisis. So I think that’s what he’ll fall back on.
Malpass says there’s a chance the economy could still take off, but Todd Buchholz, a former economic adviser to President George Bush, says it’ll have to be soon.
Todd Buchholz: This president needs the economy to look much stronger by the spring of 2012. By May of 2012, if it’s not morning in America, it’s good night for President Barack Obama.
A recovery that soon will be difficult. The White House is expecting the economy to grow at a rate of just 2.5 percent next year, with unemployment averaging a crippling 9 percent.
In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
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