Larry Summers dozes off at White House meeting
Of all the statistics pouring into the White House every day, top economic adviser Larry Summers highlighted one Friday to make his case that the economic free-fall has ended.
The number of people searching for the term “economic depression” on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.
Searches for the term were up four-fold when the recession deepened in the earlier part of the year, and the recent shift goes to show consumer confidence is higher, Summers told the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Gee thanks, Larry. Now I feel so much better about the surging unemployment figures, the skyrocketing rates of home foreclosures, and the increasing numbers of homeless families with children. If a Google search is Summers’ idea of a leading economic indicator, I want to know why my tax money is going to pay his salary.
Summers claims that the economy is “back from the abyss”
A somewhat more important indicator–the unemployment rate–isn’t as upbeat, though and has become a thorn in the administration’s side. (See: “The Job Market’s Grim Picture.”) It hit 9.5% in June, embarrassing the administration’s predictions that if their $787 billion stimulus were passed, the rate would peak a bit above 8%. Economists predict it will soon top 10%, erasing all the jobs created in the U.S. since the beginning of the decade.
“This is obviously a major area of concern,” says Summers, “But contrary to a significant amount of commentary, this does not provide a basis for concluding that the Recovery Act is falling short of its goals.” Summers points to the administration’s own forecast that only 10% of the job impact of the stimulus would take place in 2009.
Really? I guess if one of the administration’s goals was to create more profits for Goldman-Sachs, they are on track. What were the administration’s goals for the stimulus plan anyway? It doesn’t sound like creating jobs was in the top ten.
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Filed under: Economic Stimulus, Economy | Tagged: economic depression, Google, Larry Summers, unemployment |
The Confluence 
Does that mean if we start googling “Obama and Biden resign,” they’ll actually resign? Can we send subliminal messages through google?
Hey, it’s worth a try. I’m going to start googling “Obama resign” regularly.
I don’t want them to resign, and plus Pelosi would be next in line.
Maybe google this: “TOTUS announces that he will primary Obama in 2012”
At a fourth of July party someone mentioned that Google sent her an e-mail offering to provide the information of who was Googling her. 😯 How about that! Big Google Brother…has anyone heard about this or was she being spammed?
This guy should use Larry Summer’s photo above as evidence that at least he had his eyes open and he isn’t the economy guru. 😆
Those fewer google searches could be because people couldn’t afford internet access anymore, or because most people had found out what they wanted to know about “economic depression.”
Larry Summers is the Bagdad Bob of the Obama administration.
Maybe the google search went down because of the introduction of bing.com ?
Another possible variable.
Wow do I like that characterization! Brilliant!
Thanks, but it’s hardly original. It does seem as if Summers has gotten the job of pushing back on criticism of the stimulus. But he doesn’t seem to have a good response to the question of what to do about unemployment.
Larry has been colonized by Axlerod and Plouffe, they think they can create their own reality. lt’s not the Internet movie database–economic depression is down 19% in popularity this week!
Why search for something you already know? Before people had questions now …
I was floored when I heard this on NPR today. I wonder if DE Shaw got their money’s worth. Summers has got to be one of the most unimaginative ‘scholars’ surrounding Obama.
Maybe people stopped googling ‘Great Depression’ when the administration stopped throwing the term around.
Looking at that picture just reminds me of the two worst things a person or in this case a whole group of people can have in combination: arrogance and stupidity. Gosh we’re so lucky. Pinch me.
Pinch! 😳
The number of people searching for the term “economic depression” on Google is down to normal levels, Summers said.
WTF?? That’s a remarkably slender thread to lean on. Does it hurt when you pull such shit out of your ass Larry?
Also I just read Chelsea Clinton’s fiancee , Marc Mezvinsky, is a Goldman Sachs banker . Jesus H. Christ , Goldman Sachs IS everywhere.
Body Snatchers. GS are the pod people! Ruuuuuun!
… a few hours later: Oh, I love GS. I’m thinking of becoming a banker too.
lol
He should go back to sleep.
This is funny. It feels good to be a banker… a music bit about bankers:
lol!
I take it it’s a send up of the song, ” Damn, it feels good to be a gangster.” ..how fitting!
Couple of bits from state dept. on twitter:
Secretary Clinton speaks of partnership based on deep, enduring ties between U.S. and India during press conference in Mumbai.
Secretary Clinton just mentioned to Mumbai press: There’s no contradiction between poverty eradication and low-carbon economy.
View the latest photos of Secretary Clinton’s visit to Mumbai, India at: http://bit.ly/dwSrl
This one is my fav:
http://tinyurl.com/l4ttz4
She look fabulous indeed.
Twitter Hawked
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/07/17/dcl.blogger.bunch.twitter.cnn
Yikes, New Scientest has an article about a new finding linking a gene to both creativity and schizophrenia:
http://tinyurl.com/nepntn
Very interesting.
I heard. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has Schizo-Affective disorder and was a musical prodigy. That’s basically a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
He could carry a tune before he could talk. His piano teacher (only a couople of lessons) complained that he refused to read music. He could play anything after hearing it once. He taught himself to play piano and guitar, He heard songs in five-part harmony in his head before writing the music down.
He did all the vocals in the studio version of “Good Vibrations”
I know. I’m using a scholarly article about him in my Abnormal Psych class this summer. I got so fascinated, that a bought his autobiography and a recent biography of him. His autobiography is really interesting.
I think I read this over at Deadenders or uppity’s. I posted there:
So is the number of searches for “Obama’s an asshole” going up?
It’s the women’s fault! Poor Larry – who is a genius – they all tell us so – is trying to dumb it down so the math challenged womin’ folk can grasp it. Or so I am told.
Did you see this?
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senator-quashes-treasurys-bid-for-humorist-2009-07-17.html
these dumbass morons are beyond belief////
WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE, MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE
Is Summers a narcoleptic. Every photo shows that he is asleep or falling asleep, or sliding out of his chair. This may be why his comments and advice are so strange as he is conscious about half of the time.