Obama: The Private Sector is Doing Fine

Today, during his press conference, Obama said something that just blows the mind:

Question: What about the Republicans saying that you're blaming the Europeans for the failures of your own policies?

President Obama: The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we're seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Oftentimes cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don't have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.

And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry? Because the recipes that they're promoting are basically the kinds of policies that would add weakness to the -- to the economy, would result in further layoffs, would not provide relief in the housing market, and would result, I think most economists estimate, in lower growth and fewer jobs, not more. 

 What has he been smoking?  Okay, we already know the answer to that.  It is really amazing how out of touch this guy is with reality.  I don't think almost anyone in the private sector, except maybe people like Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, thinks the "private sector is doing fine".  Take a look at this chart from FRED which compared total nonfarm private employment since 2001 to employment at all levels of government:

As you can see, the total number of private non-farm jobs is actually still down from where it was over 11 years ago, while the number of government jobs, while contracting recently, is still well above where they were, and well above where the private sector is.  People in the private sector don't feel like they are doing "fine".

It is also amazing, in the wake of Wisconsin, how he is doubling down on his belief that the public sector employees somehow deserve better than those of us who pay their salaries.  People are sick and tired of the government sucking their hard earned money out of their pockets in order to give themselves lavish defined benefit pensions and, in the case of the Obama's, lavish vacations.  Anyway, everybody knows that this is Obama and the Democrats taking care of their own.  Public employees overwhelmingly vote Democratic, as they know who is most likely to look after them, no matter how the economy is doing.

If this is how Obama plans to get re-elected, with a slogan, "The Private Sector is Doing Fine, More Money for Government!" he has another thing coming.