Commissioner Hall, I want to thank you for spending your morning with us as we review the employment situation. For some time now, you’ve had the difficult job of being the bearer of bad news as many hardworking Americans have desperately sought a sustained economic recovery. You’ll be happy to know that we don’t shoot the messenger here in Washington.

I’d like to begin with some potential hope for our economy. Following two dismal quarters of anemic growth, real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the third quarter of this year. Finally, America’s economy is marginally larger that it was when the recession began in December 2007.

Unfortunately, the outlook going forward looks less rosy. Projections of future economic growth for the balance of this year and next have been significantly lowered by the Fed as well as international economic organizations. The turbulence from a potential financial crisis in Europe could still precipitate a double-dip recession here – a very real threat which could have been avoided had poor economic policies from the White House not resulted in a very weak and slow recovery.

Equally troubling is this jobless recovery. More than two years after the recession officially ended, there are 6.4 million fewer payroll jobs in America than when the recession began in December 2007, and more than 5.9 million Americans are long-term unemployed.

The President’s policies are just not working. By comparison, the Reagan expansion, which followed the similarly deep 1981-1982 recession, outperforms the Obama economy by all metrics, including economic growth and job creation. The difference is that the Reagan expansion occurred in a political environment that fostered private business investment and encouraged Americans to work and save. President Reagan’s policies were a favorable tailwind...

 

See Vice Chairman Brady's full opening statement below: