Stockman’s “Obama Failometer” will prominently measure, track and display Obama’s failed economic policies

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Stockman has created the first-ever objective measure of the failure of President Barack Obama’s liberal economic policies, which will be publicly displayed in Congress’ Cannon House Office Building.

“The Obama Failometer is the Astrodome Scoreboard of failed liberal policies,” said Stockman.  “Instead of celebrating home runs it measures how badly Obama is striking out.”

The Obama Failometer is a ten-foot long board that assigns a score to the president’s overall economic performance.  It will be permanently displayed at the entrance to Congressman Stockman’s office at 326 Cannon on Capitol Hill and updated monthly.

Measuring economic failure on a scale of 1 to 1,000, the inaugural Obama Failometer Score has already pegged off the charts at a crippling 1,194.

The Obama Failometer is an objective economic score based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, measured against benchmarks provided by the BLS.  It measures Obama’s economic performance against both President George W. Bush and his own rhetoric.

The Obama Failometer Score is calculated using four factors, monthly jobs created, the monthly civilian labor force participation rate and the gap between black and Hispanic monthly unemployment against the monthly rate for all Americans combined.  They are weighted so a sharp increase or decrease in one factor won’t distort the overall Obama Failometer Score.

The inaugural Obama Failometer Score is a crippling 1,194.  Here is how the Obama Failometer Score is calculated:

FACTORS MEASURED AGAINST BUSH

Monthly jobs created: The Hamilton Project, a liberal economic policy group, states the economy must create 321,000 jobs a month in order to return the economy to pre-recession employment levels by December 2016, the end of Obama’s term.

Obama promised to not only restore the economy to where it was under Bush, but grow it.  So far Obama has failed to even perform as well as Bush.

This Obama Failometer score portion is calculated by subtracting the number of jobs created in the previous month from the 321,000 jobs claimed necessary by the liberal Hamilton Project and dividing by 1,000 to balance it against other factors.

The BLS reports the economy created 157,000 jobs in January, 164,000 fewer than needed to restore the economy.  This portion of the February Obama Failometer Score is 164.

Civilian labor force participation rate:  The civilian labor force participation rate, the ratio between those 16 and over in the labor force against the national population of those 16 and over, is an important measure of economic health.  After puttering along during the Bush administration, including through the “Bush years” of the recession, under Obama it has plunged sharply.

This Obama Failometer score portion is calculated by subtracting the monthly civilian labor force participation rate from the average Bush administration rate and multiplying by 100 to balance it against other ractors. According to data from the BLS, under Bush the average monthly civilian labor force participation rate was around 66.2 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the monthly civilian labor force participation rate for January was a paltry 63.6 percent, close to the record low and a gap against Bush of 2.6 percent.  This portion of the February Obama Failometer Score is 260.

FACTORS MEASURED AGAINST OBAMA’S OWN RHETORIC

Black unemployment:  No one has suffered more economically under Obama than black Americans. Obama’s election and re-election has meant crippling poverty for the black community.

This Obama Failometer score portion is calculated by taking the monthly unemployment rate for blacks and subtracting the monthly unemployment rate for all Americans, and multiplying it by 100 to balance it against other factors.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the black unemployment rate for January was a depressing 13.8 percent, while the national overall rate was 7.9 percent.  That is a gap of 5.9 percent.  This portion of the February Obama Failometer Score is 590.

Compare Obama’s performance to Bush’s.  The highest monthly unemployment rate ever for blacks under Bush was 12.1 percent.  Obama’s lowest rate was 12.7 percent in January, a figure he largely inherited.  His next lowest was 13.5 percent in March 2009. He has never performed as well as Bush’s worst black unemployment rate.

Bush’s average black unemployment rate was 9.7 percent and an overall national average of 5.2 percent, a 4.5 percent gap that gives Bush a score of 450.

Hispanic unemployment:  Despite winning the Hispanic vote, Obama’s liberal policies have caused widespread damage to the Hispanic community.  Thanks to Obama, they continue to lag behind the national average in many economic factors.

This Obama Failometer score portion is calculated by taking the monthly unemployment rate for Hispanics and subtracting the monthly unemployment rate for all Americans, and multiplying it by 100 to balance it against other factors.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the Hispanic unemployment rate for January was a stunning 9.7 percent, while the national overall rate was 7.9 percent.  That is a gap of 1.8 percent.  This portion of the February Obama Failometer Score is 180.

The Hispanic unemployment rate hit its all-time historic low of 4.7 percent during Bush's last term.  It is almost twice that rate under Obama.

THEREFORE, FEBRUARY’S OBAMA FAILOMETER SCORE IS 1194.

Obama can set the Failometer to zero by outperforming Bush on the economy and fulfilling his 2008 and 2012 campaign promises to help blacks and Hispanics gain economically.

So far Obama has failed miserably.  The Obama Failometer provides an objective, visual measure of Obama’s abysmal failure.

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