Jobs and the Economy

Unemployment Rate Rises, Above 8% for 40 Consecutive Months: The unemployment rate for the month of May was 8.2 percent, up from 8.1 percent in April. May marked the first month that the unemployment rate has increased since June 2011. The unemployment rate has now been at or above 8 percent for 40 consecutive months. Before President Obama took office, unemployment had not been above 8 percent for this long since the Great Depression. Over three years ago, the Obama Administration said that unemployment would never reach 8 percent if the “stimulus” was approved.

 Spending

Private Study Reports Debt Crisis More Severe, Immediate Than CBO Estimates: Today, professional services firm Deloitte released new research which shows America's debt crisis is likely more severe - and immediate - than the current baseline Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast indicates.  The study, titled “The Untold Story of America's Debt,” found that 1) the debt crisis is likely bigger than you think; 2) the magnitude of the debt is highly sensitive to economic fluctuations; 3) debt could adversely impact American competitiveness; 4) rising debt could impact the independence of monetary policy; and 5) demand for and composition of America's debt isn’t just America's decision.

 Medicare

Future of Medicare Access Grim Under Current Law:  Beneficiary access in Medicare is sensitive to concern over physician reimbursement rates.  So the prognosis is not good given the Medicare Actuary’s recent explanation that under the president’s government takeover of health care law “Medicare rates would eventually fall to 26 percent of private health insurance levels by 2086 and to less than half of the projected Medicaid rates.”