Mitt Romney Press | July 22, 2011
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In 2009, President Obama Held A Rally At The University Of Maryland And Promised To “Build A Better Future” For The Next Generation.

“I Promised To Be A President … Who Would Ensure That [Your] Generation … Had The Same Chances And The Same Opportunities That Our Parents Gave Us. That’s What I’m Here To Do.” OBAMA: “In [the 2008] campaign I promised to be a President who didn’t just clean up yesterday’s crises; I didn’t want to be a President who was just content with standing still. I promised to be a President who would build a better future; who would move this nation forward; who would ensure that this generation – your generation – had the same chances and the same opportunities that our parents gave us. That’s what I’m here to do. That's why I ran for President of the United States of America.”

Under President Obama’s Stewardship, Young Workers Are Struggling With Historic Levels Of Unemployment And Economic Uncertainty:

The New York Times: “Employment Rates For New College Graduates Have Fallen Sharply In The Last Two Years, As Have Starting Salaries For Those Who Can Find Work.” “Now evidence is emerging that the damage wrought by the sour economy is more widespread than just a few careers led astray or postponed. Even for college graduates – the people who were most protected from the slings and arrows of recession — the outlook is rather bleak. Employment rates for new college graduates have fallen sharply in the last two years, as have starting salaries for those who can find work.” (“Many With New College Degree Find The Job Market Humbling,” The New York Times, 5/18/11)

 

Video: Obama Isn't Working: Where Are the Jobs?

  • An 18% Increase In The Number Of Unemployed Workers: The unemployment level for Americans aged 20-24 has increased from 1.85 million in January 2009 to 2.19 million in June 2011. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 7/20/11)
  • A 17% Increase In The Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate for Americans aged 20-24 has increased from 12.4% in January 2009 to 14.5% in June 2011. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 7/20/11)
  • A Record-Shattering Twenty-Seven Consecutive Months Of Unemployment At 14% Or Higher: The unemployment rate for Americans aged 20-24 has been above 14% for twenty-seven consecutive months and counting. Since record-keeping began in 1948, the rate had been above 14% in only twenty non-consecutive months prior to the Obama Administration. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 7/20/11)
  • Shrinking Participation In The Labor Force: The labor force participation rate for Americans aged 20-24 has declined from 73.2 in January 2009 to 70.5 in June 2011. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 7/20/11)
  • “Among The Members Of The Class Of 2010, Just 56% Had Held At Least One Job By This Spring [2011] … That Compares With 90% Of Graduates From The Classes Of 2006 And 2007.” (“Many With New College Degree Find The Job Market Humbling,” The New York Times, 5/18/11)
  • “The Unemployment Rate For New College Graduates Has Climbed Since Before The Recession, Prompting Some Recent Grads To Delay Looking For A Job.” (“Many Graduates Delay Job Searches,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/4/11)

Recent Graduates Can Be Affected For The Rest Of Their Lives By Their First Jobs Out Of School:

  • Austan Goolsbee – President Obama’s Top Economic Adviser – Noted In 2006 That “Graduates' First Jobs Have An Inordinate Impact On Their Career Path And … Earnings Over A Lifetime.” “The recent evidence shows quite clearly that in today's economy starting at the bottom is a recipe for being underpaid for a long time to come. Graduates' first jobs have an inordinate impact on their career path and their ‘future income stream,’ as economists refer to a person's earnings over a lifetime. … These data confirm that people essentially cannot close the wage gap by working their way up the company hierarchy. While they may work their way up, the people who started above them do, too. They don't catch up.” (Austan Goolsbee, Op-Ed, “Hello, Young Workers,” The New York Times, 5/25/06)
  • Academic Research Shows That Workers Beginning Their Careers During Economic Downturns Experience Depressed Wages Well Into The Future. “Research from the University of Notre Dame shows that individuals who begin their careers during economic downturns earn lower wages than similar workers who begin careers at other times, and that negative impact lasts five to ten years after starting work. According to Abigail Wozniak, a Notre Dame labor economist … conditions known to economists as ‘scarring effects’ have negative impacts not only on earnings, but also on long-term occupational achievement.” (Susan Guibert, “Research Shows Workers Who Begin Careers During Recession Suffer Long-Term, Negative Effects On Earnings,” University of Notre Dame, www.nd.edu, 10/4/10)
  • “A Bad Hand At The Beginning Of A Game Where Everything Is Connected Has Lasting Negative Effects.” (Susan Guibert, “Research Shows Workers Who Begin Careers During Recession Suffer Long-Term, Negative Effects On Earnings,” University of Notre Dame, www.nd.edu, 10/4/10)
  • According To The National Bureau Of Economic Research, Recent Graduates Endure Large And Slowly Receding Earnings Losses In Underperforming Economies. “In the first ten years of work, individuals experience 70 percent of their overall wage growth, change jobs frequently, and often settle on a particular line of business or industry. … Graduating in a recession leads to large initial earnings losses. These losses, which amount to about 9 percent of annual earnings in the initial stage, eventually recede, but slowly – halving within five years but not disappearing until about ten years after graduation.” (Matt Nesvisky, “The Career Effects Of Graduating In A Recession,” National Bureau of Economic Research’s “NBER Digest,” 11/06)

Is This The “Better Future” President Obama Promised Us?

  • The White House Claims The Economy Is “Vastly Improved.” CARNEY: “The economy is vastly improved from what it was when Barack Obama was sworn into office as President.” (Jay Carney, White House Press Briefing, 7/21/11)
  • President Obama: “I Think The Trajectory’s A Good One.” OBAMA: “What people want to know is that we're moving in the right direction, even if they're frustrated with how fast we're moving, we need to speed it up, but I think the trajectory's a good one.” (WBNS-10TV, 7/20/11)
  • President Obama: “We Have Made Extraordinary Progress Over The Last Two And A Half Years.” OBAMA: “[W]e have made extraordinary progress over the last two and a half years. … We can go down the list. But we also know we’ve still got a lot more work to do. We’ve just started, and we’ve got a lot more work to do.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks in Los Angeles, CA, 4/22/11)

NOTE: Young Voters Disagree With The President’s Assessment. “A new poll found that a majority of younger voters disapprove of President Obama's handling of the economy. … Obama vowed on the campaign trail to change Washington, but 69 percent of poll respondents contend that leaders in the nation's capital are failing to serve their generation. … Forty-four percent of respondents disapprove of the president's handling of youth unemployment while only 31 percent approved, according to the poll conducted by the polling company, inc./womantrend on behalf of Generation Opportunity, a youth mobilization group. … Seventy-seven percent of poll respondents are delaying major life changes due to economic restraints while 27 percent said that they were delaying going back to school or entering professional training programs.” (Cristina Marcos, “Poll: Younger Voters Dissatisfied With Obama's Handling Of The Economy,” The Hill, 6/12/11)