Sorry...

…but I couldn’t resist telling a few jokes:

The set-up

“Obama: Under Me ‘People Have A New Attitude Toward America’ And ‘More Confidence’” (Real Clear Politics)

“Because we’re leading around the world, people have a new attitude toward America. There’s more confidence in our leadership. We see it everywhere we go,” President Obama said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno.

The punchline

The latest Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index finds that only 21 percent of Americans trust the financial system, the lowest point on record since March 2009. According to the June 2012 report issued today, this decrease was largely driven by a drop in trust of national banks. 

~ ~ ~

The set-up

“Obama on the Economy: ‘We Tried Our Plan — And It Worked’” (Washington Examiner)

Discussing his economic policies at a fundraiser in Oakland,  California, last night, President Obama, told supporters that “we tried our plan — and it worked.”

The punchline

“More Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

More than a third of U.S. households say they live paycheck to paycheck.

Less than a third feel comfortable financially.

Only about a third think they can afford to retire by age 65.

And here’s an oldie but goodie:

The set-up

“Oops: What Bernanke Said Five Years Ago Today” (Real Time Economics)

On the economic outlook:

“Overall, the U.S. economy appears likely to expand at a moderate pace over the second half of 2007 with growth then strengthening a bit in 2008 to a rate close to the economy’s underlying trend. Such an assessment was made around the time of the June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee… The central tendency of the growth forecast… is for real GDP to expand roughly 2.25% to 2.5% this year and 2.5% to 2.75% in 2008. ….The unemployment rate is anticipated to edge up between 4.5% and 4.75% over the balance of this year and about 4.75% percent in 2008.”

The punchline

Real Time Economics:

The recession began five months later, in December 2007, and lasted until June 2009. For the full year 2007, GDP grew by 1.7%. In 2008, it shrank by 0.3%, and shrank another 3.5% in 2009. Unemployment hit 5% in December 2007 and by December 2008 had risen to 7.3% and kept climbing.

Funny, eh?