Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama's Rationale For Re-Election: It Could Be Worse

"President Obama and his advisers have a clear message for Americans struggling in the Obama economy: it could be worse. But with half of recent college graduates unemployed or underemployed and consumer confidence plummeting to a nine-month low, it's clear that things can't get much worse for middle-class families. The Romney-Ryan plan will jumpstart the economy for the next generation by creating 12 million new jobs and higher take-home pay for American workers." – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Today, The Obama Campaign's Response To Struggling College Graduates Was To Tell Them It Could Be Worse:

Obama Campaign Advisor Robert Gibbs To Unemployed College Graduates – It Could Be Worse. NBC's CHUCK TODD: "But boy that unemployment rate when you get out of college is tough. It's higher than the national average." GIBBS: "You should see the unemployment rate if you don't get through college. It's about twice as high for those that do have a college degree." (MSNBC'S "The Daily Rundown," 8/28/12)

Last Year, Over Half Of Recent Graduates Were "Jobless Or Underemployed, The Highest Share In At Least 11 Years." "About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields." (Hope Yen, "1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed," The Associated Press, 4/22/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, The Average Cost Of In-State Tuition At A Four-Year College Has Increased From $6,585 To $8,244 – A 25 Percent Increase. ("Trends In College Pricing 2009," College Board, 2008; "Trends In College Pricing 2011," College Board, 2011)

A Recent Report By The Department Of Education And CFPB Calculated Outstanding Student Loan Debt At More Than $1 Trillion. "As in the housing market, securitization of student loans led to more aggressive underwriting for borrowers who could not possibly afford the debt they took on, according to a government report. The 131-page report was formally released by the Education Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday. It provides new estimates for total outstanding student loan debt: more than $1 trillion in 2011, composed of $864 billion in federal government loans and $150 billion in private student loan debt. Cumulative defaults on private student loans exceeded $8 billion, a sum from over 850,000 distinct loans." (Catherine Rampell, "Report Details Woes Of Student Loan Debt," The New York Times, 7/20/12)

And What's The Result Of President Obama's Aloof Attitude Toward The Economy? Consumer Confidence At A Nine-Month Low And Millions Struggling To Make Ends Meet:

"U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Weakened In August To Its Lowest In Nine Months As Americans Turned More Pessimistic About The Short-Term Outlook..." "U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly weakened in August to its lowest in nine months as Americans turned more pessimistic about the short-term outlook, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.6 from a downwardly revised 65.4 the month before. Economists had expected an increase to 66, according to a Reuters poll." ("US Consumer Confidence Tumbles to 9-Month Low," Reuters, 8/28/12)

More Than Twenty-Three Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 8/26/12) 

·         Since President Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 316,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above 8% For 42 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 8/26/12)

"Almost 5.2 Million Americans Have Been Out Of Work For At Least Six Months." (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

"The Ranks Of America's Poor Are On Track To Climb To Levels Unseen In Nearly Half A Century..." "The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net." (Hope Yen, "US Poverty On Track To Rise To Highest Since 1960s," The Associated Press, 7/22/12)

Sentier Research: "Almost Every Group Is Worse Off Than It Was Three Years Ago, And Some Groups Had Very Large Declines In Income." "'Almost every group is worse off than it was three years ago, and some groups had very large declines in income,' Green, who previously directed work on the Census Bureau's income and poverty statistics program, said in a phone interview today. 'We're in an unprecedented period of economic stagnation.'" (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

"For The First Time Since The End Of World War II, Mean Family Incomes Declined For Americans In All Income Tiers." "Their downbeat take on their economic situation comes at the end of a decade in which, for the first time since the end of World War II, mean family incomes declined for Americans in all income tiers. But the middle-income tier—defined in this Pew Research analysis as all adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median —is the only one that also shrunk in size, a trend that has continued over the past four decades." ("The Lost Decade Of The Middle Class," Pew Research Center, 8/22/12)