Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama's Imaginary Recovery: Laboring With the Truth

"The recent declaration by President Obama's labor secretary that 'the recovery is working' is just the latest fictional assessment by an administration in denial about the economy. President Obama and his team seem more focused on celebrating an imaginary recovery than actually creating one that helps middle-class families." –Ryan Williams, Romney Spokesman

In A Recent  Interview, President Obama's Secretary Of Labor Argued That "The Recovery Is Working":

Secretary Of Labor Hilda Solis: "The Recovery Is Working." SOLIS: "The area where we haven't been able to put back jobs quickly is in local government and state government and that has more to do with the fiscal outlook of the states. But I would say that the recovery is working." (PBS's "To The Contrary," 8/31/12)

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The Truth? Under President Obama, We Are Suffering From The "Worst Economic Recovery America Has Ever Had":

"This Is The Worst Economic Recovery America Has Ever Had." CBS' SCOTT PELLEY: "Good evening. This is the worst economic recovery America has ever had. We'd been looking for hopeful signs, but today the chairman of the Federal Reserve threw a cold splash of reality on those hopes." ("CBS Evening News," 7/17/12)

"The Ugliness Goes Well Beyond Unemployment, Which At 8.3 Percent Is The Highest This Long After A Recession Ended." (Paul Wiseman, "Economic Recovery Is Weakest Since World War II," The Associated Press, 8/16/12)

CNBC's Brian Sullivan: "Since 1970, This Is Statistically The Worst Recovery Out Of A Recession In A Developed Nation." SULLIVAN: "And if you look at this chart, you will notice the U.S. is, since 1970, this is statistically the worst recovery out of a recession in a developed nation. So in other words, in over 40 years, this is officially the slowest recovery when compared to other countries. So Miles, there's a report out recently that Canada, right, is now wealthier on a per capita basis in terms of net worth per household than the United States. So I would ask you: how do we fix that?" (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 8/1/12)

As The Obama Administration Declares "The Recovery Is Working," Middle-Class Families Would Disagree:

Pew Research: "The Middle Class Has Shrunk In Size, Fallen Backward In Income And Wealth..." "Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future." ("The Lost Decade Of The Middle Class," Pew Research, 8/22/12)

"Across The Country, In Almost Every Demographic, Americans Earn Less Today Than They Did In June 2009, When The Recovery Technically Started." (Catherine Rampell, "Big Income Losses For Those Near Retirement," The New York Times, 8/23/12)

Median Family Net Worth Has Hit A Two-Decade Low. "The Great Recession shrank Americans' wealth so much that in 2010 median family net worth was no more than it had been in 1992 after adjusting for inflation, the Federal Reserve reported Monday. Median net worth declined from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010, a Fed survey of family finances found." (Martin Crutsinger, "Fed Report: Middle Class Net Worth Tumbles," The Associated Press, 6/12/12)

The Majority Of New Jobs Created In President Obama's So-Called Recovery "Pay Much Less" Than Jobs Before The Recession. "Although six in 10 jobs lost during the Great Recession paid mid-level wages, the majority of new jobs created in the recovery ... pay much less, according to a new study. The findings highlight concerns about a shrinking middle class and pose another obstacle to getting the economy back on track, said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, which conducted the study." (Jim Puzzanghera, "Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds," Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

"An Unprecedented Period Of Economic Stagnation." "'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)

"The Three-And-A-Half Years Of The Obama Presidency Have Done Enormous Harm To Middle-Class Households." "New income data from the Census Bureau, tabulated by former Census income specialists at the nonpartisan economic consulting firm Sentier Research, reveal that the three-and-a-half years of the Obama Presidency have done enormous harm to middle-class households." (Editorial, "Negative $4,019," The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)