Amerika'da işsizlik rekor düzeye ulaştı

Amerika’da işsizlik, son 26 yılın en yüksek oranı olan yüzde 9 buçuğa yükseldi. Kısa vadede bu, Başkan Barack Obama ve ekonomi politikaları için siyasi anlamda bir gerileme anlamına geliyor. Bununla birlikte son kamuoyu yoklamaları, Başkan Obama’ya verilen desteğin kötü ekonomiye rağmen, iyi olduğunu gösteriyor.

Beyaz Saray’da son işsizlik raporunu açıklayan Başkan Obama, ekonomi düzelmeye başlayıncaya kadar Amerikalılar’dan sabırlı olmalarını istedi:

Obama, “Beyaz Saray’ın kapısından girdiğim anda da söylemiştim: Bu rezaletin içine düşmemiz yıllar aldı, birkaç ayda çıkmamız da beklenmemelidir,” diye konuştu.

Bu kötü habere rağmen Obama’yı rahatlatacak tek şey son kamuoyu yoklamaları olabilir. Connecticut eyaletindeki Quinnipaic Üniversitesi’nin hazırladığı son kamuoyu yoklamasına göre, Obama’ya verilen halk desteği, kötü ekonomiye rağmen iyi durumda:
Kamuoyu yoklamasını yöneten Peter Brown, Obama’nın icraatıyla ilgili kamuoyu desteğinin yüzde 57 olduğunu söylemekle birlikte, oranın göreve geldiğinden beri, az da olsa bir düşüş kaydettiğine dikkati çekiyor.

Diğer kamuoyu yoklamalarında Obama’ya verilen destek yüzde 56 ya da 65 arasında değişiyor. Başkan’a karşı olumsuz oy oranlarıysa yüzde 31 ile 37 arasında…

Peter Brown, Obama’ya verilen olumsuz oylara kötü ekonominin etkisi olduğunu belirtiyor. Quinnipiac Üniversitesi’nin Haziran başında yaptığı son kamuoyu yoklamasından bu yana Obama’ya verilen destek yüzde 8 ila 10 arasında düşüş kaydetmiş. Ama Brown’a göre bu düşüş normal.

Muhalefetteki Cumhuriyetçi Parti, Obama’ya kamuoyu desteğinde görülen düşüş ve bunun yanı sıra artan iç borç ve bütçe açığından prim yapmaya çalışıyor. Cumhuriyetçi Parti lideri Michael Steele, son işsizlik rakamlarının Obama’nın ekonomi planının işe yaramadığını gösterdiğini savundu. Bu konuda Temsilciler Meclisi’ndeki Cumhuriyetçi Partililerin Lideri John Boehner da fırsatı kaçırmadı:

Boehner, “Hepimiz neredeyse bir trilyon dolarlık canlandırma planını hatırlıyoruz. Demokratlar bize iş vaat etti, ama bu plan bize harcamalardan başka bir şey sunmadı,” diye konuştu. Cumhuriyetçilerin savunduğu bir diğer konu da, Obama yönetiminin son yaşanan ekonomik sorunlardan dolayı sorumluluğu üzerine alması ve eski Bush yönetimini sorumlu tutmaktan vazgeçmesi.

Ama kamuoyu yoklamalarına katılanlar Cumhuriyetçilerle aynı görüşte değil. Araştırmacı Peter Brown’a göre, halk kötü ekonomiden eski Bush yönetimini sorumlu tutuyor.

• The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.5 percent last month -- the highest figure in 26 years

In the short term, the jobs report is a political setback for President Barack Obama and his economic policies. But the latest opinion polls suggest the president continues to hold public support despite the weak economy.

President Obama acknowledged the disappointing jobs report at the White House, but quickly urged Americans to be patient as the country waits for the economy to improve.

"As I've said from the moment I walked into the door of this White House, it took years for us to get into this mess and it will take us more than a few months to turn it around," he said.

The modest increase in unemployment was higher than most experts had predicted, says economist Stuart Hoffman.

"The job market is still weak; it is still tough to find a job. Layoffs have slowed down. Not as many people are getting laid off, but there is still very little hiring," said Hoffman.

Despite the struggling economy, Mr. Obama can take a measure of solace from recent public opinion polls.

The latest survey from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut shows the public, for the most part, is staying behind the president despite the weak economy.

"What we have found is that President Obama is still quite popular with the American people. He has a 57 percent job approval rating, which is quite healthy. It's down a little bit since when he took office, obviously, but that is not terribly surprising," said Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown.

In other recent polls, Mr. Obama's approval rating ranges from 56-65 percent, with disapproval ranging from 31-37 percent.

Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown says his latest survey suggests that a number of people who had been reserving judgment about the president now disapprove of his job performance, in part because the economy remains sluggish.

Brown says the president's approval ratings have dropped by 8-10 points among some key voting groups since the last poll in early June.

"And these are people and groups that disproportionately did not vote for him in November. We are talking about men, Republicans, evangelical white Christians and white Catholics. And so these people, who you would expect to not be supporters of the president based on history, have been giving him a tryout, so to speak, in their minds and they have decided he is not their cup of tea," he said.
Opposition Republicans are taking some of the credit for that drop in support for the president, and for growing public concern about the national debt and deficit spending.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says the latest jobs report proves that the president's stimulus plan is not bringing about economic recovery.

It is a theme Republicans like House of Representatives Minority leader John Boehner have been sounding for weeks.

"I think the question is: where are the jobs? We all remember the trillion dollar stimulus bill. Democrats promised it would be about jobs, jobs and jobs. And clearly, all it has turned into is about spending, spending and more spending," he said.

Republicans also have been arguing that it is time that voters hold President Obama responsible for the weak economy and stop blaming his predecessor, former President George Bush.

But pollster Peter Brown says that so far, Americans still seem to think the bulk of the responsibility for the economy rests with Mr. Bush, not President Obama.

"So far, he seems to be able to convince the American people that the economic problems they are facing were not his fault, but the result of his predecessor, and that is why his job approval rating is so high. When people start blaming the economic conditions on him, his job numbers will come down," said Brown.

The president faces another important domestic test beginning July 13, when the Senate Judiciary Committee opens confirmation hearings for his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor was nominated to replace recently retired Justice David Souter. If confirmed, she would become the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court and only the third woman to serve on the high court.

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