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| Washington diary: Jobless recovery? | Washington diary: Jobless recovery? |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| By Matt Frei BBC News, Washington | By Matt Frei BBC News, Washington |
| Ben Bernanke may be cautiously declaring that the recession is over. | Ben Bernanke may be cautiously declaring that the recession is over. |
| Mr Obama will be judged on his ability to improve the economy | Mr Obama will be judged on his ability to improve the economy |
| But New York City is ahead of the curve. | But New York City is ahead of the curve. |
| In the Meatpacking District, you need to beg and bribe to get a restaurant table. Lower Manhattan was knee-high in supermodels, who had flocked to town like an exotic breed of storks for Fashion Week. The paparazzi hovered like vultures. | In the Meatpacking District, you need to beg and bribe to get a restaurant table. Lower Manhattan was knee-high in supermodels, who had flocked to town like an exotic breed of storks for Fashion Week. The paparazzi hovered like vultures. |
| If President Obama can look through the tinted windows of his armoured limo on his way to the Letterman Show next Monday then this is the recovery he will see. | |
| The epicentre of the financial earthquake that shook the world is behaving as if the last 12 months have been a nasty dream. | The epicentre of the financial earthquake that shook the world is behaving as if the last 12 months have been a nasty dream. |
| Bonuses will be paid out and the survivors of Wall Street - bigger, more judicious (we hope) and more bloated (thanks to all that surplus talent out there and the thirst for capital after last year's drought) - will loom ever larger. | Bonuses will be paid out and the survivors of Wall Street - bigger, more judicious (we hope) and more bloated (thanks to all that surplus talent out there and the thirst for capital after last year's drought) - will loom ever larger. |
| In Lower Manhattan, the gilded era of the last two decades may well continue for a smaller number of uber-banks. | In Lower Manhattan, the gilded era of the last two decades may well continue for a smaller number of uber-banks. |
| I asked Allen Sloan, the senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine, how the bankers and hedge fund managers will respond to the president's stern warning that the old ways must stop and new rules are coming. | I asked Allen Sloan, the senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine, how the bankers and hedge fund managers will respond to the president's stern warning that the old ways must stop and new rules are coming. |
| "They will laugh into their Martinis", he scoffed. "Wall Street will be Wall Street!" | "They will laugh into their Martinis", he scoffed. "Wall Street will be Wall Street!" |
| If the jobs do not come back soon, their absence could well define Mr Obama's first term | If the jobs do not come back soon, their absence could well define Mr Obama's first term |
| The nascent period of recovery is fraught with political danger for Barack Obama, unless employment growth follows swiftly on the heels of banking profits. | The nascent period of recovery is fraught with political danger for Barack Obama, unless employment growth follows swiftly on the heels of banking profits. |
| America needs to create millions of new jobs just to get back to pre-crash levels. That is a very tall order. | America needs to create millions of new jobs just to get back to pre-crash levels. That is a very tall order. |
| But the employment landscape is not the only thing that has changed. Until the recent Great Recession, even the most outrageous pay packet on Wall Street was not viewed as an affront on Main Street. | But the employment landscape is not the only thing that has changed. Until the recent Great Recession, even the most outrageous pay packet on Wall Street was not viewed as an affront on Main Street. |
| This is odd when you consider the reality of the so-called boom. Despite the ballooning wealth of recent decades, middle class incomes have actually stagnated, the number of people living in poverty has increased and the mega-rich have grown richer. | This is odd when you consider the reality of the so-called boom. Despite the ballooning wealth of recent decades, middle class incomes have actually stagnated, the number of people living in poverty has increased and the mega-rich have grown richer. |
| By 2007, the average corporate CEO was earning around 400 times what his average employee was bringing home. In 1967 that ratio was about 20 to one. | By 2007, the average corporate CEO was earning around 400 times what his average employee was bringing home. In 1967 that ratio was about 20 to one. |
| The gulf had become a chasm. And yet few seemed to mind. | The gulf had become a chasm. And yet few seemed to mind. |
| Expectation bubble | Expectation bubble |
| Rising property values and unending credit became the opium of the people, creating delusions of wealth. | Rising property values and unending credit became the opium of the people, creating delusions of wealth. |
| During the 2004 presidential election campaign, Democratic candidate John Kerry wheeled out proposals to increase taxes for those earning more than $200,000 (£121,280) a year. | During the 2004 presidential election campaign, Democratic candidate John Kerry wheeled out proposals to increase taxes for those earning more than $200,000 (£121,280) a year. |
| The proposal never caught fire because even Americans who were earning half as much considered themselves to be potentially rich. | The proposal never caught fire because even Americans who were earning half as much considered themselves to be potentially rich. |
| This was the era of aspiration, in which the much-touted American dream became a fantasy fuelled by sub-prime mortgages and underwritten by a cast-iron sense of entitlement. | This was the era of aspiration, in which the much-touted American dream became a fantasy fuelled by sub-prime mortgages and underwritten by a cast-iron sense of entitlement. |
| If a truck driver earning $60,000 a year could live in a small mansion in Orange County worth $600,000 on a 100% mortgage, keep a posse of five maxed-out credit cards and a stable of leased cars, it is hardly surprising that he felt rich even if he was not. | If a truck driver earning $60,000 a year could live in a small mansion in Orange County worth $600,000 on a 100% mortgage, keep a posse of five maxed-out credit cards and a stable of leased cars, it is hardly surprising that he felt rich even if he was not. |
| The asset bubble was complimented by the expectation bubble. | The asset bubble was complimented by the expectation bubble. |
| Courtesy of Lehman Brothers, the era of aspiration has become the era of resentment. | Courtesy of Lehman Brothers, the era of aspiration has become the era of resentment. |
| These days, ordinary Americans no longer feel a connection between them and the high rollers. | These days, ordinary Americans no longer feel a connection between them and the high rollers. |
| The rebirth of success on Wall Street merely underlines failure at home and "bank" has become a four-letter word. | The rebirth of success on Wall Street merely underlines failure at home and "bank" has become a four-letter word. |
| First, there was their staggering incompetence, then they were bailed out by the tax-payer and - adding insult to injury - they are already able to pay back their loans to Uncle Sam while millions of Americans are struggling to cover the next mortgage payment. | First, there was their staggering incompetence, then they were bailed out by the tax-payer and - adding insult to injury - they are already able to pay back their loans to Uncle Sam while millions of Americans are struggling to cover the next mortgage payment. |
| Meanwhile, unemployment is nudging perilously close to 10%. In some swing states, like Michigan and Ohio, it is well above that, and every day the fear grows that these jobs may simply never return. | Meanwhile, unemployment is nudging perilously close to 10%. In some swing states, like Michigan and Ohio, it is well above that, and every day the fear grows that these jobs may simply never return. |
| The fears about unemployment will trump the frustrations over healthcare - and if the jobs do not come back soon, their absence could well define Mr Obama's first term. | The fears about unemployment will trump the frustrations over healthcare - and if the jobs do not come back soon, their absence could well define Mr Obama's first term. |
| Matt Frei is the presenter of BBC World News America which airs every weekday on BBC News, BBC World News and BBC America (for viewers outside the UK only). | Matt Frei is the presenter of BBC World News America which airs every weekday on BBC News, BBC World News and BBC America (for viewers outside the UK only). |
| Send us your comments in reaction to Matt Frei's Washington diary using the link below: Send us your comments | Send us your comments in reaction to Matt Frei's Washington diary using the link below: Send us your comments |