'Things Outside of Our Control'; The latest White House explanation for the weak economy.
If the economy were roaring ahead, you can bet that White House economic officials would be taking credit. So it's worth noting the explanations they are offering for the miserable economic growth numbers released on Friday. They blame acts of nature and Republicans.</br></br>Gene Sperling, who must have drawn the short White House straw, was asked on Fox News yesterday about the less than 1% GDP growth in the first half of 2011. The head of the White House National Economic Council blamed "things outside of our control," adding that "We have had headwinds that have hurt this economy--higher oil prices, supply chain-disruptions from the historic earthquake in Japan."</br></br>We'll concede the earthquake point, though that should only be a temporary hit and should contribute to faster growth for the rest of the year. As for high oil prices, they are not an act of God. The oil and general commodity boom is in part a result of the expansionary Federal Reserve monetary policy that the Obama Administration has fully supported.</br></br>Then came the real hoot. The big problem, Mr. Sperling said, is "the cloud of uncertainty that comes from the American public thinking that we are on the verge of default. And that has hurt confidence and hurt our economy over the last few months. No question."</br></br>Brett Baier of Fox interjected: "Wait a second. So you're tying all of this negative to the debt-ceiling debate?" Mr. Sperling replied: "No, I'm not tying all of it," whereupon he took another spin around earthquakes and oil prices before reiterating that "When we allow the uncertainty created by whether our country is going to go to default, to create uncertainty for investors, for job creators, that's a self-inflicted wound."