Muscatine

White House Council of Economic Adviser Chair Alan Krueger has begun his monthly statements on the nation’s employment situation with nearly the exact same sentences almost every month since November 2011, just after he was installed as one of Obama’s most senior economic advisers.

Aww heck, just give 'em the same thing.
Photo by Keith Koffler

With the exception of some variation in the May 2012 statement, Krueger has mailed it in every month, not bothering to change a thing in the opening lines of his commentary on the statistic that is perhaps more important to Americans.

Krueger’s statements are released by the White House the morning the latest employment numbers become available from the Department of Labor.

Here’s how he opened his February 1 statement on the January 2013 employment report:

"While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we pursue the policies needed to build an economy that works for the middle class as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."

On December 2012 report:

"While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."

November 2012:

"While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."

October 2012:

"While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."

You get the idea. Up until April 2012, the statement didn’t include the phrase, “While more work remains to be done,” but was otherwise the same thing.

That the chairman of the Council of Economic Adviser is comfortable purveying the same bland verbiage to his readers – the American people – demonstrates a measure of contempt for his audience. And – who knows? – perhaps it indicates a certain laziness with which he is approaching his job, which wouldn’t be surprising, given the state of the economy.