"Surging unemployment: Obama's spending binge delays economic recovery"

The Washington Times has this useful reminder:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that May's unemployment rate soared to 9.4 percent. Once again, Obama administration predictions on the economic impact of the $787 billion stimulus plan have proved wrong.

On Feb. 4, Christina Romer, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, warned: "If we fail to act [and don't pass the stimulus], we are likely to lose millions more jobs, and the unemployment rate could reach double digits." White House economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers told Americans that the stimulus would start improving the economy "within weeks" of passage.

After the stimulus bill was signed into law on Feb. 17, the Obama administration predicted that the unemployment rate this year would average just 8.1 percent. Even as late as May 11, Ms. Romer didn't think the unemployment rate would reach 9.5 percent until December.

What is stunning is the speed at which the unemployment rate is increasing. . . . .