New Audio Book version released for "Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future"

The audio version of the book is available here.  Some past coverage of my book is available here.

Media on the claim that government spending under Obama has gone up the least in 60 years

My discussion starts at 10:50 into the recording.
Ann Coulter has a discussion of these points on Sean Hannity's radio show available here. She brings up a discussion of my new book right at the beginning of the show at about 1:04 (specifically at 1:38) and again at 10:05 into the clip.

Rex Nutting's slight of hand on Obama spending numbers

I previously pointed out problems with Mark Thoma and Justin Wolfers claims on government spending.  Well Rex Nutting wasn't just satisfied with ascribing the first quarter of 2009 government spending to Bush.  He wanted to do it for all the spending up through October 1, 2009.  My question is: Did Nutting get the idea for his write up from Thoma and Wolfers? Ann Coulter does a good job of correcting the record here.

It's been breaking news all over MSNBC, liberal blogs, newspapers and even The Wall Street Journal: "Federal spending under Obama at historic lows ... It's clear that Obama has been the most fiscally moderate president we've had in 60 years." . . .Inasmuch as this is obviously preposterous, I checked with John Lott, one of the nation's premier economists and author of the magnificent new book with Grover Norquist: "Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future."
It turns out Rex Nutting, author of the phony Marketwatch chart, attributes all spending during Obama's entire first year, up to Oct. 1, to President Bush.That's not a joke.
That means, for example, the $825 billion stimulus bill, proposed, lobbied for, signed and spent by Obama, goes in ... Bush's column. . . .
Nutting's "analysis" is so dishonest, even The New York Times has ignored it. He includes only the $140 billion of stimulus money spent after Oct. 1, 2009, as Obama's spending. . . .
The theory is that a new president is stuck with the budget of his predecessor, so the entire 2009 fiscal year should be attributed to Bush.
But Obama didn't come in and live with the budget Bush had approved. He immediately signed off on enormous spending programs that had been specifically rejected by Bush.
This included a $410 billion spending bill that Bush had refused to sign before he left office. Obama signed it on March 10, 2009. . . .
Obama also spent the second half of the Troubled Asset Relief Fund (TARP). These were discretionary funds meant to prevent a market meltdown after Lehman Bros. collapsed. . . .

Peter Ferrara reviews "Debacle"

Peter Ferrara's discussion of our new book at the American Spectator starts this way:

Obama has already succeeded in fundamentally transforming America, from a prosperous nation that draws people the world over, voting with their feet, to a rapidly declining former superpower on the fast track to a third-world status similar to Argentina or Venezuela. That is effectively what is argued by the new book Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain our Future, by leading taxpayer activist Grover Norquist and economist John Lott. . . .

Talk Thursday on "Debacle" at the New York City Young Republicans Club

From the New York City Young Republicans Club:

Park South Hotel

124 East 28th Street New York, NY 10016

May 10, 2012, 7:30 to 9 PM

Fiscal Times piece discussing "Debacle"

Edward Morrissey has this piece in today's Fiscal Times:

For months, the Obama administration has told American voters that the nation had turned the corner on a stagnant recovery. Job creation picked up in December, January, and February, averaging a decent if unspectacular 217,000 jobs added monthly during that period. . . .

In their book Debacle, John Lott and Grover Norquist compare the Obama recovery to that of the 1982 recovery under Ronald Reagan.  The double-dip 1980-81 recession was longer and produced higher unemployment than that of the so-called Great Recession, and it followed a decade of stagnation, “stagflation,” high interest rates, ill-considered wage and price controls, and energy shocks.  Yet in the 29 months that followed the 1982 recovery, the American economy expanded jobs by 8 percent.  In contrast, the Obama recovery in the same period only grew jobs in the US by 0.25 percent: . . .

I was interviewed on Ed's show yesterday (see starting at 1:01 into show).



Video streaming by Ustream

Sean Hannity's website prominently promotes my new book

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk about the new book on Sean's show, but he was nice enough to still promote it right at the top of the front page of his website.  Thanks, Sean!

Big Government pieces on my book "Debacle"

Norquist, Lott Eviscerate NYT's Paul Krugman in New Stimulus Exposé
Five Ways to Reduce Government Spending Now
Federal Workers Make Nearly Twice Private Sector
Richer Democratic States With Lower Unemployment Got Bulk of Obama Stimulus

US: WORLD'S HIGHEST CORPORATE TAX RATE

Giving a talk in DC on new book "Debacle"

This coming Monday (April 23rd) I will be giving a talk for "Conservatism on Tap."  I promise an interesting talk for people!

Another radio interview on "Debacle"

An interview that I did with Radio America is available here.

Another mention of my book "Debacle"

James Antle has another mention in the American Spectator of my book available here.

In other words, if taxpayers -- and potential job creators -- pay more taxes we can afford more Solyndras. Such boondoggles will create jobs, at least until they go belly up and lay everyone off. There is a word for an economic strategy of taxing some millionaires to give government loans to other millionaires. It can be found in the title of a new book by Grover Norquist and John Lott: Debacle. . . .

W. James Antle III's review of "Debacle"

The review starts this way:

Remember the stimulus plan? The big spending package enacted at the height of hope and change, its legacy reads like a litany of broken campaign promises. It was “only” supposed to cost $787 billion. It was intended to create or save 5.5 million jobs. It was going to keep unemployment from spiking to more than 9 percent. Even before Barack Obama was sworn in, members of his economic team were predicting that unemployment would peak at 7.9 percent sometime in 2009 before falling below 6 percent by April 2012. Does it sound like an alternate reality? Well, prepare to enter into this bizarro world during this fall’s presidential campaign. . . . .

Here is another book review by Robert VerBruggen at RealClearBooks.

"Americans really need to ask themselves a question," Grover Norquist and John Lott write in their brief manifesto Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future. "Have people really noticed their lives so greatly improved by the increased government spending that it is worth all this new debt? For example, cutting back the 2012 budget to what was spent in 2008 would leave the deficit at a few hundred billion dollars, instead of more than $1.1 trillion." That is a good question. And as Norquist and Lott point out, this surge in spending comes at precisely the wrong time, as greedy hordes of Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire and raid the federal treasury. In Debacle, the authors offer a solid chronicle of the government's recent fiscal follies -- from the stimulus to green jobs and from housing to bailouts -- with a focus on the Obama administration. On the question of whether President Obama has delivered the results he promised, the facts speak for themselves. In Debacle we find the handy graph created in early 2009 by two Obama administration economists to illustrate the expected effects of the first major stimulus. Without the stimulus, the unemployment rate would climb to 9 percent in 2010 and stay above 6 percent through most of 2012; with the stimulus, unemployment would never reach 8 percent, and would fall below 6 percent in April of 2012. In fact, the stimulus passed, and the economy did worse than it was supposed to do without the stimulus. Here in April of 2012, the unemployment rate is still above 8 percent. And as Norquist and Lott show, the climb out of the Great Recession has been quite slow in comparison with previous American recoveries. Without time travel there's no way to prove a different president would have done better, but President Obama has not succeeded. . . .

Daily Caller: "Chicago Snub: Gun rights advocate and former Obama colleague: President used to treat him as 'evil'"

The Daily Caller has an interview with me on my new book with Grover available here.  The piece was picked up at Fox Nation here.

Breitbart.com: "NORQUIST, LOTT EVISCERATE NYT'S PAUL KRUGMAN IN NEW STIMULUS EXPOSÉ"

This is the beginning of Breitbart.com's discussion of my book:

Grover Norquist and John Lott, Jr. lay waste to the economic claims of Obama-backer, stimulus defender, and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in their new, hard-hitting book, Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future. Grover Norquist, who is the President of Americans for Tax Reform, and economist John Lott marshal a mountain of economic data that reveal that, contrary to Krugman’s Keynesian claims, President Obama’s 2009 stimulus plan has made the American economy worse, not better. Their refutation makes for fascinating and sometimes humorous reading. . . .

"Debacle" on CSPAN Book TV

I wish that I had advanced notice of this, but it is on CSPAN right now.

"Economist Lott to Newsmax: Obama Policies Strain Recovery Read more on Newsmax.com: Economist Lott to Newsmax: Obama Policies Strain Recovery Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!"

My interview with Newsmax is available here.

Presentation from my talk at the CEI

CNBC: Author Claims Obama's War On Jobs and Growth a ‘Debacle’

CNBC has this discussion of my new book here:

GUEST AUTHOR BLOG: John R. Lott, Jr. Co-author of "Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future."The recovery has been painfully slow, and Americans naturally look for the silver lining in new economic numbers. Yet, thirty-three months since the "recovery" officially started, and the unemployment rate still hasn’t fallen below 8.3 percent. Unfortunately, the recent “good news” on the drop in initial unemployment insurance claims and job number increases don’t mean what reporters think they mean. . . .

Interview with Janine Turner on guns and my new book Debacle

My interview with Janine is available here. I think that this interview was broadcast on KLIF radio in Dallas/Fort Worth, though she also has a internet radio show.

Appearance to discuss "Debacle" on Kudlow Show 03/13/2012