New York Times "The Big Picture" published in the New York Times 4/6/08 illustrating the widespread foreclosures in the United States, as well as the mounting unemployment figures.

What can a $787 billion stimulus program buy these days? Well, as U.S. employers cut another 467,000 jobs in June alone and the national unemployment rate has reached 9.5 percent, American satisfaction with the stimulus program pushed forward by the Obama administration and activist Democratic legislators certainly does not make the list. "The payroll decline was more than forecast and followed a 322,000 drop in May, according to Labor Department figures released today in Washington," http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ahfK709b4uds. "The jobless rate jumped to 9.5 percent, the highest since August 1983, from 9.4 percent." Analysts believe that unemployment will continue to rise through the end of the year, as the income boost from the stimulus package continues to fade. “This will be another jobless recovery,” John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. told Bloomberg. “We may get positive economic growth driven largely by federal spending, but people on the street will say, ‘Where are the jobs?’” Since the recession began in December 2007, the U.S. economy has lost 6.5 million jobs. There are considerably more layoffs on the horizon at GM and Chrysler, and there does not appear to be any relief in banking, retail, insurance, construction, and manufacturing sectors. Meanwhile, government payrolls - seen initially as a more growth-oriented environment under Obama - lost 52,000 jobs in June, the biggest decline since July 2007.