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David Rosenberg Refutes Erin Burnett's Misconceptions About The "Recovery"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

We like Erin Burnett: after all she is ranked 33 on the Fortune 40 under 40. Who can not like someone who has managed to get that high in the rankings on pure talent, although some recent CNBC appearances did seem to indicate a slight, shall we say, bias, when her guests tend not to disagree with Ms. Burnett's misperception of the world. Indeed, in a recent appearance on Meet The Press, the youngish CNBC anchor made some statements that go straight to errorchecking and bias validation. At 47 minutes into the  interview (extracted) Ms. Burnett says: "I think the problem is you have the fastest job creation in this recovery than you have in any recession in 25 years... Technically speaking this recovery has not been tepid." Alas, we are not sure who fed the CNBC employee these "facts" and figures, but they are patently false.

On the first item, we present the quite famous chart comparing job recoveries across all historical recessions. Alas, this chart argues for precisely the opposite of what Ms. Burnett claims - we are currently experiencing the recession with the slowest job creation in history. And based on our prior estimates, the recession will last around 85 months before we regain the unemployment rate seen at the onset in December 2007.

Projected:

Yet the biggest refutation of just how "strong" this recovery has been comes courtesy of David Rosenberg this morning, who confirms that we are currently experiencing the most tepid recession recovery despite the biggest stimulus spend in history.

At 34:35 into the video Ms. Burnett says:

The economy is growing. The numbers are coming out. We're getting better - in fact, after this recession we have - our recovery started more quickly than after any other recession in the past 25 years. So it's accurate to say that we are growing and we're going in the right direction.

Sorry Erin, it's not "accurate". Enter Rosenberg:

Look at Chart 2, what is normal, 33 months after the recession begins, is that all the stimulus and lags have worked their way through the system and generated new peaks in all the economic data. On average, employment is up 5.5%, GDP is up 12%, housing starts are up 27% and retail sales are up 25%. This time around, and in the face of pronounced policy stimulus, employment is down 6%, GDP is down over 1%, starts down 47% and retail sales are down 4%.

We are confident Ms. Burnett would gladly invite someone with whom to debate these findings, although we have a feeling that someone would promptly "raise her temper", be chided for being rude, and told to never come back on CNBC.

Relevant section in the Meet the Press interview below.

 

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Wed, 09/08/2010 - 15:27 | 570156 faustian bargain
faustian bargain's picture

Forest, trees, etc.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 10:58 | 569439 mark mchugh
mark mchugh's picture

Erin knows capitalism.  Here's some notes about her employers:

Time Warner - down more than 85% since 2000.

Citigroup - Vaporized more than $200B in shareholder value, has received over $220B in taxpayer bailouts and still is highly likely to collapse.

Goldman Sachs - Where to start?  http://acrossthestreetnet.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/goldman-sachs-public-enemy-no1/

General Electric - The greatest American Zombie Company (I say greatest because a lot of people seem to think it's actually still alive).  Another $200B black hole for investors; paid 0 US taxes in 2009 but got the FDIC to guarantee $126B in its debt!

So it's not Erin's fault that she thinks money really does grow on trees.....

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:00 | 569448 DonnieD
DonnieD's picture

Becky Quick's propaganda on why the bailouts were needed and anyone that disagrees is an idiot. Or so according to her buddies on Wall Street.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/16/news/economy/populist_hype.fortune/index...

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:00 | 569449 newstreet
newstreet's picture

I'll take Margret Brennan any day.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:04 | 569461 LooseLee
LooseLee's picture

That's one moronic cheerleader I'd go down on! Trish and Maria, too!

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:04 | 569462 Ludic Fallacy
Ludic Fallacy's picture

Why doesn't the second chart include the 1980 recession?  Isn't that the point, that this is worse than all of the others?  What if it's not worse than the 1980 recession - but if we don't have the number to compare - we can't really know. 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 14:54 | 570085 Kayman
Kayman's picture

Why don't you look again.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:07 | 569465 chindit13
chindit13's picture

33 out of 40 what?  The criteria for that list must be rather specific, as in "33rd best white 35'ish female who reads teleprompters on stations with less than 400K viewers".

If it is anything less than that, then the US is in a heap of trouble.  And this clown on Meet the Press?  Why not just have Pee Wee Herman;  just as knowledgeable and slightly more entertaining.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 13:51 | 569878 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Thanks for stopping by chindit13

The list itself is propaganda. It's basically introducing you to the future "keepers of the public myth" so you'll recognize them when they hit the big time.

Stay tuned.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:08 | 569470 tony bonn
tony bonn's picture

another aloof, arrogant, out of touch, cia controlled liar....

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:12 | 569479 SilverIsKing
SilverIsKing's picture

As I read this article,

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/tv_news_future_darkens_2TZzmpWG...

I couldn't help but think of ZH and why the network news organizations are getting their asses kicked.  You want news, you go here.

http://www.zerohedge.com

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:36 | 569535 colonial
colonial's picture

Tyler:  Come on, picking on EB, that's too easy.  It makes us all realize how good Bartiromo is by comparison, and that's not saying much. 

I find the entire debate about jobs to be beyond absurd.  Have all the economists and market players been in a coma for the past decade or so?  There has been talk of "jobless recoveries" for at least that long.  It reminds me again how the media completely misses major/macro events even in the information age.  Mainstream America long ago concluded that most households now require two wage-earners to cover expenses.  And in addition, mainstream America also knows that many of the jobs they are forced to take are now as "1099" employees and thus do not have benefits. 

Of course if you're on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, etc., you never mention this unless you're bashing Bush.  Its unfortunate that Fox News lets itself be taken too far right by Beck and O'Reilly as their discussions on media bias are often accurate.   

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:44 | 569554 Ned Zeppelin
Ned Zeppelin's picture

Any misconceptions you may have about Ms. Burnett's intelligence or integrity are instantly resolved when you understad that she has made a "deal with the Devil" to relentlessly sell a certain product and is paid handsomely to do so. From that point on, the only issue relevant to her is whether her employer is pleased with her job performance.  Is she an idiot? No. Has she made a bad deal? No doubt time will tell. But I think she has noticed that people paid to be bulls tend to suffer less when the truth emerges, since they can hide behind the media-certified excuse of "unexpected."

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:50 | 569575 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Best summary I have seen on the issue Ned. Thanks.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:48 | 569568 Ripped Chunk
Ripped Chunk's picture

"Erin Burnett: after all she is ranked 33 on the Fortune 40 under 40. Who can not like someone who has managed to get that high in the rankings on pure talent"

I agree, that is allot of head.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 11:49 | 569572 yabs
yabs's picture

shes a whore

sorry worse than a whore

at least a whore gives the ;public a useful service

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:06 | 569612 mark mchugh
mark mchugh's picture

Erin advocates buying Chinese steel with US stimulus dollars (really).

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1014885385&play=1

Honestly though, I think the nimrod from CATO is even dumber (and nowhere near as cute).

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:10 | 569622 JLee2027
JLee2027's picture

Seems to honestly believe her own stupidity. Somebody is leading her astray and she's falling hook line and sinker. Dumb, bimbo alert.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:19 | 569635 augmister
augmister's picture

CNBC has learned that lies through the teeth of "eye candy" are easier to swallow.  Any way you cut it, noise is just noise... even if it is blown by Erin.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:32 | 569675 curbyourrisk
curbyourrisk's picture

Come on Erin......flash us and get back in our good graces.  The lies don't sound any more believable coming out of a pretty face with a nice smile.  Trust me...we want to hear the truth, we deserve the truth AND WE CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH.  The American people (at least most of us) are not the idiots you try to portray us as..... 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 15:35 | 570180 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

and yet you still, repeatedly, month after month after month, expect to get "truth" from a television, from box completely controlled by your owners.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:36 | 569688 chinaguy
chinaguy's picture

"you can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts"

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:39 | 569701 Rick Blaine
Rick Blaine's picture

Classic.

I wonder if the "economists and CEOs" she refers to vaguely as her "sources" or "proof" of the stimulus plan's success are the same people who were literally laughing, on the air, at people like Peter Schiff back in 2005...

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:41 | 569708 spinone
spinone's picture

We have just finished County Fair season around here.  I like the fair.  For the last 20 years, I have been trying to shoot the star out of the paper with the machine pellet guns.  Never did it.  Carny games remind me of what its like to play a rigged game - like the stock market is.

Anyway, people watching at the fair brings me back to reality about the average US citizen.  They really aren't involved in the stock market.  They don't care about the FED or fiat currency.  Its going to take some very basic things to get them mad - increasing costs of gasoline and food, job losses, rising taxes, maybe.  Untill the masses get pissed off, it will be business as usual.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 12:44 | 569714 Clayton Bigsby
Clayton Bigsby's picture

I'd still let her play with my balls.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 14:38 | 570031 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

You guys are really careless with something so fragile and precious. I think if she came after them you would be terrified. 

I did not junk FTR.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 17:01 | 570467 Hephasteus
Hephasteus's picture

Ulric the Just will teach him.

http://oglaf.com/ulric/1/

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 13:10 | 569786 sbenard
sbenard's picture

This kind of spin -- lying -- is why I turned OFF CNBC 18 months ago. I've traded much better ever since!

CNBC is nothing but the Obamanomics Channel. I really used to like Ms. Burnett, but eventually, it became clear that she was just another leftist propagandist seeking to destroy free enterprise all with a smiley face!

Good riddance!

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 13:20 | 569801 ATG
ATG's picture

For a similar story of what happened at CBS:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140352/

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 13:23 | 569809 Jim B
Jim B's picture

She is destroying here own credibility, not that credibility is needed at CNBC! 

  PS.  She should be okay though because no one watches “Meet the Press” (post Tim Russert)

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 13:39 | 569853 Manny
Manny's picture

CNBC has to get the eyeballs to make money. And those eyeballs could be Main Street or Wall Street.

Lets face it the average Joe is not interested in knowing how he is getting screwed. And there are too few retail investors out there that would turn on to CNBC. Plus retail investors do no buys air time for ads.

So that leaves Wall Street. They happen to switch on CNBC and some Wall Street firms even buy air time for ads.Appeasing them is a win win. So they get the eyeballs, pay the bills. Mission accomplished. Screw Main Street and lets only speak what Wall Street wants to hear. Thats the motto.

And hey will we are at it lets get someone cute to do our bidding. Hello Erin!

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 14:01 | 569897 sbenard
sbenard's picture

Amazing! Does she REALLY believe that? Who are all these economists that do? I certainly haven't seen any! I think they just bring her in from their so-called business network to try to give credibility to their brainless indoctrination!

If I was Rich Lowry, I would have shown the chart you put in this article, and said, "America, you can believe Ms. Burnett, or you can believe this chart and your lying eyes! I suggest your believe your own eyes!" That would have put her in her place -- as a fool!

Is she blonde or something under a brunette wig?

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 14:08 | 569921 mark mchugh
mark mchugh's picture

Erin Burnett - January 8, 2010:

We had to issue one-and-a-half trillion dollars of new debt last year, in 2009, in this country, just to finance the deficit. Eighty percent of that debt was bought by the U.S. Federal Reserved which means ... I guess you could use the term Ponzi Scheme. How long can we continue doing that?

 

http://dailybail.com/home/erin-burnett-calls-the-federal-reserve-a-ponzi-scheme.html

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 14:20 | 569965 Nihilarian
Nihilarian's picture

Good find, but realize that Erin Burnett reads teleprompters... in through the eyes, out the mouth. Though, sometimes, in through the mouth and all over the eyes.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 15:04 | 570095 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

Erin is doing exactly what she is being paid to do.  Real wonder remains regarding those that don't and then bitch about the supposed parasitic characteristics of those that do.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 15:17 | 570137 dot_bust
dot_bust's picture

That's it! Take Erin Burnett out to the woodshed and spank her silly. Why that $%^&!@ such and such.

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 15:53 | 570206 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

I see you've held over your circus attraction to another thread, another crowd pleaser indeed. . .

which is of course why she is "there" - as a figure to maintain the false dichotomy of gender, the oldest lie in the book of falsehoods, the greatest tool of divide 'n' rule that exists. . . she's hired as eye candy for the menz, and acts to script - ffs people, it's TELEVISION, have you not grasped its purpose?  apparently not. . .

you know, you guys like to think you've figured things out - and while you may have poked holes in the stock market, you still don't see how your MINDS are co-opted, and how insidious the message is, how addicted to the dualist paradigm.

the truth of reality does not exist in "halves" but is instead wholistic, it includes every thing, excludes no thing. . . if you want to begin to think, try fitting in all "sides" to your reasoning.

 

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 16:18 | 570312 ThisIsBob
ThisIsBob's picture

What a hoot.  That bird is the Sara Palin of finance.

Hear tell she does give good sandwich though.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 17:22 | 570511 Old Pecksniff
Old Pecksniff's picture

My favorite stupid comment:  Erin says she is opposed to a border fence in Arizona because walls don't work.  Erin cites the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall as examples.

The Great Wall was built when Hannibal was crossing the Alps.  The Great Wall was not breached until 1400 years later during the Mongol invasion.

"(Hadrian's) wall was constructed primarily to prevent entrance by small bands of raiders or unwanted immigration from the north, not as a fighting line for a major invasion." Hadrian's Wall kept the Picts and the Scots out of England until Rome withdrew its legions from Brittain during the fourth or fifth century.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 20:00 | 570743 zirb
zirb's picture

Those graphs are clearly from calculatedriskblog.com and you *must* attribute them. I'm no fan of intellectual property in general, but he did do all the work, give some courtesy.

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 23:49 | 571015 Hal n back
Hal n back's picture

its all about ratings--and it's a job

 

 

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 02:35 | 571175 Haywood Jablowme
Haywood Jablowme's picture

"its all about ratings--and it's a job"

It's not a job.  It's called being a fucking sell-out. 

 

 

Thu, 09/09/2010 - 00:00 | 571031 brandy night rocks
brandy night rocks's picture

Using Rosie to refute E Burnett = killin a ant with a mothafuckin sledgehammer

Tue, 09/28/2010 - 03:56 | 609383 Herry12
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