So much for Obama's description of 'bumps in the road'.  True reality disconnect; so sad he insulated himself from legitimate economists.  (Sy Hersh said insiders tell him that few outside his immediate circle ever get his ear.)

"Today’s unemployment data suggests that we are experiencing something far worse than a mere “bump in the road”, as our President described it last month. In fact, if last month was the time to panic, as Stephanie Kelton argued here, then today’s data should create real palpitations in the White House. This isn’t just a “bump,” but a fully-fledged New York City style pot hole.  [snip]

Many of us who contribute to this blog have been concerned about these trends for months. We expressed concern that the prevailing deficit hysteria and corresponding cutbacks in government spending (based on a wholly misconceived notion of “national solvency” or “fiscal sustainability” – whatever that means), would engender precisely the kinds of economic conditions that we’re seeing today. Unfortunately, the President, his ineffectual Treasury Secretary and Congress all remain in thrall of Wall Street Pollyannas and mainstream economists, who have continued to predict significantly above trend economic growth quarter after quarter after quarter.  [snip]

And with a deal on the debt ceiling likely to include yet more cuts in government spending, and a major squeeze on real consumer incomes from commodity prices buoyed by speculation to the point of manipulation, the Administration inexplicably continues to forecast, yet again, a resumption of significant growth, because its fundraising buddies on Wall Street continue to reassure them that this will be the case.

The collective embrace of fiscal austerity has gone beyond perverse. It’s as if Josef Mengele was [sic] reborn as an economist, working on some weird new social experiment to inflict the maximum amount of damage on the maximum amount of people. It’s a sick variation on that old joke:

Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.”

Doctor: “Then keep doing it.”

This Stiglitz piece is short and on point, too.  How far can one's crest fall?