With first-time unemployment claims unexpectedly jumping by 37,000 last week, an unacceptably large number of Americans remain unemployed with the Obama administration giving Americans almost no signs of hope.

Shockingly, the White House stated on Friday that it expects unemployment to remain at or above 9% until 2012. Meanwhile, the White House is also expecting the national debt to top $26 trillion be the year 2020 and, as alarmingly, top 100% of the nation’s GDP in less than two years, by 2012.

The new budget numbers show the Debt will top 100 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, the total output of goods and services, in the year 2012. It’ll stay above 100 percent for the remainder of the decade.

Over the last 18 months, businesses have been “risk adverse” [see our post on RedState regarding risk aversion].There has been an underlying sentiment slowly gaining more momentum regarding the Obama administration and its anti-business approach to trying to create jobs in the private sector.  The fact is, businesses, sitting on $1.8 trillion are unwilling to invest in new plants, equipment or employees when they are being attacked by anti-business Obama, the Democrats in Congress and, of course, their union cronies.

In a Wall Street Journal interview, Rahm Emanuel pledges to try to change that perception.  How? By having President Obama “listen” to business leaders’ concerns.

He [Emanuel] also said that he believes most of the business community’s concerns arise from worries about the administration’s regulatory policies, an area where Mr. Obama is listening to concerns. Still, he added, business leaders won’t always be happy with the outcome.

“The president’s view is we’ve had a lot of reviews of these, but he’s open to hearing what they have to say,” Mr. Emanuel said. “That said, we’re not going to go back to a system where an industry writes the regulations and an industry has a regulator coming out of the industry to regulate the industry. They are very important voices, but they are one seat at the table.”

[Note to Rahm: Two words, dude.  Craig Becker.  Apparently, it's okay for unions to regulate labor labor laws that affect all private-sector businesses—the job creators...in all industries.]

It would certainly appear that Rahm Emanuel is telling the business community we’ll listen…but with our fingers firmly planted in our ears.

As long as unions remain in control in Washington, pushing higher taxes, crippling deficit spending, nationalization of industries, and demonizing the private-sector job creators, there is likely no reason for businesses to put capital into American job creation.

As the administration goes on its “we’re listening” campaign, more Americans may finally get wise to the difference between perceptions versus reality.  Unfortunately, for most unemployed Americans, the real message out of the White House is:  Don’t hope for any change anytime soon.

__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.