Archive for the ‘Unemployment/Jobs’ Category

Well, That’s ONE Way To Improve The Economy…Open Thread

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Esteemed Director of the UVA Center for Politics, Larry Sabato, is making some major predictions for the upcoming elections. Now, many of us are pretty sure how things are going to go, but Sabato is using some pretty good numbers to make his predictions sixty days out. Oh, yes, Republicans will take some seats, but wait until you see what Sabato predicts:

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Earlier today, Stuart Varney said this prediction will stabilize the stock market and help the economy. Why? Because if companies think the Republicans are going to take over control, they don’t have to worry about other big spending bills.

Sabato mentioned his site, the Center for Politics, and his article, “Sixty Days To Go.” Here is a snippet from his report:

[snip] We’ve been patient and cautious here at the Crystal Ball as a year’s worth of facts has accumulated. We’ve sifted the polls, cranked up the models, and watched the candidates and campaigns closely. All political observers have “gut feelings” about an election year, but feelings make for good songs and lousy predictions. Forecasting is an imprecise art. People who get too far ahead of the facts or are too insistent about what will happen are usually partisans—openly or in disguise.

The Crystal Ball’s predictions are clinical. We are fond of people in both parties. We cheer for no one.

2010 was always going to be a Republican year, in the midterm tradition. It has simply been a question of degree. Several scenarios were possible, depending in large measure on whether, or how quickly, the deeply troubled American economy recovered from the Great Recession. Had Democratic hopes on economic revitalization materialized, it is easy to see how the party could have used its superior financial resources, combined with the tendency of Republicans in some districts and states to nominate ideological fringe candidates, to keep losses to the low 30s in the House and a handful in the Senate. [snip]

I encourage you to read the rest here.

A stable economy – well, that is certainly something we have not seen of late. I guess time will tell, right?

Consider this an Open thread.

And given that, if I may take a moment of personal privilege, two things: 1. Earl is not coming near us, but Gaston might; and 2. as I mentioned in a comment recently, I will be having a total knee replacement (right knee) on September 9th. Some of you may recall I had a partial replacement 1 3/4 years ago on my left knee (and that one will be replaced in February – the partial didn’t help). My orthopedist informed me that as hard as my rehab was for the partial, it is MUCH harder for the total. That is all to say, I will be out of commission for a good bit. I am guessing at least a month. Bad timing for blogging the upcoming political season, but I cannot wait any more. Thanks for the support, and the understanding.

And Gaston? Well, my partner might be making a trip back down here to help our friend who is house/pet-sitting batten down the hatches. Like with the economy, we will wait and see.

Must Be Nice To Jet Around On Someone Else’s Dime [UPDATES]

Monday, August 9th, 2010

/ Bumped Up /

UPDATE: Two of them, actually. Since I am in my hometown after having seen my orthopaedist, and have to get something from my mom’s house (now my brother’s house), I have this on the jobs front. This came in on Friday, to add to the high Unemployment filings for the last week of July. There was a decline of jobs by 131,000 to add to this already disappointing (to put it mildly) news. I don’t quite understand how this keeps Unemployment steady at 9.5% since the numbers keep hovering close to half a million, but that’s just me.

And then, there is this headline regarding Michelle’s European vacation: Spanish Police Close Public Beach For Michelle Obama’s (Almost $400,000) Spanish Holiday (sorry – couldn’t find the pound sign while my 6 yr old grandnephew is jumping around). Oh, this is some story, with LOTS of photos and details, except how many aides Michelle actually has. Why can no one get that number? There’s a ton of security with her, too, as you might imagine, which costs each and everyone of us our taxpaying dollars. Gee – and you wonder why Andrea Tantaros refers to her as a “modern day Marie Antoinette…

_________________________________________________

Original of “Must Be Nice To Jet Around On Someone Else’s Dime”: That would be Michelle Obama, of course. She and her daughter, Sasha, are currently in Spain. With plenty of their closest friends, enough to fill 60+ rooms at a swanky resort on the Mediterranean Coast.

If only this was her first vacation of the summer, and we weren’t footing the damn airfare for Michelle, her daughter, staff, and security. But that is exactly what we are doing as Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times wrote in her recent article, “Michelle Obama Could Face ‘Appearance’ Issue Over Luxury Vacation.” Uh, yeah, you could say that:

First lady Michelle Obama may catch some flak for vacationing at an expensive luxury hotel on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. By the end of the summer, Mrs. Obama will have taken eight vacation trips — including her visit to Marbella, staying at the five-star Hotel Villa Padierna with daughter Sasha and some pals. {snip}

Mrs. Obama’s U.S. Air Force jet landed at Malaga on Wednesday; she skipped celebrating her husband’s 49th birthday with him. (Daughter Malia, 12, is at overnight camp.) Mrs. Obama pays for personal expenses — as do her friends who arrived on their own — but that only covers a small part of the expense. Taxpayers pick up the tab for staff and security at the exclusive hotel and most of the expenses for the plane.
(more...)

Alvin Greene, SC’s “Thinker Outside The Box”

Monday, July 12th, 2010

You may recall that there was quite the upset in SC during the recent primaries in which an unemployed man who did no campaigning, had no real policy platform, had no campaign website, and had no campaign funds, beat out his competitor, an elected official. By a lot, I might add. Greene won with 60% of the vote. Oh, yes.

My representative, Jim Clyburn, pitched a hissy fit, insisting that the Republicans were behind Mr. Greene’s candidacy and filing fee. He claimed voter fraud was responsible for the vote through faulty voting machines. The SC State Democrats tried to throw out the election results (who cares about those pesky votes anyway? We already know the Dems don’t after 2008.). They failed in their attempts, and now it seems Mr. Greene’s funds came from the US Government and the State of South Carolina:

[snip] State law enforcement officials wrapped up an investigation of Greene’s finances after questions were raised about how he could qualify for indigent defense and afford to pay more than $10,000 to seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Greene’s surprise June 8 upset victory over former circuit judge Vic Rawl initially caused many to speculate Republican operatives had secretly bankrolled Greene’s primary entry fee to sabotage the primary. Rawl’s defeat left Greene the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

The source of Greene’s money is none other than the U.S. government and the S.C. state government, said SLED director Reggie Lloyd.

“That’s who bankrolled Greene’s entry fee for the primary,” said Lloyd, whose agency worked with 5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese in the investigation. “The U.S. government and the state of South Carolina funded his filing fee.” [snip]


Yes, all of the funds have been accounted for after a thorough investigation:

[snip] Last October, Greene received a $5,843 check from the U.S. Department of Defense in connection with his discharge from the military last year.

“That brought him up to more than $8,200,” Lloyd said.

Greene continued having a checking account balance of about that amount into March, when Greene received a federal income tax refund of $2,173 and a state tax refund of $932, Lloyd said.

“At that point, he had more than $11,400 in his account,” Lloyd said.

Greene was also getting a $1,100 monthly unemployment check, Lloyd said. Since Greene lived with his father and had few expenses other than “haircuts and groceries,” his unemployment check was another source of government income for the discharged veteran, Lloyd said.[snip]

In other words, you and I bankrolled Alvin Green’s filing fee. Hooray for us! Ahem.

I am so sure that a sincere apology to the State Republicans is forthcoming from Rep. Clyburn immediately. Ahahahahahaha. Just kidding.

Now that the funding from Greene’s filing fee has been identified, with no malfeasance on his part, I can now turn to one of his brilliant ideas for job creation. Since Obama has been so busy suing one of the 50 states instead of, oh, working to create jobs, for instance, perhaps Obama could use this idea from Alvin Greene.

And that idea for job creation is – are you sitting down? Crafting action figures of Greene. I am not kidding you. Seriously. He said this. Out loud:

[snip] “Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays,” Greene said in the article. “Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls. Me in an Army uniform, Air Force uniform, and me in my suit.”

“That’s something that would create jobs,” Greene continued. “So you see I think out of the box like that. It’s not something a typical person would bring up.” [snip]

Well, I have to give Greene that – this is NOT something a “typical” person would consider. Creating jobs by having action figures made of themselves. Yikes. Though I have to say, I am pretty surprised that Obama has not considered this as a “Works Project.” I mean, the man has already written two autobiographies, so clearly, he thinks pretty highly of himself (my recently departed mother said she couldn’t get through his first one – she thought it was incredibly boring. That from a woman who was a voracious reader and who always finished any book she was reading. Except Obama’s. Telling, that.) Having an “action figure” seems right up Obama’s alley. Just saying. I can’t believe Alvin Greene beat him to it.

That, friends, is the kind of “thinkificating” of the newest Democratic candidate for US Senate from the Palmetto State. Never mind that no one would BUY the damn things, so how the workers making them would be paid is still a mystery. But Mr. Greene has not exactly come off as a Mensa candidate in his interviews anyway (or on his new website). No matter how hard the State Democrats worked, no matter how many (false) allegations they levied, and no matter how much they tried to overturn the will of the people, even if they had no idea for whom they were voting (his name was listed first), Alvin Greene IS the Democratic candidate for US Senator from SC.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Sometimes, One Graph Says It All – Open Thread

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

In the debate over April’s 290,000 jobs added VS April’s increase in the unemployment rate to 9.9 percent (which some claim is really 17.1 percent), this graph seems to best capture my sense of where we are at.  Our ‘Great Recession’ is the dark blue line.

From Economix:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Horizontal axis shows months. Vertical axis shows the ratio of that month’s nonfarm payrolls to the nonfarm payrolls at the start of recession. Note: Because employment is a lagging indicator, the dates for these employment trends are not exactly synchronized with National Bureau of Economic Research’s official business cycle dates.

___

So what are your thoughts?

Senator Graham Walks Away From Cap And Trade — Monday’s Roll Out of Bill Postponed

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

According to The Hill, Senator Lindsay Graham, who has been working with Senators John Kerry and Joe Leiberman for six months on Cap and Trade Legislation has walked away from the table as he…

is upset over Democratic plans to take up immigration legislation this year – he accuses Democratic leaders of pushing forward immigration “haphazardly” and calls it an election-year political gambit.

John Kerry said in a statement on Saturday:

“We all believe that this year is our best and perhaps last chance for Congress to pass a comprehensive approach. We believe that we had reached such an agreement and were excited to announce it on Monday, but regrettably external issues have arisen that force us to postpone only temporarily,”

Kerry also commented that:

“I remain deeply committed to this effort which I have worked on for more than twenty years. We have no choice but to act this year. The American people deserve better than for the Senate to defer this debate or settle for an energy-only bill that won’t get the job done.”

Reading between the lines, I assume he thinks the Dems have “no choice” but to act this year because after the November elections, they will no longer have the numbers to ram this through. Understandably, voters who are still reeling from the passage of confusing health care legislation are deeply concerned about more sudden change and its effects on our troubled economy.

Ben Gemen of The Hill also reported earlier this week on Graham’s specific cause for concern regarding the Dems rush to ram through immigration policy:

Graham has been working with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on an immigration plan, but reacted critically to reports that Democratic leaders may try to move on the issue.

“If immigration comes up then that’s the ultimate CYA politics,” Graham said. He warned against bringing up a bill in a “haphazard way.”

“This comes out of left field,” he said. “We haven’t done anything to prepare the body or the country for immigration.” Graham said the measure he has discussed with Schumer is not ready, and wondered aloud what could be brought to the floor.

“It would be news to me if we’ve got one done [an immigration bill],” he said. “I have been working with Chuck, we have been making progress, but business and labor are not together on a temporary worker bill.”

Graham noted that the climate change and energy bill that he’s crafting with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is supposed to be unveiled Monday.

“What am I supposed to do, write an immigration bill between now and Monday with Chuck?” Graham said.

We will see what transpires. As of now, Graham is no longer on board with cap and trade.

Look, the Dems won in 2008 and all things being equal, I can understand all the horses wanting to race at the same time as they attempt to pass all manner of legislation that has been whirling around in their hot little brains for many years. However, we are still in such a difficult place with the economy. If this administration doesn’t wake up and focus on jobs, jobs, jobs right now, they may find that voter outrage grows beyond anything that can imagine or manage.

While it is certainly possible to multi-task and push on more than one front at a time, what we have seen thus far does not inspire confidence. The health care legislation that just passed is “historic.” It is also a historic mess that requires a lot of fixing. If there is more careless and hasty legislation on the horizon re reform for Wall St., immigration and cap and trade — likewise pushed through with the same lack of care in the crafting — there may be more mutlitasking required in the repairs department than our legislative bodies have any idea how to handle.

Do it once. Do it right.

I’m waiting for some of the adults in the room to emerge and think something through before putting more junk on the books. It is much easier to make a mistake than it is to repair one.

Obama: “Tea Partiers Should Be Thanking Me”

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Yes, indeed, those were the words that came out of Barack Obama’s mouth last night at a Democratic Fundraiser in Miami, FL. Well, after he said they “amused” him.

They “amuse” him?? Considering the Tea Party movement has higher poll numbers than Obama, their momentum should concern him. But that’s not how The arrogant One rolls, as we know all too well.

So, why did he claim the Tea Partiers should be thanking him instead of taking to the streets? Because all he’s done is be a Giver, people, not a Taker:

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, President Obama touted his administration’s tax cuts and said that the recent tea party rallies across the nation have “amused” him.

“You would think they should be saying thank you,” the president said to applause.

Members of the audience shouted, “Thank you.”


Tax cuts? What tax cuts? Because of the continued extension of Unemployment Benefits, an additional two month extension passed April 15, my family is about $762 lighter in the wallet just for this one program. Let me hasten to add, I know what it is like to be on Unemployment. I lived in MA when the state went through a very difficult economic time. State funded programs were cut drastically, which meant a number of us lost our jobs. So, I have been there, and know firsthand how difficult, how frustrating, how demoralizing it is. But there is no denying that SOMEONE ist paying for these extensions of benefits, and that “Someone” is you and me.

Then there are all of the bailout funds – just who the hell does Obama think is funding these programs, a money tree?

And perhaps it is this kind of cavalier, arrogant, dismissive, belittling comment that led Rep. Paul Ryan to say the following (H/t to Logistics Monster for this video):

So, Mr. Snide President Man, that’s why so many people are upset with you. Because you’re a liar, and even while you are lying to people’s faces, you are putting them down in your usual belittling way. What a uniter, what a healer, what a compassionate man – NOT.

If you would like to see how much your taxes have been “cut” – ahem – in support of this, and other programs, click HERE. It is eye opening.

Oh, and Mr. President? Lose the attitude already. It’s not the least bit presidential, or helpful. Unless you WANT to help yourself lose the next election, then I’m all for it…

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on GDP And The National Debt

Friday, April 16th, 2010

I think we are in for a world of hurt. So does Chairman Ben Bernanke:



Did you catch that? Our federal debt will exceed 100% of our GDP. Um, that’s a bit of a problem, folks. And ten years is not that far away, either.

Unemployment Report: February 5, 2010

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The widely anticipated February Unemployment Report covering the month of January was just released. Let’s dive right in and take a look at the numbers . . .

I. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
August: 9.4%
September: 9.7%
October: 9.8%
November: 10.2%…revised to 10.1%
December: 10%
January: 10%
– February Consensus Expectation: 10.1%
- February Actual: 9.7%

>> LD’s comments: A fluke. A drop in the rate would typically be viewed as a positive, but then why didn’t we see job growth? Today’s report indicates that a lot of people have given up looking for work, thus shrinking the overall labor pool. The U-6 (the underemployment rate) is now 16.5%. Better? Don’t be fooled. I think it is again more an indication that people are exiting the labor force overall.

II. NON-FARM PAYROLL (click here for definition of this term)
July: loss of 463k
August: loss of 304k
September: loss of 154k
October: loss of 139k
November: loss of 111k…revised to a loss of 127k jobs
December: loss of 11k…revised to a gain of 4k
January: loss of 85k
- February Consensus Expectation: 0, that is no job gain or loss
- February Actual: a loss of 20k jobs.

>> LD’s comments: weaker than it appears as a lot of jobs added were temporary workers and Census workers. Revisions from prior two months was a net loss of 5k jobs.

III. AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
August: .3%
September: .4%
October: .1%
November: .3%
December: .1%
January: .2%
- February Consensus Expectation: .2
- February Actual: .2%

>>LD’s comments: as expected.

IV. AVERAGE HOURLY WORKWEEK
July: 33.0 hours
August: 33.1 hours
September: 33.1 hours
October: 33.0 hours
November: 33.0 hours
December: 33.2 hours
January: 33.2 hours
- February Consensus Expectation: 33.2 hours
- February Actual: 33.9 hours

>> LD’s comments: this number surprises me. Are we truly seeing the increased demand drive the hours worked this much higher? Overall, this is a positive in the midst of otherwise mixed to negative news.

V. FURTHER COLOR: the major piece of news within our employment situation was actually hinted at a few days ago and that is that the Department of Labor revised overall employment for 2009 down by 930k jobs. Were they looking through rose-colored glasses all along? Who knows? This revision is an indication our recession was even deeper than believed or, in my opinion, reported.

The cheerleaders will run out onto the field and smile for the camera, but don’t be fooled. The labor pool has shrunk and that explains the drop in the rate.

Where are the real jobs? Where is the growth? We’re still looking and waiting.

VI. MARKET REACTION

Pre (8:25am) and Post-report (8:50am)

2yr Tsy: .80 and .80…ho hum…
10yr Tsy: 3.59% and 3.62%…ho hum…
DJIA Futures: -58 points and -7 points…slightly better
S&P 500 Futures: -6.7 and -2.2…
U.S. Dollar Index: 80.19 and 80.04…slight downtick…

Questions and comments always encouraged and appreciated.

LD

The Blame Game, aka, The SOTU, and The Republican Response **UPDATED**

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Bumped up with and Update at the bottom of the post.

Yes, Obama laid blame at the feet of just about everyone but himself last night during his SOTU. “The Buck Stops Here” moment was very short-lived, was it not? It’s Bush’s fault about the banks, even though Senator Obama voted to bail them out; it’s the Republicans fault – the minority party – that nothing can get passed in D.C., even though the Democrats had a super-majority, it is everyone’s fault but his, for whatever condition the country is in, unless it is something positive, then it is ALL him. Yes, he can walk and chew gum at the same time – woohoo!!! Let’s give him a standing ovation!! Lost jobs? Staggering deficit? Home foreclosures?? Nah, that’s not his fault.

And how about Justice Alito’s “Joe Wilson” moment, when he said, “Not true” to Obama’s claim the recent Supreme Court Decision would allow foreign dollars to influence our elections. All I gotta say is, lucky for him he isn’t from South Cackalacki, or else he would be labeled a racist. Ahem. I am sure this will be looked at from every which way in the upcoming days.

But in case you missed it, here is the moment with Justice Alito, with commentary from Peter Johnson:

Wow, that was some response from Mr. Johnson, who is, by the way, a Democrat, and who voted for Obama.

What else? Oh, yes, the whole DADT thing that Obama punted out to the Congress. That’s exactly what he did. DADT could have long ago been repealed, but yet, there it still is. I have zero patience for LGB groups who are going to be thankful for this little throwaway crumb from the table. If Obama wanted to end it, he would have. Now, just because he mentioned it, organizations like Servicemembers Legal Defense Network are all atwitter. Spare me. When Obama, and the Congress, actually DO something about it, then I’ll give them appropriate props. But until then, it’s the same-o, same-o, all talk and no action.

And how about the Republican Response? It was offered by new Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell from Richmond, in the House of Delegates. Take a look:

I have to say, this is one of the better responses I have seen from either side of the aisle (remember the incredibly painful, stiff response from then-Governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius?? Oh, wow – I had such high hopes for her until her incredibly wooden performance. Watching paint dry would have been more interesting.).

UPDATED: Jon Stewart had an interesting review of the media’s coverage of the SOTU. There was one person in particular who made a rather startling statement, and not for the first time. Check it out:

<td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Speech Therapy – Post-Racial
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Why am I not surprised?? How about you?

Unemployment Report: December 4, 2009

Friday, December 4th, 2009

The widely anticipated December Unemployment Report covering the month of November was just released. Let’s dive right in and take a look at the numbers . . .

I. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
August: 9.4%
September: 9.7%
October: 9.8%
November: 10.2%
- December Consensus Expectation: 10.2%
- December Actual: 10.0% !!

>> LD’s comments: Discouraged workers did increase and exit the labor pool. That fact supported this improvement. Initial reaction to the report remains one of disbelief and skepticism. The underemployment rate (U-6 rate) improved to an overall level of 17.2%.

II. NON-FARM PAYROLL (click here for definition of this term)
July: loss of 463k
August: loss of 304k
September: loss of 154k
October: loss of 219k
November: loss of 190k
- December Consensus Expectation:
loss of 100k to 125k
- December Actual: loss of 11k!!

>> LD’s comments: positive revisions to the previous two months of 159k. A major surprise. Along with the positive revisions, do not be surprised to see many analysts tout this as the turn in the economy and the fact that government programs are working. We will need more than one month’s report to confirm that.

III. AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS
August: .3%
September: .4%
October: .1%
November: .3%

- December Consensus Expectation: +.2%
- December Actual: +.1%

>>LD’s comment: slightly less than expected. Won’t help consumer spending.

IV. AVERAGE HOURLY WORKWEEK
July: 33.0 hours
August: 33.1 hours
September: 33.1 hours
October: 33.0 hours
November: 33.0 hours
- December Consensus Expectation: 33.1 hours
- December Actual: 33.2 hours

>> LD’s comments: slightly better than expected. This number still rests near the low going back to 1964. Look for this to lengthen before we see appreciable improvement in hiring. We are not there yet.

V. FURTHER COLOR
What are the seasonal factors? How many jobs are being added back due to temporary hiring? This report is so far off the mark that it begs the question as to how the seasonal factors are weighed. Initial response from Bureau of Labor officials is that the seasonal factors had limited impact. Is that to be believed?

VI. MARKET REACTION

Pre-report at 8:15AM:
2yr Tsy: .72%
10yr Tsy: 3.37%
S&P 500 Futures: +1.5 @ 1099.50
DJIA Futures: +25 @ 10377
U. S. Dollar Index: 74.64

Post-report at 8:50AM:
2yr Tsy: .84%
10yr Tsy: 3.47%
S&P 500 Futures: +12 @ 1110
DJIA Futures: +105 @ 10457
U.S. Dollar Index: 75.03

While the knee jerk reaction is a sharp spike higher in both equities and interest rates, watch the dollar. If this report is to be believed, then the next question is when and how the Fed will react by withdrawing stimulus. That process should support the dollar. As the dollar strengthens, the equity and commodity markets may weaken.

LD