I told you this was coming.
From Reuters via Yahoo, in explaining why the new unemployment numbers, while better than “expected,” still were not great:
A stand-off between Democrats and Republicans over raising the country’s debt ceiling poisoned the atmosphere for employers and consumers.
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While I’d be hard pressed to blame a specific month’s jobs number on anyone, it seems almost guaranteed that the TEA Party’s policies will have a negative effect on the economy in the short run. Decreased spending without equally decreasing tax rates, the only way to solve the deficit and eventually the debt, will inherently decrease economic activity. I think the best way to move forward is to admit that this will be tough, admit that this is not the best time to implement austerity, but argue the best time is long since past. There’s no point trying to argue against the obvious, but instead admit it, and convince America that the alternative is a slow death for our great country.
welcome to the tea party.
The US Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in July, 2011, there were 13.9 million people unemployed. I think this figure is actually quite low because they only count people collecting unemployment insurance, but, lets go with their numbers to be optimistic.
To get down to about 5% unemployment, that would mean that we would need to add a total of about 6.2 million jobs. If the current rate of 117,000 jobs per months remains constant, it would take 4.4 years to get down to 5% unemployment. I am 59 years old, and I’ve been unemployed for about 3 years now – 4 more years of this would be exceedingly difficult to endure. I have lost what should have been some of the most productive earning years of my life.
Of course, the rate we add jobs could increase. It could also decrease or stay the same. Clearly, no one knows what it will do. With Obama and the Democrats adding regulations upon regulations, Obamacare, stifling energy production, and otherwise giving businesses reasons to be concerned, (listen to Steve Wynn, Trump, etc.) I think it would be fair to say that Atlas is now shrugging.
Obama is trying to make the world conform to his naïve view of it which is most likely the consensus from the faculty lounge. He is a stubborn ideologue because he was isolated by affirmative action all his life and he has never been held to account for any of the negative consequences of his own behavior. He has thus never developed humility or the ability to modulate his behavior. He is now simply a spoiled child grown old. Until he is gone – or he grows up – we’re just screwed. Isn’t it interesting how the party of the little people is actually increasing wide spread suffering as opposed to lessening it?
They can complain about people hating Obama and trying to undermine him. The truth is that I honestly abhor what Obama is doing (its nothing personal) and I wish more could be done to undermine him. He is nothing but a pox on our economy and I have had enough of his arrogance, manipulative rhetoric and horrendously failed policies.
Just a small tweak, they count all people searching for work that can’t find it as unemployed, not just those collecting unemployment.
I agree with your assessment of Obama wholeheartedly, but I think his history as an academic contributes more to it than affirmative action. Academia tends to have a culture of second chances, which is perfect for that sector because you want them to be willing to take on projects that could go nowhere as you will likely still learn at least something. The problem is that doesn’t apply to the big boy’s world, as Gordon Gekko said in Wall Street “either you do it right, or you get eliminated”. There are no second chances in the real world.
The real world is replete with 2nd chances. The difference is that in the real world there are often difficult to shake consequences for mistakes.
For instance many felons eventually complete their sentences, some don’t repeat their mistakes and eventually can expunge the records and consequences that they carried during the second chance phase.
The businessman might fail many times before balancing ego, ability, and market demand to perfect a service that can provide a financial source of income.
Then again many people don’t realize they have been given 2nd, 3rd etc chances and squander them away or even give up trying. The hallmark of our Capitalist era was to keep trying , if something doesn’t work try again, tweak it, or try something else until you succeed.
“I didn’t fail, I just found 999 ways that won’t work!” –paraphrased from Thomas Edison
Yes, this is a much better way to say that.
So consumers are becoming more prophetic. They foresaw the dogfight and resulting stalemate between the Dims and GOP. How else could you explain that we’d already entered a 500 day retail recession, “before” the stand-off?
So Obama didn’t poision the atmosphere by telling seniors they might not get their checks? His top military man didn’t poison the atmosphere when he told the military they may not get paid? Obama did not poison the atmosphere by going on TV multiple tims to gin up class warfare trashing millionaires and billionaires and corporate jet owners? Obama didn’t poison the atmosphere by predicting economic calamity if the Repblicans didn’t agree to his demands?
He is an unmitigated disaster. Is the MSM ever going to stop carrying his fricking water?
Umnnhhhh…the DOL survey ENDS mid-month.
There was no measurable Congressional “gridlock” over the debt ceiling at that time.