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Reply With QuoteIt's a shame that the private sector accounts for nearly 100% of the job losses. If only we can get rid of some government leeches...
Well, we've officially reached double-digit unemployment. Hopefully things'll turn around sooner rather than later. And I for one, am grateful for what work I do have.
U.S. unemployment rate hits 10.2%, a 26-year high - MarketWatchUnemployment rate hits 10.2%, a 26-year high
Payrolls fall by 190,000 in October, 22nd straight decline
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - In another sign that workers are being left out of the budding economic recovery, the U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 10.2% in October, topping the 10% mark for the first time in 26 years.
Nonfarm payrolls dropped by a seasonally adjusted 190,000 in October, bringing to total number of jobs lost in the recession to 7.3 million, the Labor Department reported Friday. It was the 22nd straight monthly decline in payrolls.
Large losses were seen in manufacturing, construction and retail employment. Health care and temporary-help agencies added jobs.
The October jobs report shows a growing disconnect between a recovery in economic output and continued job losses. The economy grew at a 3.2% annual rate in the third quarter, with productivity rising at a 9.5% rate.
"The grinding pace of progress in labor markets likely flags a tepid economic recovery," wrote Sal Guatieri, an economist for BMO Capital Markets.
With unemployment remaining elevated and no sign of job growth, the Federal Reserve could be expected to keep its interest rate target at virtually zero, economists said. Read commentary on the Fed and jobs.
The jobs report was worse than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were forecasting a rise in the unemployment rate to 10%, with 150,000 lost payroll jobs. An upward revision to August and September payrolls cushioned some of the disappointment, however. See Economic Calendar.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 10.2% was the highest since April 1983.
Unemployment rose by 558,000 to 15.7 million, the government said. Of those, 5.6 million had been out of work longer than six months, representing a record 35.6% of the unemployed.
President Barack Obama signed a law on Friday extending unemployment benefits to as much as 99 weeks in hard-hit states. The bill includes an extension of a home-buyer tax credit, and a tax break for small businesses. See full story.
Republican lawmakers said rising unemployment proves that Democratic policies aren't working. "Americans are asking 'Where are the jobs?' but all they've gotten from Democrats in Washington is more spending and more debt," said Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the Republican leader in the House.
The October report showed that just 58.5% of adults were working, the lowest since 1983, and down from about 63% before the recession.
An alternative gauge of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work part-time, rose to 17.5%, the highest on record dating to 1995.
The report wasn't universally grim. Among the positives in the report: Payrolls were revised up by 91,000 over the previous two months. Hourly earnings increased. Average hours worked in manufacturing rose. Temp-help agencies were hiring.
The October employment report was "a mild disappointment," wrote Stephen Stanley, chief economist for RBS Securities. It was "not a disaster but certainly not as positive as we had expected. The bad news is that the jobs situation seems to have stalled out after improving dramatically through the summer."
It's a shame that the private sector accounts for nearly 100% of the job losses. If only we can get rid of some government leeches...
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
You would be in an deeper mess if your government stopped creating public sector jobs. Education and health care, mainly.Originally Posted by gunnut
Who pays for these "jobs?"
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
I let you guess.
But since the real problem is on the demand side (people with jobs= consumers) it's not so much of a waste.
Government jobs produce nothing of useful value. The government is an administrative and more, a wealth transferring entity. It removes resources from the productive sector to the politically favored or non-productive sector.I let you guess.
But since the real problem is on the demand side (people with jobs= consumers) it's not so much of a waste.
Come to California and you'll see what a basket case we are.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
Whose fault is it?
There's no free lunch, but first, apply this lesson to yourself.In the Proposition 13 tax rebellion of 1978, Californians voted to require a two-thirds approval by the Legislature to raise taxes, a major obstacle to budget agreements. Over the last couple of decades, voters have also passed a patchwork of ballot measures directing billions of dollars to favorite causes, among them public schools and transportation projects.
On Tuesday, Californians showed they were unwilling to scale back their demands in tight times: Voters turned down propositions that would have freed up money that they set aside years ago for mental-health and children's programs.
"The irony is that the more the hands of the Legislature and governor are tied up, the more frustrated people are," said Tim Hodson, director of the Center for California Studies at Cal State Sacramento.
Together, voters' piecemeal decisions since the 1970s have effectively "emasculated the Legislature," said John Allswang, a retired Cal State L.A. history professor.
"They're looking for cheap answers -- throw the guys out of power and put somebody else in, or just blame the politicians and pretend you don't have to raise taxes when you need money," he said.
"This is what the public wants, and they deceive themselves constantly. They're not realistic."
The public's contradictory impulses were laid bare by a recent Field Poll. It found that voters oppose cutbacks in 10 of 12 major categories of state spending, including the biggest, education and healthcare. Yet most voters were unwilling to have their own taxes increased, and they overwhelmingly favored keeping the two-thirds requirement for tax hikes.
"They clearly want more in services than they're willing to pay for in taxes," said Ethan Rarick, director of the Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service at UC Berkeley.
Also intensifying California's troubles is a surge in debt, often with voter consent at the ballot box, which makes future budgets harder and harder to balance. Under Davis, outstanding
Prop 13 is a known factor. The government knows about how much money it will collect. It's right there on paper. It's been around for 30 years.
What you don't hear from these articles conjured up by the big government socialist is that California's state budget has grown by 40% in just 6 years.
Let me ask you a question, what is the "right" budget for California?
I don't understand this. Are you saying that I work for the government and shouldn't complain?
I am perfectly willing to cut the government. I am perfectly willing to live without most government services, if not all. I voted against any and all propositions/bills that would have increased the deficit for the last 6 years.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
gunnut,
if that were true, we wouldn't have or need a government. do re-call that the entire US national security apparatus is either staffed through useless government jobs or through wealth transfer.Government jobs produce nothing of useful value. The government is an administrative and more, a wealth transferring entity. It removes resources from the productive sector to the politically favored or non-productive sector.
or, for that matter, that your food is inspected by a useless government job, or that your roads are built courtesy of wealth transfer, same with park preservation, firefighting, police, child welfare backed by law enforcement powers, etc etc etc.
for that matter, the entire finance industry is about wealth transfer as well, yet it is a lynchpin of the global economy.
so as "badly-off" as you may be in california, if you really want to go to a place with no government, i would recommend you try somalia. i hear taxes there are low, too.
unfortunately, as you are an american, your civic duty would then include persuading your fellow americans that this is the right thing to do. of course, i would imagine trying to persuade your fellow citizens to use the old roman privatized system of fire-fighting/law enforcement, where each individual citizen paid for those services (and your enemies would bribe the same NOT to save your home), would prove highly unpopular.I am perfectly willing to cut the government. I am perfectly willing to live without most government services, if not all. I voted against any and all propositions/bills that would have increased the deficit for the last 6 years.
Last edited by astralis; 12 Nov 09, at 22:47.
The human mind cannot grasp the causes of phenomena in the aggregate. But the need to find these causes is inherent in man’s soul. And the human intellect, without investigating the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, snatches at the first, the most intelligible approximation to a cause, and says: “This is the cause!"
-Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
Its been around for 30 years but while you still have the same problem with collecting your taxes, the Californian lobbies know no such limits when they ask for the government to spend on their pet projects.
You drive your car on public roads, there's a police in your area for your safety, schools for children, etc...Someone has to pay for this. Restricting tax while giving a free ride to spendings that's a free lunch.I don't understand this. Are you saying that I work for the government and shouldn't complain?
I am perfectly willing to cut the government. I am perfectly willing to live without most government services, if not all. I voted against any and all propositions/bills that would have increased the deficit for the last 6 years.
One way to stop this is to stop sending things to China to be manufactured, make it at home.
US manufacturing output was at an all time high prior to the recession.
"So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3
If you closely examine it, what does military produce? Military doesn't produce anything. It destroys. The value of the military is that it can destroy our opponents' stuff faster than they do ours.
I've said many times, national defense is one of the few things we need the government for and is specified in the Constitution.
Of course this cannot be done by the private sector. Underwriter's Lab is completely useless and the function should be transferred to the government. Without the FDA, I would not bother to find out if our food is OK to eat. I would willingly eat crap.
We used to have volunteer firefighters. What happened?
Cops? Not a big fan. The job can be done by the private sector. But I suppose you can say the Constitution authorized it along with the court system.
Parks can be better managed by the private sector. Notice that most of the land burnt during the wild fire season in California is government land. Why is that?
Yes, but it's not transferring from the producers to the non-producers or politically favored. In fact, it's the opposite. It moves resources from wasteful and useless areas to places where jobs are created and things are produced.
Is that red herring or strawman? I keep getting confused.
I try to get my fellow Californians to vote my way. That is my civic duty.unfortunately, as you are an american, your civic duty would then include persuading your fellow americans that this is the right thing to do. of course, i would imagine trying to persuade your fellow citizens to use the old roman privatized system of fire-fighting/law enforcement, where each individual citizen paid for those services (and your enemies would bribe the same NOT to save your home), would prove highly unpopular.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
Interesting, I'm obviously misinformed.
My latest Levis, one pair was made in China and another pair made in Pakistan. The quality is not as good as my old ones.
That's right. Have you noticed something? California legislature is dominated by liberals, socialists, and democrats.
OK, 3 things you mentioned, roads, police, and schools. How much do you think these are worth? Give me a number.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
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