Remember a long, long, long time ago when Barack Obama declared that he was dedicating himself, body and soul, to being "focused like a laser" on job growth? It now seems that his "laser" was of the Dollar Store variety...capable of producing only a tiny glowing dot which can be chased by simple-minded pets until even they realize there was never really anything there to catch.
All of which is made clear by the latest round of job numbers, which not only show a steep decrease in hiring last month, but actually emit such a stench that economists are now questioning the accuracy of the previous months' encouraging reports.
Still, the unemployment rate dropped from 8.3% to 8.2%, which is good news for president laserbeam, right? Hardly.
Because the decline in unemployment came entirely from people who have joined the legions before them in abandoning all hope, quitting the search for a job, and resigning themselves to the idea that they won't be leaving their houses until Obama is dragged kicking and screaming out of his.
But when people give up their job searches, the government pretends that they cease to exist altogether. So the more people surrender to despair, the better the president's unemployment numbers look. And adding insult to injury, the supposed unemployment rate also goes down when employers throw up their hands and stop offering jobs.
But the real numbers are sobering: the number of Americans not in the labor force just hit an all-time high of 87,897,000...and the actual unemployment rate, including those who have either given up hope or taken a part-time job while wanting a full-time job, is a jaw-dropping 19.1%.
Those aren't exactly the numbers which a sitting president could use to win reelection.
Which is why those voters who get their news from the mainstream media so rarely hear them.
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27 comments:
Funny how you never get the REAL numbers unless you put 'em together from your own basic research! The media plays a shell game when it comes to statistics...
@Velcro- A Republican is now pushing a bill which would force government unemployment figures to include those people who have given up hope in vast numbers since Obama took office. I hope the House, at least, will pass it.
I remember Democrats (and their media fluffers) wailing and gnashing teeth at what they claimed was GW Bush cooking the books on unemployment figures back when those numbers were in the 4 and 5% range. My, how times have changed. Today's federal approved unemployment numbers aren't just cooked, they are baked down to solid carbon...then baked some more.
We are part of those numbers not to be spoken of. My wife has been part-time employed and looking for a full time job for over three years now. Gee, what's been constant for over three years now?
It seems that "unemployment" as reported is based on the numbers reporting on their job search, in order to continue receiving the pittance that "unemployment insurance" doles out to them ... so, if they don't file the paperwork for the "benefit", they're not "unemployed". If their benefits have run out, they're not unemployed. If they quit their job (for whatever reason), they're not unemployed. If they can no longer tolerate the draining of their spirit resulting from reliance on a corrupt system, they're not unemployed....
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What other "books are cooked" these days? (Don't tell me. I really don't want to know. It's nice here ... in de Nile; well, except for the crocs.)
As we speak, countless small businesspeople are visiting their accountants, completing their 2011 taxes. At the same time, they're getting advice for what 2013 has in store for them. It's not pretty. The cost of keeping employees is about to skyrocket along with all of the "Bush Tax Cuts" which the President plans to see expire.
U-1 through U-6 are down, which isn't bad news, but it's not a trend I'd expect to continue for long.
I heard that hag Wasserman-Schultz on CNN spinning this economy like an 80s era LP vinyl disc ... she wants us to believe that the stimulus has worked, that employment is on the rise, that President Laserbeam inherited the worst economy since, like, forever.
Do these people really believe their own Barbara Streisand?
285 days is still too many.
Da Prez really DOES remind me of Dr. Evil. "Is it to much to ask to get some friggin' sharks with friggin' laser beams on their heads?!"
All BO needs is a hollowed out volcano...
@AHD, I know soooo many people that are in your wife's situation! The factory worker down the street is now mowing yards and cleaning gutters... NOT on the books anymore. My wife is teaching music out of hte house... NOT on the books anymore. It's crazy. My son actually lost his job the week after the November 2008 election... coincidence?
I second what John the Econ said. There is a massive tax hike coming in 2013 with the expiration of several tax policies that have been extended over the last few years (including but not limited to the Bush tax cuts). Unless congress and obama take action (*snort*) we face what has been termed Taxmageddon.
"Taxmageddon is a $494 billion tax increase that strikes at the beginning of 2013. Under current law, tax policies in seven different categories will expire, and five of the 18 new tax hikes from Obamacare will begin."
God help us...
@Angry Hoosier Dad- Your wife has got plenty of company; I know scads of people who have lost their jobs and have only found part-time work if they find anything at all. Hearing of someone middle-aged getting a real job is so rare these days that it seems like an urban myth. And may be.
@Jazz- It frequently seems like the unemployment figures are back-engineered to provide a number that government feels like it can promote. Among lots of other tricks, "Seasonal adjustments" are used freely to stretch the already Silly Putty-like data into whatever shape is politically expedient.
@John the Econ- I saw one recent article referring to the upcoming changes as "Taxageddon." The Bush Tax Cuts will expire, and the full weight of Obamacare will hit the fan - and the job market. On Drudge today, there's an article about Obama funneling $500 Million to the IRS specifically for the enactment of Obamacare, with much of that money going to (ahem) "special agents" who will make sure everyone pays up.
@Gang of One- Wasserman-Schultz is one of those Dems who I literally can't watch very long without putting myself at risk of having an aneurysm. Like a mynah bird, she talks in a shrill and annoying way- insistent but meaningless. Also, you never see her on television in a wide shot because she has her scaly feet wrapped around a wooden perch covered with her own poop. That's a fact. I'm sure it's on the Internet somewhere.
@Colby- Why should the volcano be hollowed out...?
Regarding the job (or jobless) situations you describe, I think the Obamites are having trouble getting people to believe their lies when there is so much evidence to the contrary that we see around us every day.
@CenTexTim- Oops, we not only posted at the same time, but you spelled "Taxmageddon" correctly (I didn't), you gave better details, and you provided a link. Well done!
But even if Obama is overthrown and the R's take control of the Senate, Taxmageddon will still take place and the R's will be sitting there to take the blame when the economy tanks.
Well played, Teh Won.
But the good news is that, in 2013, Obama will have more flexibility to surrender to the Russians and hand Israel over to the mullahs. Now isn't that well worth the impending taxation tsunami?
Stilt - I spelled it the way you did at first, but fortunately google is smarter than me.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz needs a new, hyphenated name.... Debbie Ex-Congresswoman.
Taxmageddon might be slightly less horrid if the Supremes do what they SHOULD do in June. But... you can bet your ass BO will make sure we get hit with both barrels should he not be re-elected. The alleged "press" will see to it that the R's take full blame for everything from tax hikes to sour milk in your fridge.
@Colby -- Sour milk makes me kinda drunk, the spots on my bald head tell me so.
I would like to see the numbers on disability. I think they have gone up as people who can't get unemployment anymore have taken to getting themselves declared "borderline psychotic" to qualify for disability instead.
Do any of the Reporting Agencies report the number of jobs held?
It would be a bit more informative than the number of unemployed - which seems to be just those who haven't given up yet.
Counting the number of actual workers would be fairly easy: just go through the tax returns. They do that all the time, for other purposes.
@rickn8or- Newly elected (or newly empowered) Republicans won't have to take the blame for the rise in taxes if they make a significant issue NOW of getting the Dems to extend the tax breaks. Not a bad strategy going into the election, either.
@My Dog Brewski- I give you credit for your "glass half full" outlook. Unfortunately, it's half full of strychnine.
@CenTexTim- Google isn't smarter, it just has more time on its hands.
@Colby- I have no doubt that if Obama fails to win a second term, he'll make the end of his first term a nightmare, enacting as much longterm damage to our country as possible.
@Gang of One- Well, I certainly can't argue with that. Because I don't understand it (grin).
@momiss- I don't know how many people end up on disability from "economic stress disorder," but I'll bet they're out there.
@ZZMike- I'm sure those stats are available...but they're not going to get much attention as long as they're politically inconvenient.
@ CenTexTim re: Taxmageddon……somebody has to pay for Michelle’s vacations
When Obama loses in Nov., the lame duck session will be in full swing to pass everything & anything it can to ruin this country. It’ll make the last 3 years look like a cakewalk.
Yup. Here's the chart that the Media isn't posting: http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate_u6.jsp . If we see this plastered everywhere by the Right, we might get somewhere. But, do the GOP candidates, the 'neutral' media (if there are still any), and the blogosphere seize the opportunity to bring Truth down to the numbers -- instead of continuing to play the Alinsky-guided game of personalities that the Left is winning at? I know not everybody likes/d Glenn Beck when he was on the Fox network -- but I really liked his chalkboard. Obama has his teleprompter -- the Right's candidate needs to come armed with a chalkboard for every conversation.
Sobering. Nearly 1 out of every 5 adults is not working. And that means they are getting a paycheck from Uncle Sam. (Well for the most part, don't want to lump everyone together in a negative way). That means money is being taken out of 4 people's paychecks to pay for 1 person's paycheck. (Again, generally speaking).
Sounds to me like Obama has been quite successful in his warped idea of success...breaking down the American Dream and positioning himself to have yet more power.
@ Suzy:
The American ideal of equality is not and should never be equal distribution of misery. That's Obama's ideal for all but his chosen few. Did we learn nothing from the disaster that was the Soviet Union?
@Stilton Jarlsberg -- Lame reference to the Tenkton [sp?] extraterrestrials in the 1990s sci-fi series "Alien Nation" who got a buzz from drinking curdled milk.
@SC- Knowing there was a Republican about to take office, I remember Bill Clinton passing a bunch of presidential decrees which amounted to sabotage of GW Bush. One that springs to mind is mandating that public water systems lower the level of arsenic in drinking water to an unachievable level. Forcing Bush to immediately enact a counter mandate allowing "More Arsenic in Drinking Water!" All raw meat for the media, of course.
@Dan Oblak- Good link that shows the actual ugly story. And it makes it laughable that the media focuses on 1/10th of 1% upward or downward movement in the "accepted" unemployment figure while ignoring the fact that the real unemployment number is almost twice as large as they're reporting.
@Suzy- Obama's ideological goal is wealth redistribution. And one way to make sure there's a demand for it is to make sure as few people as possible have any other source of revenue. Which is why killing jobs is so important to him.
@Angry Hoosier Dad- "Equal distribution of misery" may be even more accurate than "wealth redistribution," because Obama seems to actively want to punish those who've succeeded in America (he's stated in the past that he's in favor of tax policies which hurt the "rich" even if it means the poor will get less money from tax revenue).
@Gang of One- Not a "lame" reference, just an obscure one! I remember that now.
Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Stilton? I happen to have *TWO* part time jobs. No benefits at either one. Some weeks I work 70 hours, some weeks 30 hours. Some weeks even less.
I haven't had a real job in years.
@frogmouth- Wait, what is this "real job" thing you speak of? Seriously, I salute your work ethic and am pissed that this economy is being engineered from Washington to create exactly the situation you (and millions more) find yourself in.
frogmouth said ... I happen to have *TWO* part time jobs ...
Damn, don't let that cat out of the bag! Damn! Since you said that, the Gummint Static Stitchers done went and knocked two off the unemployed count. Hey - their numbers make perfect sense to them.
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