President Obama is asking for even more tax dollars this week for his failed stimulus policies yet his first trillion-dollar stimulus already promised massive spending on infrastructure that would put people back to work.
Didn't happen. The massive spending on infrastructure or the putting people back to work.
Now Obama says putting the taxpayer on the hook for borrowing billions more and then spending those billions on infrastructure is the ticket to pulling the economy out of its Obamanomics nosedive.
“This will not only create jobs immediately, it’s also going to make our economy hum over the long haul,” Obama said of his new borrowing and spending plan in his Labor Day speech to a Big Labor union audience.
Yet a senior White House official told reporters on a conference call the very same day, “We’re not like trying to put out an idea today that in October 2010, this is going to create a lot of jobs. This is not what this is.”
So which is it? Will borrowing and spending billions more on the president’s Big Labor union leadership buddies “create jobs immediately,” as Obama said? Or is that “not what this is”?
And will anyone in the Obama administration ever tell us what it really is without the doublespeak?
Judging by history, it’s not likely.
The first stimulus bill was sold as spending on “shovel ready” projects to provide the jobs that would put millions of people back to work.
According to Recovery.gov, the President’s own website which accounts for the stimulus funding (ahem), of the first $787 billion stimulus bill, a full $275 billion has gone un-spent as of August 27, 2010. And of the $512 billion of stimulus already spent, only $18.5 billion (less than seven percent) has been paid out by the Department of Transportation on these “shovel ready” jobs.
Let me repeat that: less than seven percent has gone for the promised transportation infrastructure.
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; we can't afford them
The Obama administration held yet another style over substance “conference” yesterday, this time to give the appearance of doing something about housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two behemoth government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are at the epicenter of America’s financial meltdown.
The two GSEs have further placed taxpayers on the hook for nearly $5 trillion in mortgage guarantees and debt obligations.
And Fannie and Freddie continue to bleed money at an alarming rate.
In early August they requested over $3 billion in additional bailout funds. To date, America’s taxpayers have shelled out a whopping $148.2 billion bailing out the two failed government mortgage enterprises. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bailout could reach as high as $389 billion.
“With the national debt at nearly $14 trillion and unemployment still near 10 percent, the administration has yet to stop the bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.). “They would do well to remember that underwriting every bad loan in America is not the answer.”
My take:
It's hand-wringing time again concerning the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which, unfortunately for American taxpayers, may actually have a future.
But it's election season, so posturing is in order. A couple of days ago, Barney Frank even suggested that maybe, perhaps, eventually, Fannie and Freddie should be "abolished," a suggestion that has been made here without conditions.
Fannie and Freddie served as consigliere in the subprime housing bubble and bust. Without Fannie and Freddie, neither of those disasters could have happened.
Since the bubble and bust did happen, the rational course would be to abolish Fannie and Freddie, since that would prevent a repeat of the subprime mess.
Trouble is, this is election season, and Fannie and Freddie have served as generous supporters of Democrat congressional campaigns. They also have served as hiring halls for out-of-work Democrats, no small consideration given the likelyhood that the Democrat unemployment rate will rise after the November election.
So why don't Republicans make the extinction of Fannie and Freddie an election issue?
Call Barney Frank's bluff.
Shrink government.
The two GSEs have further placed taxpayers on the hook for nearly $5 trillion in mortgage guarantees and debt obligations.
And Fannie and Freddie continue to bleed money at an alarming rate.
In early August they requested over $3 billion in additional bailout funds. To date, America’s taxpayers have shelled out a whopping $148.2 billion bailing out the two failed government mortgage enterprises. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bailout could reach as high as $389 billion.
“With the national debt at nearly $14 trillion and unemployment still near 10 percent, the administration has yet to stop the bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.). “They would do well to remember that underwriting every bad loan in America is not the answer.”
My take:
It's hand-wringing time again concerning the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which, unfortunately for American taxpayers, may actually have a future.
But it's election season, so posturing is in order. A couple of days ago, Barney Frank even suggested that maybe, perhaps, eventually, Fannie and Freddie should be "abolished," a suggestion that has been made here without conditions.
Fannie and Freddie served as consigliere in the subprime housing bubble and bust. Without Fannie and Freddie, neither of those disasters could have happened.
Since the bubble and bust did happen, the rational course would be to abolish Fannie and Freddie, since that would prevent a repeat of the subprime mess.
Trouble is, this is election season, and Fannie and Freddie have served as generous supporters of Democrat congressional campaigns. They also have served as hiring halls for out-of-work Democrats, no small consideration given the likelyhood that the Democrat unemployment rate will rise after the November election.
So why don't Republicans make the extinction of Fannie and Freddie an election issue?
Call Barney Frank's bluff.
Shrink government.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
40% approve of Obama on economy, down 5 points in a month
Economists have declared the economic recession over largely over, but most Americans don't share their optimism, and they are increasingly blaming President Obama for their money woes.
Mr. Obama's approval rating on the economy has tumbled five percentage points from last month, according to a new CBS News poll, with just 40 percent of those polled expressing full confidence in his actions.
More than half of those questioned (54 percent) said they disapproved of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy. Last month, 45 percent approved. The drop in approval has been seen mostly among independents, just 35 percent of whom now say they approve.
Three in four Americans think the effects of the recession will linger for another two years or more. Just 20 percent said they believed the recession's aftereffects would continue to weigh on their lives and livelihoods for another year or less. The public is generally more pessimistic now than in February.
The national unemployment rate continues to hover just beneath the 10 percent mark, and it is estimated that many more Americans are underemployed - meaning they have given up looking for a full-time job, or are working fewer hours than they would like.
The poll shows widespread concern among Americans when it comes to employment. Seven in ten Americans rated the job market in their area "fair" or "very bad"; only a quarter of those polled described it as "good".
There did appear to be some optimism that the job market would improve over the next year -- but not a lot. While 28 percent said they expected the job market in their area to get better over the next year, twice as many -- 56 percent -- said it would likely remain the same. Another 14 percent predicted even fewer available jobs in the coming years.
Mr. Obama's approval rating on the economy has tumbled five percentage points from last month, according to a new CBS News poll, with just 40 percent of those polled expressing full confidence in his actions.
More than half of those questioned (54 percent) said they disapproved of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy. Last month, 45 percent approved. The drop in approval has been seen mostly among independents, just 35 percent of whom now say they approve.
Three in four Americans think the effects of the recession will linger for another two years or more. Just 20 percent said they believed the recession's aftereffects would continue to weigh on their lives and livelihoods for another year or less. The public is generally more pessimistic now than in February.
The national unemployment rate continues to hover just beneath the 10 percent mark, and it is estimated that many more Americans are underemployed - meaning they have given up looking for a full-time job, or are working fewer hours than they would like.
The poll shows widespread concern among Americans when it comes to employment. Seven in ten Americans rated the job market in their area "fair" or "very bad"; only a quarter of those polled described it as "good".
There did appear to be some optimism that the job market would improve over the next year -- but not a lot. While 28 percent said they expected the job market in their area to get better over the next year, twice as many -- 56 percent -- said it would likely remain the same. Another 14 percent predicted even fewer available jobs in the coming years.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
U.S. gains 513,000 jobs in month; most are census temps
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's employers likely unleashed a wave of hiring last month, but it probably won't be repeated.
Most of the jobs expected to have been generated in May were for census workers hired on a temporary basis by the federal government. Such hiring is expected to have peaked in May and then begin tailing off in June.
By contrast, hiring by private employers—the backbone of the economy—may have slowed down a bit in May.
All told, the Labor Department's new employment snapshot released Friday morning is likely to be seen as further evidence that the job market is healing. Yet it's still years away from normal health and from recouping the millions of jobs wiped out by the recent recession.
Employers eliminated 7.8 million jobs from the start of the recession in December 2007 through April. To fill that hole and keep up with a growing work force, the economy would need to create a net 14.3 million jobs, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He doesn't see that happening until early 2015.
"The gap is likely to close only gradually," said Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
The United States probably added a net total of 513,000 jobs last month, economists predict. That would be an improvement from the 290,000 jobs added in April, the most in four years. And May's figure would mark the biggest monthly gain in payrolls since more than 1 million jobs were generated in September 1983, when the country was recovering from a severe recession.
But a huge chunk of May's net job gains—perhaps 300,000 to 400,000—could come from the government's hiring of temporary census workers.
Most of the jobs expected to have been generated in May were for census workers hired on a temporary basis by the federal government. Such hiring is expected to have peaked in May and then begin tailing off in June.
By contrast, hiring by private employers—the backbone of the economy—may have slowed down a bit in May.
All told, the Labor Department's new employment snapshot released Friday morning is likely to be seen as further evidence that the job market is healing. Yet it's still years away from normal health and from recouping the millions of jobs wiped out by the recent recession.
Employers eliminated 7.8 million jobs from the start of the recession in December 2007 through April. To fill that hole and keep up with a growing work force, the economy would need to create a net 14.3 million jobs, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He doesn't see that happening until early 2015.
"The gap is likely to close only gradually," said Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
The United States probably added a net total of 513,000 jobs last month, economists predict. That would be an improvement from the 290,000 jobs added in April, the most in four years. And May's figure would mark the biggest monthly gain in payrolls since more than 1 million jobs were generated in September 1983, when the country was recovering from a severe recession.
But a huge chunk of May's net job gains—perhaps 300,000 to 400,000—could come from the government's hiring of temporary census workers.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Corporate profits climbing fast because jobs aren't
(Fortune) -- The long-awaited recovery is now under way, but it's a slow, painful slog that's short on animal spirits and long on a drumbeat of numbers that mostly shift from dreadful to less depressing.
Twenty-seven months after the recession began, unemployment is stuck at 9.7%. Housing starts are dragging near half-century lows. Consumers are finally spending again, but they're still too fearful about their jobs and homes to crowd malls and auto lots with the buoyant abandon that heralds a full-rigged revival, the kind Americans are used to.
Amazingly, as consumers struggle, U.S. corporations are staging a nearly unprecedented comeback that's largely escaping notice. The gargantuan, dispiriting job cuts that seem to dominate the news have also been the spur for an epic resurgence in profits. For 2009, the Fortune 500 lifted earnings 335%, to $391 billion, a $301 billion jump that's the second largest in the list's 56-year history, approaching the increase in the robust recovery of 2003. For last year the 500 raised their return on sales from less than 1% to 4%. That's close to the list's 4.7% historical average.
Twenty-seven months after the recession began, unemployment is stuck at 9.7%. Housing starts are dragging near half-century lows. Consumers are finally spending again, but they're still too fearful about their jobs and homes to crowd malls and auto lots with the buoyant abandon that heralds a full-rigged revival, the kind Americans are used to.
Amazingly, as consumers struggle, U.S. corporations are staging a nearly unprecedented comeback that's largely escaping notice. The gargantuan, dispiriting job cuts that seem to dominate the news have also been the spur for an epic resurgence in profits. For 2009, the Fortune 500 lifted earnings 335%, to $391 billion, a $301 billion jump that's the second largest in the list's 56-year history, approaching the increase in the robust recovery of 2003. For last year the 500 raised their return on sales from less than 1% to 4%. That's close to the list's 4.7% historical average.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Some Dems are insane
Sen. John Kerry:
"Climate legislation is the single best opportunity we have to create jobs, reduce pollution and stop sending billions overseas for foreign oil from countries that would do us harm," Kerry said.
My take:
Oh, my. If this guy hadn't married money he'd be standing in soup lines. He doesn't seem to know that the global warming hoax is finished. The science has been discredited. The European carbon trading market, which was to be a model for the enrichment of insiders, is all but dead.
One of the best features of markets is that they provide an early signal of what is selling and what is not. The carbon trading market is yelling, forget it, it's over.
And yet, here is Kerry calling for costly new projects to curb an imaginary problem - man-made global warming - to create jobs and reduce oil imports from the Middle East.
Some of the streets in my town are crumbling. How about fixing those?
To reduce oil imports, wouldn't it make more sense to drill for oil in North Dakota, where there is a huge untapped pool of oil, or off the West Coast, or even in the Caribbean, where the Russians are starting to drill?
Instead of running against the Democrats on grounds they're statist levelers, how about running against them on grounds some of their leading figures are insane?
"Climate legislation is the single best opportunity we have to create jobs, reduce pollution and stop sending billions overseas for foreign oil from countries that would do us harm," Kerry said.
My take:
Oh, my. If this guy hadn't married money he'd be standing in soup lines. He doesn't seem to know that the global warming hoax is finished. The science has been discredited. The European carbon trading market, which was to be a model for the enrichment of insiders, is all but dead.
One of the best features of markets is that they provide an early signal of what is selling and what is not. The carbon trading market is yelling, forget it, it's over.
And yet, here is Kerry calling for costly new projects to curb an imaginary problem - man-made global warming - to create jobs and reduce oil imports from the Middle East.
Some of the streets in my town are crumbling. How about fixing those?
To reduce oil imports, wouldn't it make more sense to drill for oil in North Dakota, where there is a huge untapped pool of oil, or off the West Coast, or even in the Caribbean, where the Russians are starting to drill?
Instead of running against the Democrats on grounds they're statist levelers, how about running against them on grounds some of their leading figures are insane?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
California breakthrough: save jobs the easy way
Up to one-fourth of the 110,000 jobs reported as saved by federal stimulus money in California probably never were in danger, a Bee review has found.
California State University officials reported late last week that they saved more jobs with stimulus money than the number of jobs saved in Texas – and in 44 other states.
In a required state report to the federal government, the university system said the $268.5 million it received in stimulus funding through October allowed it to retain 26,156 employees.
That total represents more than half of CSU's statewide work force. However, university officials confirmed Thursday that half their workers were not going to be laid off without the stimulus dollars.
California State University officials reported late last week that they saved more jobs with stimulus money than the number of jobs saved in Texas – and in 44 other states.
In a required state report to the federal government, the university system said the $268.5 million it received in stimulus funding through October allowed it to retain 26,156 employees.
That total represents more than half of CSU's statewide work force. However, university officials confirmed Thursday that half their workers were not going to be laid off without the stimulus dollars.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Buchanan: Hispanics gain jobs as whites lose jobs.
"Ed Rubenstein, who has written for Forbes, National Review and the Wall Street Journal, blogs on VDARE.com that if one uses the household survey of job losses for June-July, Hispanics gained 150,000 positions, while non-Hispanics lost 679,000. Guess who got the stimulus jobs.
Going back to the beginning of the Bush presidency, Rubenstein says that "for every 100 Hispanics employed in January 2001, there are now 122.5. ... (But) for every 100 non-Hispanics employed in January 2001, there are now 98.9."
Since 2001, Hispanic employment has increased by 3,627,000 positions, while non-Hispanic positions have fallen by 1,362,000. For black and white America, the Bush decade did not begin well or end well, and it has gotten worse under Obama.
African-Americans remain loyal, but among white folks, where Obama ran stronger than John Kerry or Al Gore, he is hemorrhaging.
According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, which showed him falling to 50 percent approval, whites, by 54 percent to 27 percent, felt Obama behaved "stupidly" in the Sgt. Crowley-professor Gates dustup.
Fifteen straight months of job losses by non-Hispanics explains the anger..."
Going back to the beginning of the Bush presidency, Rubenstein says that "for every 100 Hispanics employed in January 2001, there are now 122.5. ... (But) for every 100 non-Hispanics employed in January 2001, there are now 98.9."
Since 2001, Hispanic employment has increased by 3,627,000 positions, while non-Hispanic positions have fallen by 1,362,000. For black and white America, the Bush decade did not begin well or end well, and it has gotten worse under Obama.
African-Americans remain loyal, but among white folks, where Obama ran stronger than John Kerry or Al Gore, he is hemorrhaging.
According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, which showed him falling to 50 percent approval, whites, by 54 percent to 27 percent, felt Obama behaved "stupidly" in the Sgt. Crowley-professor Gates dustup.
Fifteen straight months of job losses by non-Hispanics explains the anger..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
