Mortimer Zuckerman was among the first Democrats to realize that
they had made a mistake in supporting candidate Barack Obama. Throughout the Obama
administration, Zuckerman has done his best to expose the lies, deceit and spin
that characterize the administration… especially when it comes to the economy
recovery and unemployment.
Lately, the administration and the media have been touting
the recent jobs report as a sign that America is enjoying a grand economic
recovery.
Zuckerman notes that the truth lies elsewhere:
There
has been a distinctive odor of hype lately about the national jobs report for
June. Most people will have the impression that the 288,000 jobs created last
month were full-time. Not so.
The Obama administration
and much of the media trumpeting the figure overlooked that the government
numbers didn't distinguish between new part-time and full-time jobs. Full-time
jobs last month plunged by 523,000, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. What has increased are part-time jobs. They soared by about 800,000
to more than 28 million. Just think of all those Americans working part time,
no doubt glad to have the work but also contending with lower pay, diminished
benefits and little job security.
Thanks to the Obama recovery more and more Americans have
lost full time jobs. The best they can do is to work part time.
Zuckerman places the blame where blame is due:
There
are a number of reasons for our predicament, most importantly a historically low
growth rate for an economic "recovery." Gross domestic product growth
in 2013 was a feeble 1.9%, and it fell at
a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.9% in the first quarter of 2014.
But
there is one clear political contribution to the dismal jobs trend. Many
employers cut workers' hours to avoid the Affordable Care Act's mandate to
provide health insurance to anyone working 30 hours a week or more. The
unintended consequence of President Obama's "signature legislation"?
Fewer full-time workers. In many cases two people are working the same number
of hours that one had previously worked.
Along with an avalanche of new regulations, Obamacare is
killing full time work and destroying the hopes of the American middle class.
Zuckerman calls it a “burgeoning disaster:”
The
lack of breadwinners working full time is a burgeoning disaster. There are 48
million people in the U.S. in low-wage jobs. Those workers won't be able to
spend what is necessary in an economy that is mostly based on consumer
spending, and this will put further pressure on growth. What we have is a very
high unemployment rate, a slow recovery and across-the-board wage stagnation
(except for the top few percent). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
almost 91 million people over age 16 aren't working, a record high. When Barack
Obama became president, that figure was nearly 10 million lower.
Zuckerman calls it a “burgeoning disaster": ” What we have is a very high unemployment rate, a slow recovery and across-the-board wage stagnation..."
ReplyDeleteThere is NO recovery, slow or otherwise.
We are in a full-blown depression, concealed by phony statistics, food stamps, extended unemployment benefits, government hiring, and debt-fueled spending by people and governments.
This is shown clearly by indicators like the median income, which has been declining for a dozen years. The median income has now retreated to below 1989 levels, and is still declining. Every year, Americans get poorer.
Apoligists for the political class and the vested interests it represents like to point out the soaring stock market as proof of economic vitality. But in fact the market's performance is evidence of decay, not progress. Around the world, cash is seeking assets that will hold at least some value when the global banking system collapses. Combined with cash from the Chinese and Russian kleptocrats stashing their loot, this dynamic is causing the prices of real estate and stocks to rise sharply in every country where the buyer hope what they own will be less likely to be confiscated by host governments.
Hey! It's time again for the SIXTH Annual Tour of The Summer Of Recovery! Operators are standing by to sell you tickets at 1-800-IMAFOOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd government reports are not reliable (Dems suspected this under GOP presidents, but Barry is just sooooooo obvious.
Obama doesn't seem to care about "the people." He doesn't talk to employers, he talks to his ideological allies about creating Heaven on Earth. Jobs are not his thing. He seeks material prosperity, based on the great Leftist lie that you can get something for nothing.
ReplyDeleteSome say he's part of some grand cabal to make people dependent on the government. That sinister, conspiracy behavior seems too long-term for him. What I do know is that there are fewer people working, and this much-touted "recovery" is a serial fiction. There are reasons for that, and he doesn't seem to want to understand them and do anything to turn those numbers around. I don't besmirch him of his golf, like so many do, but there is a missing humanitarian sense in him. He seems so aloof, disengaged, uncaring. He talks about himself and abstract goals. And he's using these Central American refugees as political pawns. Everything's a "do-as-I-say" political fight with no room for compromise... he doesn't even talk with his opposition. That's not a political fight, that's domination. The end result is nothing gets done. He actually doesn't do politics at all. He is on a perpetual campaign tour giving speeches.
I often wonder what it must be like to work at the White House. Obama doesn't seem to know what he's doing, and seems to care very little. And we've got a lot more time to go in this presidency. Getting things done is hard, and you can't do it alone. Obama doesn't seem to get that.
Tip
Another comment on this. WSJ columnist Kimberly Strassel on Friday pointed out Obama's playbook:
ReplyDelete"The President says openly that neither Congress nor laws will keep him from implementing his agenda."
Indeed this is clear, which tells us the kind of economic growth necessary to expand employment isn't part of the President's agenda. Given this, we must ask ourselves what his agenda is. It's certainly not an American agenda for the American people. We have to look at who really benefits. I assert its not a who, but a what: an ideology that views human beings as a problem, while claiming to stand for the weak and vulnerable. It's the weak and vulnerable who get kicked in the groin with every policy decision.
As an aside, I saw a bumper sticker today: "I'm from the Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic Party." Get ready, folks... this woman is for real, and I predict she's gonna win the 2016 nomination. She's perfect, and right out of the Obama mold.
Tip
I think that not only are we going to see more part time workers we are also going to see more independent subcontractors. Businesses will have a core group of management/ prime contractor, below the number needed for Obamacare et al, and all employees outside that core group will become a subcontractor selling a service that will end when the services are no longer required. The prime contractor may even provide some upfront money for the subcontractors to provide healthcare, et al for themselves. Some foreign companies are already moving in this direction.
ReplyDeleteLook to the fact that more and more work can be done from home which will further put more emphasis on being a subcontractor to a prime contractor which will lessen the costs of the prime contractor.