U.S. Job Creation crawls above break-even with population growth … Jobs lost in Great Recession not likely to return any time soon

Captain Rick: U.S. Job Growth has crawled upward to pass the break-even rate with with population growth. The trend is in the right direction. The jobs being added are mostly low wage. There is little hope of regaining the 8.7 million medium to high wage jobs lost during the Great Recession any time soon.

The chart below shows the new jobs added during each month of the the past year. 

GREEN LINE: an average of 214,000 new jobs have been created each month during the past year

BLUE LINE: an average of 185,000 new jobs need to be created each month to keep up with U.S. Population growth of 0.7%

REAL JOB GROWTH: is represented by the difference between the Green and Blue lines … 29,000 new jobs each month that exceed population growth.

How long will it take to recover the 8.7 million jobs lost during the Great Recession: At the ‘Real Job Growth Rate’ of 29,000 new jobs per month, it will require 300 months … or 25 years. That is a long time, during which many other significant concerns will come into play … like the U.S. Debt crisis … on track to explode during the next decade.

Wages remain stagnated: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has said she wants to see wages rise faster than inflation so American households will have more buying power. That has yet to happen. I personally think Janet and the entire Fed are living in a ‘dream cloud’.

New poll show majority rating the U.S. economy as ‘Poor’: Many Americans still think the economy is not fully recovered. According to the results of a CNN/ORC International poll released Friday, 41% of people surveyed rate the economy as "good", while 58% rate the economy as "poor."

Perceptions about the U.S. economy will be a key factor in November’s midterm elections: More than a third of the Senate and the entire House are up for grabs. Both sides of the aisle are blaming each other for holding back the recovery. I blame almost all of them. I hope the American voters will exercise their thoughts and register their voices in the upcoming elections and vote out of office the majority of those now in office.

Captain Rick’s Prognosis: America is traveling into uncharted territory, which if not handled properly by the U.S. Congress (which is very unlikely, based on performance in the past decade), has the potential to drive America over the pending ‘real fiscal cliff’ and reduce America to a ‘third world nation’.

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Interesting ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL Links:

Jobs

U.S. Debt Crisis

GDP

Economy

Captain Rick’s Fiscal Cliff Course 101

For lots of great topics … check the ‘Categories’ list and cloud in the left hand column.

Political Humor … With the absence of Common Sense in DC+ … we can use more

Captain Rick: The leaders of our world seem to lack common sense in dealing with the many serious problems that face our world … so I think the best remedy is some political humor.

Thanks Ken of California for contributing these comic works of art.

I welcome your comments, likes, shares and following of my blog! (If not visible, click the red title above)

Interesting ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL Report Categories:

Humor

Please check the many other interesting categories and posts presented in the left column.

U.S. Hiring plummets … Unemployment drops because 1/2 million gave up job hunt … Participation rates reach record lows

Captain Rick: U.S. Hiring plummeted in March to 88,000, its lowest level since last June. Unemployment ticked down 0.1% to 7.6% for the wrong reason…because 500,000 people dropped out of the labor market. This is my personal report that skips all of the hype and gets right to the facts. It’s a report you can believe.

Hiring plummets to 88,000

March hiring plummeted to 1/3 that of February and 1/2 of the number of a year ago.

Private Sector: 95,000 jobs added, mostly in professional and business services and healthcare. Growth was dragged down by the retail sector, which lost 24,000 jobs. The drop in retail was particularly disappointing, considering that the sector had averaged an increase of 32,000 jobs a month for the past six months. Construction jobs added 18,000 jobs in March.

Public Sector: 7,000 jobs lost. The U.S. Postal Service shed 12,000 positions, but were offset by other gains. This sector is continuing to be an overall strain on job creation. While the impact of the forced federal budget cuts, which began March 1, was a concern, it doesn’t appear to have directly affected the March payroll figures much. The federal government, excluding the U.S. Postal Service, shed only 2,200 positions.

The red line in the chart above represents the 150,000 jobs that need to be created each month to keep up with population growth.  The average over the past 12 months is 159,000 jobs added per month…only 9,000 positive gain over the number needed to keep up with population growth. Overall, the U.S. economy lost 8.8 million jobs during the Great Recession, and is still down about 3.2 million jobs from the labor market’s height in January 2008. At the current pace of a positive gain of 9000 jobs per month, 30 years would be required to restore the lost jobs.

In the Labor Department’s survey, 206,000 fewer people said they had a job than in the previous month, even though a separate survey of employers in the March jobs report showed 88,000 jobs were added.

In addition, 290,000 fewer people were counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work. That drop in those seeking jobs was the reason the unemployment rate fell to 7.6%, the lowest since December 2008.

Unemployment Rate drops to 7.6%

The March reading was a .1 decline, but it is not good news because nearly 500,000 people dropped out of the labor market. 11.7 million people are receiving unemployment benefits.

Economists believe the rate will fall to 6.7% by the end of 2014. That would put it close to the 6.5% level that the Federal Reserve has said it wants to see before considering raising interest rates. Some of the anticipated drop will result from baby boomers retiring. If unemployed people continue giving up on finding a job at the rate experienced during March, the unemployment rate could drop even faster. Unfortunately the young looking for their first job are not figured into the unemployment rate because they do not yet qualify for unemployment compensation yet. All of this makes the unemployment figure really ambiguous…almost meaningless.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows there are 3.9 million workers who should be in the labor force but are not because of the weakness in the job market. Counting them as unemployed would take the unemployment rate up to 9.8%.

Underemployment Rate drops to 13.8%

The underemployment rate, a more meaningful term, includes persons marginally attached to the labor force such as part time workers seeking full time employment and “over qualified” workers working in jobs below their caliber.

U.S Labor Force Participation Rate fell to 63.3%

The March reading is the lowest level since May 1979 when women were less likely to be working. For men age 25 and older, March was the lowest participation on record. The participation rate for those age 16 to 24 was near a 50-year low. The participation rate of “prime-age” workers, age 25 to 54, also fell to match the lowest reading since 1984.

Generally, this consists of everyone of working age (around 16), who are participating workers, that is people actively employed (either part-time or full-time) or people actively seeking employment. In the U.S., not maximum age is considered.
People not counted include people who are not employed and not seeking employment including students, retired people, stay-at-home parents, people who do not report income (tax evaders) and people in prisons or similar institutions.
Discouraged workers who want to work, but cannot find work and have thus stopped looking for work for at least a month are not included in the labor force in the United States.

Some of the downward trend in the participation rate in recent years is due to more baby boomers reaching retirement age, along with the longer life span of those who are retired. The greater the percentage of the population that is retired, the lower the participation rate.
The difficulty for younger workers finding jobs is also a factor, as more young adults unable to find work return to school to try to improve their prospects.

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Previous reports:

Jobs: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/jobs/

Unemployment: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/unemployment/

U.S. Economy: GDP Stalled at ‘break-even’

Captain Rick: Gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health, grew at an annual rate of 3.1% from July to September (Q3). That’s more than double the sluggish 1.3% rate in the second quarter, however it only measures even with the break-even line. 3% economic growth, represented by the red line in the chart below, is necessary to provide enough jobs and wages to keep pace with U.S. population growth. America has fallen short of the line in all but three quarters during the past four years. A GDP growth rate of 5% for 4 quarters is required to reduce the unemployment rate by 1%.

Consumer spending, which typically accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, was the single largest driver of economic growth between July and September. U.S. households bought more motor vehicles and health care services, leading consumer spending to rise at a 1.6% annual rate in the quarter.

Government defense spending was another large driver, rising 12.9% in the third quarter. And home sales picked up, also contributing to economic growth.

Meanwhile, businesses built up their stockpile of goods and were hesitant to make new investments. Business spending contracted at a 1.8% annual rate in the quarter, dragging on overall economic growth. The largest cuts in business spending were on equipment and software.

Economists point to uncertainty about 2013 taxes and government spending cuts as the culprit that’s weighing on business investment decisions. The uncertainty generated by fiscal ineptitude has basically shut down investment spending. 

Economic Outlook: Overall, economic recovery remains sluggish. On average, the U.S. economy has grown about 2% a year for the last three years. Essentially this means the economy has actually going backwards at a rate of about 1%. Major portions of the fiscal cliff remain unresolved. The fiscal cliff and the pending debt ceiling will have to be addressed by about March 1 to prevent government default. The manner in which they are addressed will play a role in whether America dips into another recession next year.

Wall Street terminates 18,000 jobs: Citigroup: 11,000 … American Express: 5,400 Morgan Stanley: 1,600

Captain Rick: The Wall Street ‘chopping block’ has been in ‘full swing’ as large financial corporations cut 18 thousand jobs in recent weeks. Its more of the same story that is sweeping our world as businesses strive to ‘shore up’ their ‘bottom line’ in an economy that is as fragile as ‘thin ice’. 

Citigroup announced it will cut 11,000 jobs as part of plan to trim costs. Citigroup has already begun making the layoffs, but expects them to continue throughout 2013. Layoffs are nothing new at Citi. Since November 2008, the bank has slashed about 25% of its staff. The 11,000 job cuts that were announced Wednesday amount to 4% of Citigroup’s current workforce, which stood at 261,000 full-time employees at the end of September.

American Express announced Thursday that it was cutting 5,400 jobs, becoming the latest large financial firm to reduce its headcount. American Express said it expects to see its current work force of 63,500 reduced by between 4% and 6% by the end of the year.

Morgan Stanley is expected to cut 6% of its workforce (1,600 jobs) in the coming weeks, due to "market conditions." Morgan Stanley, which currently employs nearly 58,000, has been trimming its workforce over the past couple of years. With this round of cuts, Morgan Stanley’s total headcount will have been reduce by 10% since September 2011, to roughly 56,000.

Eurozone Unemployment hits another record high

Captain Rick: Eurostat data published Tuesday showed unemployment in the 17-nation Eurozone hit a record high of 11.8% in November, leaving 18.8 million people without work – two million more than a year ago.
At nearly 27%, Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, and youth unemployment is more than twice as high at 56%. Thousands of Spanish bank employees will lose their jobs as a result of an EU-backed bailout of Spanish banks. Only Greece, which is facing a sixth year of recession, has a greater proportion of young people out of work.

The Eurozone economy shrank in the second and third quarters of 2012, and official data due next month are expected to confirm a contraction in fourth quarter output.

Forecasts for 2013 are not much better, ranging from stagnation to another year of recession as governments continue to grapple with the fallout of the credit crisis, cutting spending and raising taxes to rein in budget deficits.

Hopes that stronger growth in Asia and the U.S. could spark a Eurozone recovery also took a knock, as Germany said its exports fell 3.4% in November, from the previous month, and were flat year over year.

View other reports about Europe: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/europe/

U.S. Jobs: Stalled . . . 5 Million discouraged Workers hopelessly Unemployed

Captain Rick: The December Jobs Report marked the tenth month in a row of lackluster job creation. Only 155,000 jobs added, just above the red break-even line of enough jobs to keep pace with population growth. That leaves 4.8 million discouraged workers … hopelessly unemployed.

1.84 million jobs were created during 2012. That sounds huge, but it only broke even with the 1.8 million needed to keep pace with population growth.

U.S. Unemployment rate is inept and meaningless … the real unemployment rate is about 15%

I no longer report on the U.S. Labor Department unemployment percentage, which basically counts only those who are registered and receiving unemployment compensation. It does not include the other half of the workers that dropped off of the government’s ‘radar screen’ … the 4.8 million who have exhausted their unemployment compensation and remain discouraged and hopelessly unemployed. The Labor Department should abandon the ‘unemployment rate’ and replace it with a figure that is closer to reality. The actual unemployment rate, sometimes called the ‘underemployment rate’, stands at about 15%, among the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The growing number of hopelessly unemployed is worrisome

Studies widely show the longer a person is unemployed, the weaker his or her chances are of getting a job. At some point, long-term unemployment can lead workers to become permanently detached from the labor force. That’s not good for the economy.

How long will it take to reduce unemployment to pre recession levels?

The Hamilton Project, an economic research arm of the Brookings Institution, publishes a “jobs gap” calculator that estimates just how long it will take to get back to pre recession levels, assuming the only major job market dropouts are Baby Boomers who are retiring. At the current rate of hiring, the Hamilton Project estimates it would take until 2025 to get back to a pre-recession job market. I must caution … that report does not consider the monumental fiscal challenge America faces with the upcoming Fiscal Cliff Sequester and Debt Ceiling issue. If President Obama and the U.S. Legislature continue to ‘kick the fiscal can down the road’, it could be far beyond 2025 before America recovers to pre recession unemployment levels, possibly never.

Caution for U.S. State Governors and City Managers

If you think America is on the road to recovery … THINK AGAIN !!! America is on a very serious fiscal downhill slide …headed for the ultimate ‘Fiscal Cliff’. Continue to spend money like there is ‘no tomorrow’ or prepare for coming reality by shoring up fiscal defenses.

Get Educated about the serious fiscal problems facing America … and the world

A great source: Captain Rick’s Fiscal Cliff Course 101 … The course starts at the very bottom.

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

You will be greeted with a full-screen animation of fireworks and rockets. Each rocket represents one of my posts during 2012. Scroll down to view the entire report.

Michigan becomes 24th “right-to-work” state … new law weakens unions’ power

Captain Rick: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Tuesday that now allows workers at union-represented employers to forgo paying dues. Michigan, the birthplace of the United Auto Workers where 17.5% of employees are represented by unions, is by far the most heavily unionized state to pass “right-to-work” legislation. This has the potential of starting a move to crack the union “job-killing” stronghold in the American northeast.

I chose the short video above as the best of many to give you a quick overview of this monumental legislation.

What is a right-to-work law?
A right-to-work law is a statute in the United States of America that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees’ membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. Such laws are allowed under the 1947 federal Taft–Hartley Act. Before then, an employee who ceased being a member of the union for whatever reason, from failure to pay dues to expulsion from the union as an internal disciplinary punishment, could also be fired even if the employee did not violate any of the employer’s rules.

What is the benefit of a right-to-work law?

Right-to-work states have done better in terms of growing jobs, according to State Budget Solutions, an advocacy group that supported the measure. Right-to-work states saw employment expand by 8.2% between 2001 and 2010, while those without the law experienced a 0.5% decrease, according to the group’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

Which states have a right-to-work law?
Right-to-work laws now exist in twenty-four U.S. states as shown in the map below. In my humble opinion, they are the 24 states which are leading America out of the past doldrums of “shipping” millions of well-paying American jobs to China, Mexico and may other foreign countries because of the endless greed of American labor unions for more power and wealth. I am proud of my state of Arizona for being a “right-to-work” pioneer and leader. Arizona was the first state to pass “right-to-work” legislation way back on November 22, 1948. Arizona has since enjoyed the company of 23 other states who have a desire to do what is best to grow jobs at home in America.

Captain Rick’s closing thoughts

Nationwide, union membership stands at 11.8% and is decreasing daily. That is good. I look forward to the day when it reaches zero. There was a day nearly a century ago that unions played an important role in protecting the safety and well being of American jobs. After World War II, unions became nothing more than a money-making scheme for a few to get rich at the expense of many. During the latter half of the last century America has witnessed the destruction of much of America’s manufacturing base along with the end of millions of well paying jobs that were sent overseas because they could be done at less cost. I hold American unions mostly to blame for this travesty. American unions are running out of “suckers” so they are relentlessly perusing the only remaining frontier for their financial greed … service jobs in the government sector which consists mainly of teachers, police, fire and other civic employees. The union thought is that these jobs can not escape America, so they have free reign. I hope our elected civic servants will be wise to this ploy and help prevent one of the last American job frontiers from destruction.

Wal-Mart workers plan Black Friday Strike Captain Rick to Wal-Mart: Fire all of them! Unions are destroying America!

Captain Rick: Wal-Mart, the world’s largest store, with 1.3 million workers, fights back as workers are preparing for a Black Friday walkout. Wal-Mart has filed a complaint with a federal agency accusing one of America’s largest labor unions of unlawfully organizing picket lines, in-store “flash mobs” and other demonstrations. Unions and union backed groups are calling for America’s largest employer to end what they call retaliation against employees who speak out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said: Black Friday is the “Superbowl” for retailers and that Wal-Mart is ready. If employees are scheduled for work, we expect them to show up and do their job. If the don’t, there could be consequences. While Wal-Mart respects its workers federally-protected right to express concerns, it will act to protect its stores and customers from illegal and unprotected conduct that threatens the safety of our business operations… such as protestors trespassing on Wal-Mart grounds and interfering with business.

OURWalmart, one of the main union groups says it has 1000 events planned this week. It has a Facebook page with 28,000 likes and  YouTube video with over 103,000 views. I have viewed both and do not find them worthy to pass on.

Captain Rick’s thoughts: I feel for those who work for Wal-Mart and don’t feel they make enough money or receive enough medical benefits. Keep in mind, you always have the option to find employment somewhere else. Where? Wal-Mart or no other company has an obligation to better yourself. Only you can do that. Stop whining and take control of your own destiny. Don’t rely on the unions and associated groups to save you. They have only one goal in mind… to make themselves rich… and destroy America as a by product. History shows that unions have played a huge role in the destruction of entire American industries. They are directly responsible for the execution of thousands of high paying jobs in America…jobs that are now being fulfilled overseas at much lower costs. The only sector that the unions have not killed in America is the service sector…jobs like those in retail sales…like Wal-Mart. With stupid efforts like this, it wont be long before unions destroy it too.

Another example is civic government. This is perhaps the worst of all sectors for unions to attack and kill…it’s the last American stronghold, one that is protected by our ‘warped’ government laws. In the private sector, unions can cause companies to fail. In the public sector, failure is not possible…so unions have free rain to pillage them to an endless extreme with the total cost transferred to the tax payer. America’s laws are reckless in this regard and are in serious need of change…hopefully before the unions are finally allowed to totally destroy America.

U.S. October 2012 Jobs Report: . . . . . . . . . . . Hiring and Unemployment up slightly + Captain Rick’s Mathematical Jobs Analysis

Captain Rick: Hiring ticked up to 171,000 new jobs in October … along with the unemployment rate, up .1% to 7.9%. The biggest job sector gainers were business services at 51,000 positions. Health care added 31,000, construction 17,000. Caution…many of the jobs added were low-paying service jobs.

Captain Rick’s REAL Mathematical Jobs Analysis:

At least 150,000 jobs need to be created each month (1,800,000 per year) to keep pace with the growing population, as represented by my red line in the chart above.

In the past 12 months, beginning November 2011, America has added 1,950,000 new jobs. Subtracting the needed addition of 1,800,000 to keep pace with population growth, America added just 125,000 REAL jobs in the last year. That represents a move in the positive direction, but is far short of what is needed to regain the nearly 9 million jobs lost during the Great U.S. Recession in 2008-2009. At the pace American jobs have been restored during the past year, America will not experience a return to pre-recession job conditions for decades, if ever. Many economists share my feeling that what we are seeing now is the new job norm. The great job conditions of the mid 2000s will not be returning … possibly ever.

The U.S. Fiscal Cliff: This is the most important fiscal challenge facing America … perhaps the most monumental in U.S. history. How our legislators manage this crisis will determine America’s Jobs outlook and fiscal status for years to come. If not handled properly, our legislators are in position to reduce America to a third world country during the coming years. This is very serious ‘stuff’. I will do my best to keep you informed. Read my report on the Fiscal Cliff: https://atridim.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/fiscal-cliff-what-the-heck-is-it-how-will-it-affect-us/

U.S. 3Q GDP estimate rises to 2% … still far short of growth needed to keep pace with population growth

Captain Rick: The U.S. economy grew a bit faster in the third quarter than the sluggish 1.3% of the second quarter, according to the first of three estimates for the third quarter. First estimates are notoriously optimistic, especially when they come before a presidential election. The first estimate for the second quarter was 1.5%, raised to 1.7% on the second estimate and then sank to the ‘final’ 1.3% figure. We will have to wait until December for the more realistic third estimate.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health. 3% economic growth, represented by the red line in the chart below, is necessary to provide enough new jobs to keep pace with U.S. population growth. America has fallen short in all but two quarters of the past four years. This means that the percentage of eligible workers who are working continues to drop almost every month. Real unemployment is continuing to increase, in spite of the bogus and meaningless unemployment percentages the U.S. government publishes each month that show a slow decline. America’s unemployment rate is currently published to be 7.8%, but the real number is actually about twice that…and rising, not falling.

I do not see anything on the horizon that is going to raise America continuously up above that red line, where we need to be to enjoy a healthy and growing economy … at least for the next several years, perhaps 2017 or beyond. Even the Fed, the IMF and other global financial authorities forecast similar sluggish growth through 2015. Europe appears to in recession or close to it. U.S. growth of 1.3% in the second quarter is knocking on recessions door. China’s economy is slowing quickly as a result of economic sluggishness in the West. This paints an anemic image of America’s economic health, with a global ripple effect. If the U.S. legislature attacks the “Fiscal Cliff” with vengeance when they return to work in January, we might see a boost in GDP in coming quarters. I am referring to major spending cuts and yes…tax increases. Anything short of that means “kicking the can down the road”, as has been done for many years, and will give us continued economic stagnation and possible recession.

Cummins to cut 1,500 jobs by end of 2012 due to weakening global economy

Captain Rick: Cummins, the world’s largest producer of diesel technology with $1.85 billion in 2011 sales,  announced that it will cut as many as 1,500 jobs by the end of 2012 because of uncertainty regarding the direction of the global economy. Cummins employs about 44,000 people worldwide. Based in Indiana, it also has factories in Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina and several overseas. It instituted a global hiring freeze after a recent drop in sales in North America, China and Brazil.

GDP report: U. S. economic growth revised sharply lower + ‘Caution’ for the future

Captain Rick: The U.S. economy grew significantly slower in the second quarter than the sluggish pace reported in August. Q2 GDP was revised to 1.3%, down from 1.7% reported in August. This came as a surprise to most economists. It wasn’t surprising to me. What I found surprising is why last months Q2 GDP estimate was increased to 1.7% from the previous 1.5%. So, I am not surprised to see that it fell back to 1.5% and more. The surprised economists are already busy forecasting GDP will come in at 1.9% in the third quarter. Perhaps they will be equally surprised when it doesn’t. I should mention that 1.9% is still well under what is needed to break even. I believe economists need to retire their dart boards and start paying better attention to what is really transpiring around our world, as I have been doing for many years. It helps take the surprise out of things.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health. 3% economic growth, represented by the red line in the chart above, is necessary to provide enough new jobs to keep pace with U.S. population growth. America has fallen short in all but two of the past three plus years. This means that the percentage of eligible workers who are working continues to drop almost every month. Real unemployment is continuing to increase, in spite of the bogus and meaningless unemployment percentages the U.S. government publishes each month. America’s unemployment rate is currently published to be 8.1%, but the real number is actually about twice that…and rising, not falling.

I am saddened to say that I do not see anything on the horizon that is going to raise America continuously up above that red line, where we need to be to enjoy a healthy and growing economy, for the next several years, perhaps 2017 or beyond. Even the Fed, the IMF and other global financial authorities predict similar sluggish growth through 2015.  Europe appears to in recession or close to it. U.S. growth of 1.3% is knocking on recessions door.  China’s economy is slowing quickly as a result of economic sluggishness in the West. This paints an anemic image of America’s economic health., with a global ripple effect.

I caution local and state governments to exercise fiscal restraint and filter out some of the local growth hype that is beginning to surface. Some of it is beginning to closely resemble fuel for another financial bubble…not real growth. It will be much smarter to put some funds in a ‘piggy bank’ for a ‘rainy day’ than to spend all of the receipts as fast as we can while the sun appears to be shining brightly.

I urge federal legislators to address the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ ASAP. This does not mean coming up with another political compromise to ‘kick the can down the road’ for another year. It means finding a real solution to reduce Americas debt NOW! Every time we postpone a proper ‘fix’, we bring our nation much closer to the real ‘Financial Cliff’…the one that will have the power and magnitude to reduce the United States of America to a third world country. How America handles this monumental problem will affect the entire world for decades to come.

Chicago teachers strike could make negative blow to jobs report and dampen Obama’s chance of reelection

Captain Rick:

Unions in America have well outlived their benefit. Over the past half century I have witnessed thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs shipped overseas because of union pressure for higher wages and benefits. The fact is that there are lots of people in other countries that will willingly do the jobs that America thinks do not pay enough. Now that unions have destroyed most of the manufacturing jobs, they are attacking the only ‘meat’ left…the service jobs, which include teaching, police, fire and other government jobs. The unions figure that these jobs cant be shipped overseas so they are safe territory to strike with demands of higher wages and benefits.

WRONG! This plan will fail and it will take what is left of good paying American jobs and make them history. This strike is so big (and stupid) that it most likely will effect the federal Jobs Report which already demonstrates that American jobs are on life support. President Obama, who supports unions and accepts significant financial support from them, might find himself out of office in November because of them.

The above is a photo snip is from: http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/17/news/economy/chicago-teachers-strike-jobs-report/index.html?iid=Popular

Some interesting excerpts:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — As it drags on for a second week, the Chicago teachers strike is so large it could distort national economic statistics, including the Labor Department’s key monthly jobs report.

About 26,000 teachers and support staff are striking in Chicago, demanding higher pay, better job security and changes to a new evaluation system.

The strike’s timing is key, in that it coincides with the period in which the government collects data for the national jobs report.

Last month, that report showed the economy added only 96,000 jobs. The number was seen as weak, posing a challenge for President Obama as he faces re-election.

September’s report could look far worse if the strike continues.