“Today’s release of the most recent jobs numbers is yet another reminder that conservatives in Congress need to get behind legislation to boost job creation in our economy. At this point in an economic recovery — especially one following such a deep recession — we should be seeing upward of 300,000 jobs created per month, but the economy only added 80,000 jobs in October, although August and September’s data were revised upward by a total of 102,000 jobs. Still, the three-month pace of job creation is only 114,000. That’s woefully inadequate.
So what’s holding back more sustained job creation? The gap in demand caused by the collapse of the housing bubble and Great Recession means that big corporations are still sitting on several trillion dollars in cash, waiting for sufficient customers to spur higher investment, and job seekers are still waiting for investments trickle down into jobs.
But conservatives in Congress — who are determined to slash government spending where it is needed most in infrastructure and in support for state and local jobs, while preserving or enhancing tax cuts for the wealthy — are doing real damage.”
“President Barack Obama, facing waning confidence among Americans in his economic stewardship, plans to lay out a $300 billion job-creation package on Thursday, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources.”
Wisconsin Loses 12,500 Private-Sector Jobs
The loss is the deepest single-month decline since the depths of the 2008-‘09 recession, effectively annulling most of the previous month’s gains.
Heckuva job, Scotty.
(via bluntlyblue)
Rep. Allen West Sends His Own Brother To A “Plantation Boss”
Politico: Rep. Allen West says he is a “modern-day Harriet Tubman” who wants to lead black voters away from the “plantation” of the Democratic Party.
There is a “21st century plantation” of African-American voters unwaveringly supporting Democrats, but the freshman Republican from Florida said Wednesday night that he is out to change that.
“The people on that plantation are upset because they’ve been disregarded, disrespected and their concerns are not cared about,” West said in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” responding to the anger that black Democrats showed earlier this week at a Congressional Black Caucus town hall in Detroit.
“I’m here as the modern-day Harriet Tubman to kind of lead people on the underground railroad away from that plantation into a sense of sensibility,” said West, who is the sole Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Some black leaders are “are nothing more than overseers over that plantation,” West said, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
Rep. Maxine Waters responded to Rep. West’s comments today on MSNBC:
“I think it’s a little bit outragous, a little ridiculous. It’s hard to respond to because it absolutely doesn’t make good sense… The fact of the matter is, we’re here [CBC Job Fair], and we’re connecting people with jobs…
As a matter of fact, Mr. West’s brother is here. He found himself out of a job and he asked his brother to help him and his brother told him to come to me. To come to us. That we’re here in Atlanta, where his brother lives, and he came up, he introduced himself, and I want his brother to get a job. And I hope his brother gets a job here today. And that Mr. West will understand, that the reason he sent him to me is because I am serious, and the Black Caucus is serious about helping to connect people with jobs.”
Host: With 14 million unemployed Americans, “I imagine you’re for extending unemployment benefits.” Rep. Eric Cantor: Nope.
“First chance Congress had to put people to work, they go into recess without acting on it. - @AntDeRosa”
POLITICO’s Mike Allen collects this list of job-creation legislation pending before Congress:
- The federal highway program lapses on Sept. 30, and Senate Democrats say a multi-year reauthorization would create more jobs than a shorter extension.
- Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) has been reaching out to Republicans to get support for an infrastructure bank (combining federal and private funds for marquee projects), which is supported by Obama, labor and the Chamber of Commerce.
- Extend 2% payroll tax break, which now expires at the end of 2011. Currently covers worker side; Larry Summers and other economists are arguing that it should also go to the employer.
- Other tax breaks, such as making R&D tax credit permanent and renewing clean-energy manufacturing tax credit (Section 48C), which expired at the end of 2010. The aide: “In this political environment, tax credits are going to be the most hospitable options. In the days ahead, we’ll say that the unfinished business of Congress includes these tax breaks that have lapsed.”
- Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) has a veterans’ hiring bill, aimed at providing job training for veterans who return from Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have a bill to promote plug-in electric vehicles.
- Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is pushing clean-energy incentives.
via Business Insider
Huge deficits in Texas have forced one town to lay off its entire police force. Keep this in mind next time Rick Perry talks about his state's magnificent job growth.
14 Ways to Save America’s Jobs by Bill Clinton.
Employment? Down 5.9% since late-2007. Corporate profits? Up 5.7% since late-2007 -and driven by Wall Street. - Ezra Klein via epi.org
“Wall St. is hiring again. As a matter of fact, they were the least affected industry through the entire financial crisis.” - MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan
Gross, With the Good News About Jobs
Maybe getting better! From Gross:Skeptics are focused on the next big economic problem we face: unemployment. True, the numbers have been dismal. We’ve lost 7.2 million jobs, and unemployment in November was 10 percent. For African-Americans, the rate was 15.6 percent, and more than one in four teens are out of work. Economists believe the unemployment rate will persist at 10 percent through 2010. After the previous recession ended in November 2001, companies slashed payrolls for 17 of the next 21 months.
But jobs are on the way, and sooner than you think. Not enough to make everybody happy, of course, or to reach anything approaching full employment. But the data suggest that the economy, now growing at a rate above its historical trend, may be creating more jobs than are being lost. Companies shed only 11,000 payroll jobs in November—the smallest drop since late 2007. For the past three months, the government’s first estimate of job-loss figures has been high; when the November numbers are revised, there may be a job gain. Labor-market recoveries are always a lengthy four-step process. First, as businesses stabilize, they fire fewer people. First-time unemployment claims are still elevated, but the four-week moving average is 474,000, the lowest in more than a year. Second, when demand begins to pick up, businesses prod existing workers to work harder. Which is why we’ve just witnessed the fastest two-quarter productivity surge since 1961. Third, when growth persists, bosses give part-time workers more hours or bring on temporary workers. In November, the economy added 52,000 temporary jobs, the largest addition since 2004, and retail hiring for the Christmas season is up 37 percent this year.
