Jobs picture worse than published - includes 'temporary' census jobs :: Political News and commentaries

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March 8, 2010

Jobs picture worse than published - includes 'temporary' census jobs

In yet another case of "Obamadistortanomics": Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proudly crowed, "Only 36,000 lost their jobs today," the real number is actually 51,000 jobs lost, because as RCM makes clear, the government counts 15,000 temporary workers hired by the Census as new jobs. But these jobs aren't, in any meaningful sense, real full-time jobs:

Then of course there's the very definition of unemployment.

If you count those who are discouraged or working part-time when they want a full-time job, the jobless rate soars to 16.8%.

Private sector employment gauges pretty much show the same thing. For instance, the pollsters at Gallup each month ask Americans questions about their employment. In February, the Gallup report shows, some 19.8% of Americans reported that they were underemployed or not employed at all.

That's one out of five workers - and even more than the 15 million unemployed estimated by the government.

What's troubling is the obliviousness of Washington to this problem - the utter cluelessness they have about the most basic economic principles that guide our economy.

With businesses struggling and fearful about the future, all the talk in Washington is about more reckless spending and taxing.

They push ahead with a $2.5 trillion plan to take over 17% of the economy, while both Social Security and Medicare run on fumes and hover near bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Democrats think of the tax bonanza they'll get from letting President Bush's 2003 tax cuts expire at the end of this year, but don't consider that it will devastate the economy.