News Bush Doesn't Need Right Now

You forget, slinging hamburgers in an automated McDonalds kitchen is now a manufacturing job.

Yeah, even those numbers are down.

I'm not trying to be cutting or partisan, really; mostly I'm concerned about the fact that we seem to be hemmorraghing opportunity in this nation. It's not as if the numbers have turned around and started climbing up, or anything....

Recent college grads (such as myself) are finding there's NOTHING out there, job wise....

What can we do as a nation to work on this problem!?!?!?

Cycloptichorn

Cyclops, A good start is to let Kerry take the helm and reverse the tax cuts for the wealthy. Tax cuts for the middle class and the poor will effectively help consumption which makes up over 70 percent of our economy. Money in circulation also helps increase jobs and more consumption, which in turn helps generate more taxes for our governments. Don't expect a quick turnaround, because most of consumption spending during the past three years were generated from mortgaging equity in middle class homes at low interest rates. Those loans must still be repaid at higher interest rates. That will handicap growth.

What's the current unemployment numbers? Anyone know?

I don't know, unfortunately. I'll look for them for you.

Cycloptichorn

Any unemployment numbers to have any meaning must include those that have quit looking for jobs that do not exist, new 18 year olds and college grads who cannot find work, and the growth in our population vs jobs lost vs jobs gained.

Why? Why can't they just show the same thing they have always shown so we may compare them to past numbers?

I've got a better "why" question for you McG.

If you know what the numbers show...why not offer them?

McG has a good point that we need to be at least looking at the same methodology over several months in order to make comparisons.

CI also has a good point that the data in unemployment surveys is pretty suspect; there's a lot of evidence that there are many more people out there who are not being counted due to the way they are set up.

Cycloptichorn

If I knew what the numbers shown, I wouldn't have asked the question. That's how it works Frank, I don't know something, so I ask in hopes that one of the hundreds of posters here might have the information at their fingertips.

Ahhh...I get it now!

First, an across the board tax cut is not a cut for only the rich. every person realizes a savings.

Next, increasing the tax on business will only cause greater unemployment as business owners scramble to lay off employees to cover the additional tax burden.

final, when the libs continued to allow the flow of imigrants into this country at a rate that was higher than the birth rate of the actual citizens, what was expected as far as jobs per population numbers?

According to this:
Exporting America:
Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping
American Jobs Overseas
Author: Lou Dobbs
Publisher: Warner Business Books

Economy hasn't limped into the ditch because of a tax break or a lack of a tax break, it's because of a trade deficit and the outsourcing of American jobs.

It's facinating. Sure we'll have more money to spend with a tax break. I don't think we'll buying more stuff, we'll be paying for the increasing cost of fuel, we'll be putting it away to try to pay for our children's rising college tuition, we'll pay off our debts that America has charged away.

The money 'kept' won't be going into creating high paying manufacturing jobs, those will still be offshore. We may buy more of the goods made overseas, after it gets pass the Walmart clerk that money goes right back to the overseas factories.

As long as there is a break or an opening for the bulk of the workforce to work elseware for a fraction of a fraction of American wages, the multinationals, and domestic companies making use of CHEAP labor, there will only be those jobs that service the sale of those products, traditionally low paying non-benefit part time positions.

Honestly ... yes, we would all love a tax break, always. But the government still spends. The budget deficit grew in the last four years so bad that it will take a generation or two to bring it up above sea level. I have this nightmare of my now 3-year-old daughter coming back to me in 20 or 30 years and asking "what in the world were you buying that I have to pay for now?!?!"

... "um, well dear ... there's this place called Iraq"

There are so many ways of looking at the economy...it's hard to see the forest for the trees.




WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US economy will grow solidly in 2005 despite high oil prices, no matter whether President George W. Bush or John Kerry is in the White House, top business economists said.


Gross domestic product -- total economic output -- was expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2005 after a 4.3-percent expansion in 2004, said a National Association of Business Economists (NABE) panel.


"After a soft patch in the spring quarter the economy appeared to find firmer footing this summer," NABE president Duncan Meldrum said.


"Fortunately, our panel expects the expansion to gain additional traction over the second half of this year and advance at a solid pace in 2005," Meldrum said.

As well, IMHO, as those who have been forced into lower-paying "McJobs".

We've heard enough anecdotal comments by many in the work force to consider those people that have found jobs, but are now getting paid lower salaries. I have not seen any statistics on this group of workers, but I imagine it's probably lower than most of us think compared to the unemployed.