Daily Archives: 2012/02/03

I think it’s important for those on the Left side of the argument to understand they may not count me among those who refuse to see any good for simple hatred of the opposition.

Today’s unemployment numbers are truly something to be happy about. They reflect a trending in the right direction and come with internal statistics indicating higher rates of pay. This is all good news, and frankly long overdue. The stock market responded accordingly and it was truly refreshing for this Capitalist to see the engine that is our economy at least running.  Happy?

Now for the qualifier:

While we should embrace any good news coming out of this economy with open arms, it is important to apply the proper context. Using yesterday’s post as a benchmark, nothing has really changed. I would add that any employment uptick must first be balanced against the factors of a shrinking work force, those no longer looking for work, and the ratios of months on unemployment for workers in 2008 vs. 2012, (Obama’s “new norm”). When you figure in the CBO’s projections for the next two years, which are partly based on the separate but applicable economic factors of debt and spending, it is very clear that real recovery is not yet around the corner.

As a caveat, it is important to understand our economy and what makes it tick. As I have written many times, the Obama entitlement spending spree and stimulus did little to stimulate anything, but rather created a few government jobs that cost on average $175,000.00 per employee. What we are really seeing in this jobs report is the natural ebb and flow of an economy that will come back on its own “in spite of” any efforts on the part of Washington.

So while I’m happy to know there are folks who have finally found work and can now get back in the game, and that the American economy is as resilient as I knew it was, I remain realistic and even a bit skeptical in my appraisal of this little employment number nugget today. The road to lasting and meaningful recovery that will promote long-term hiring and an “expansion” of the work force to at least what it was pre-recession, is a long one to say the least.