Unhappy Labor Day: Obamacare Edition

How the president’s signature law is making life harder for working Americans

When the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the unemployment number for the month of August this Friday, even an improvement in last month’s 7.4 percent seasonally adjusted rate will leave the number higher than it was during any month of the George W. Bush presidency.

And it’s not just the unemployment number that is grim. That number, after all, gets better when job-seekers get so discouraged that they stop looking for work. The labor force participation rate, which measures the percentage of Americans older than age 16 who are in the work force, is the lowest it has been since the late 1970s.

Why are things so bad?

Sure, there was a financial crisis. But that was five years ago already.

It’s possible to put a good face on the declining labor force participation rate by considering it a positive development that Baby Boomers are enjoying their leisure time in retirement, or that parents are staying home with their children, or that young people are staying in school.

At least some of the people working part-time, though, say they would like to be working full time; in July an estimated 8.2 million Americans were working part-time for economic reasons, the highest number in a year.

Part of the problem is Obamacare. Sure, all the mandates haven’t kicked in yet. But businesses consider the cost of future mandates in making hiring decisions.

The clearest explanation of the effect of Obamacare on employment that I have seen recently comes in a paper by a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, Casey B. Mulligan, recently released by the National Bureau of Economic Research. He writes that the Affordable Care Act, along with other expansions in safety net programs, has created “a massive 17 percent reduction in the reward to working.” As a result, he says, “it is unlikely that labor market activity will return even near to its pre-recession levels as long as the ACA’s work disincentives remain in place.”

Via: Reason,com

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Green Jobs: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. President

In his speech at Knox College, President Obama laid out his plan for the Detroitification of America: higher taxes, higher spending, increased minimum wages, more mandates, and rerouting the path of upward mobility through tried-and-failed social programs.

He blames unfettered markets for taking America away from the halcyon days of the 1950s and 1960s, ignoring the phenomenal growth of taxes, spending, and regulation since then. His promise for more of the same makes you wonder if his teleprompter has been inverting his charts and tables.

However, in his depressing litany, he provided some comic relief by repeating the old green jobs joke that more expensive energy creates jobs. The punch line has been provided (repeatedly) by his own Administration’s Department of Labor. In a series of green jobs reports—which was mercifully ended by sequestration after only two reports—the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published tables that provide mirth beyond measure in the form of comical comparisons.

We have discussed those reports here, here, and here. A couple of points from those analyses illustrate the inanity of the reports’ conclusions:

• The BLS found 33 times as many green jobs in the septic tank and portable toilet servicing industry as in solar electricity utilities.
• The BLS determined that there were more green jobs collecting trash (not processing but simply collecting) than in either architectural services or engineering services

Via: The Foundry

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370k New Jobless Claims; Gallup Reports Unemployment Jump to 8.3%

After a few post-Hurricane Sandy weeks of new jobless claims hitting over 400,000, it looks as though we've settled back into the new and accepted normal of new claims landing somewhere in the 360,000 to 390,000 range. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this week saw 370,000 new claims filed.

Keep in mind, though, that it's only in Barack Obama's America that we've learned to celebrate any number under 400,000. We're nowhere near the point where our economy creates enough jobs to keep up with those lost every week. But because the media will never allow Obama to fail at anything, only 370,000 new unemployment claims is an occasion for pom-poms and much dancing around the golden calf.

Meanwhile, Gallup is reporting that unemployment spiked last month from 7.0% to 7.8%. Adjusted seasonally, the rate is 8.3%. This is the sharpest one-month increase Gallup's seen in two years:

It is unclear what caused the increase in the unemployment rate in November, although some experts speculate that it was caused by jobs lost as a result of superstorm Sandy. It is also possible that lackluster holiday hiring is to blame.

Silly Gallup; floating the idea that a spike in unemployment was caused by slow holiday hiring… What a waste of time. Thanks for playing, but the media will tell us what the "truth" is and the "truth" will be that lackluster hiring wasn't our Lightbringer's fault. It was the fault of a hurricane that was the result of Global Warming that was the result of American capitalism that was the result of not enough socialism that was the result of the Founding Fathers owning slaves.

Tomorrow, we'll get the November job creation numbers. Those too are expected to be disappointing… Due to a hurricane that wouldn’t have happened were it not for Christopher Columbus.

Via: Breitbart

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Long-Term Unemployment Rises in October to 40.6%

(CNSNews.com) - The long-term unemployment rate rose to 40.6 percent in October, up from September’s level of 40.1 percent of the total unemployed, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday. 

Long-term unemployment is unemployment lasting for 27 consecutive weeks or longer, according to BLS. 

The government reported that just over 5 million people were unemployed for more than six months – 27 weeks – rising from September’s level of 4.8 million. 

Long-term unemployment has remained elevated since the end of the recession in 2009. In January 2009, when President Obama took office, there were 2.7 million long-term unemployed Americans. By August of that year – after the recession had ended in June – that number had crossed the 5 million mark. 

Long-term unemployment remained above 5 million people until September, when it fell to 4.8 million. 
The long-term unemployment rate – the percentage of the unemployed that have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer – has not been below 40 percent since December 2009, suggesting that while the overall unemployment rate has declined steadily, the economy is not creating enough jobs to bring back workers lost during the recession. Instead, the weak jobs growth is merely enough to keep up with the growth in population.(CNSNews.com) - The long-term unemployment rate rose to 40.6 percent in October, up from September’s level of 40.1 percent of the total unemployed, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday. 

Long-term unemployment is unemployment lasting for 27 consecutive weeks or longer, according to BLS. 

The government reported that just over 5 million people were unemployed for more than six months – 27 weeks – rising from September’s level of 4.8 million. 

Long-term unemployment has remained elevated since the end of the recession in 2009. In January 2009, when President Obama took office, there were 2.7 million long-term unemployed Americans. By August of that year – after the recession had ended in June – that number had crossed the 5 million mark. 

Long-term unemployment remained above 5 million people until September, when it fell to 4.8 million. 

The long-term unemployment rate – the percentage of the unemployed that have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer – has not been below 40 percent since December 2009, suggesting that while the overall unemployment rate has declined steadily, the economy is not creating enough jobs to bring back workers lost during the recession. Instead, the weak jobs growth is merely enough to keep up with the growth in population.

Via: CNS News
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Last jobs report before election shows economy in 'virtual standstill'

The final monthly jobs report before Election Day offered a mixed bag of economic evidence that quickly became political putty for the presidential candidates, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 7.9 percent but the economy adding a better-than-expected 171,000 jobs. 

At the same time, the number of unemployed grew by 170,000, roughly the same amount -- to 12.3 million. 

The October numbers allow President Obama to argue the economy is technically growing under his watch. But they also allow Mitt Romney to argue that the new jobs are not making much of a dent in the unemployment problem. Both campaigns quickly set to work putting their spin on data that, if nothing else, underscores the slow pace of the recovery. 

"That's 9 million jobs short of what (Obama) promised," Romney said at a rally in Wisconsin shortly before noon. "Unemployment is higher today than when Barack Obama took office." 

The rate was 7.8 percent the month Obama took office. "Today's increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill," Romney said in a separate written statement. "When I'm president, I'm going to make real changes that lead to a real recovery, so that the next four years are better than the last." 

Former Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Keith Hall told Fox Business Network that at this rate, "we're still talking nine or 10 years" before the economy gets back to normal. 

But Obama, speaking in Hilliard, Ohio, pointed to the report as another sign the economy is moving in the right direction, despite the challenges remaining. 

Via: Fox News

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THE BIG FAIL: Obama’s Boasting Of A Manufacturing Resurgence On TheCampaign Trail Doesn’t Match The Facts On The Ground

OBAMA TOUTS A MANUFACTURING COMEBACK THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THE STATES

The Latest Bureau Of Labor Statistics Report Shows Manufacturing Jobs Declined In September In 31 States. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 10/19/12)

Colorado

In September, Colorado Lost 1000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Colorado Has Lost 5,000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Iowa

In September, Iowa Lost 600 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Michigan

In September, Michigan Lost 900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Nevada

In September, Nevada Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Nevada Has Lost 6,900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

New Hampshire

In September, New Hampshire Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, New Hampshire Has Lost 6,800 Manufacturing Jobs.(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Via: GOP.Com

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Politics: Terrific: More Americans are getting government health care than are working

When you really think about it, it’s a stunning fact. There are now more people in America receiving government health care benefits – Medicare and Medicaid – than there are full-time workers in the economy.

It’s an eye-opener, but it’s more than that. It’s also evidence that we have a system that, by definition, cannot be sustained.

Medicaid and Medicare had a gross combined enrollment of 119,249,000 in 2011. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that 112,556,000 people worked full-time in the United States in 2011, including 17,806,000 who worked for all levels of government and 94,750,000 who worked for the private sector.

Who do you think pays for the benefits enjoyed by Medicare and Medicaid recipients? Private-sector workers, of course. Now of course, government workers pay taxes too. But where do you think the money comes from to the pay the salaries of government workers at every level of government? From private-sector workers! Without private-sector workers first paying taxes, there would be no government salaries from which to withhold taxes.

The bottom line is that private-sector producers ultimately must generate all the wealth that’s needed to support government at every level. We already know that the federal government is spending 25 percent of the nation’s entire $14 trillion economy, but when you include state, county and local governments, then add in local school districts all across the country, government is actually spending more than 40 percent of GDP.

President Obama likes to say that we have such a large deficit because the rich don’t pay enough taxes. No. The reason we have such a large deficit is that there are not enough people producing in the private-sector to pay for the size of government, and one of the biggest costs in government is the health care benefits we’re paying to 119 million people – more than a third of the entire population. It’s true that many of the current recipients have paid into the system during their lives, some for many years. But the bottom line remains that such a system is unsustainable.

Via: CainTV

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Report: Medicaid And Medicare Enrollees Now Outnumber Full-Time Private Sector Workforce

(CNSNews.com) - The combined number of people enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare--the government health-care programs for the poor, disabled and elderly--now exceeds the number of full-time private sector workers in the United States.

In 2011, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there were 70.4 million people who enrolled in Medicaid for at least one month. There were also 48.849 million people enrolled in Medicare. That gave Medicaid and Medicare a gross combined enrollment of 119.249 million in 2011.

At the same time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 112,556,000 people worked full-time in the United States in 2011. Of these 112,556,000 full-time workers, 17,806,000 worked for government (at the federal, state or local level) and 94,750,000 worked for the private sector.

The gross combined enrollment of 119.249 million in Medicaid and Medicare in 2011 outnumbered the 112.556 million full-time workers employed in both the private sector and in government in 2011.

However, there are a certain number of people each year—called “dual enrollees” by CMS—who enroll in both Medicaid and Medicare because they are eligible for both. According to CMS, however, the most recently developed data for the actual number of “dual enrollees” is for 2008--when a total of 61.9 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and 9.3 million of them were “dual enrollees” who also enrolled in Medicare.

Via: CNS News

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Obama: ‘Who’re you gonna believe; me or your lyin’ eyes?’

While President Obama appeared much less comatose in Tuesday night’s debate than he was during the first, he certainly played fast and loose with his facts. His constant claim that his administration has created in excess of five million private sector jobs since taking office has little to no supportive evidence.

If indeed there were five million private sector jobs created over the past four years, then why is the unemployment rate so much higher today than it was when he first took office?

The most recent jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed the unemployment rate in the US dropping below 8% for the first time in 3 years. What the BLS failed to acknowledge was that this drop in the unemployment rate was a statistical aberration, in large part due to one state’s failure to make its unemployment statistics available. This is the final BLS report before Election Day and isn’t it convenient that this one state’s failure to provide unemployment data would make the unemployment rate appearing to be lower that it actually is? Expecting that the unemployment rate has dropped by .3% in an economy that’s at or below 1.3% GDP growth is in the same ballpark as believing that pigs can fly. For a real look at how Obama’s economic policies have worked, the graph released by the BLS is a visual telling of the President’s failures.

Via: Canada Free Press

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