WASHINGTON PROPOSES $1 TRILLION BAILOUT FOR DELINQUENT STUDENT LOANS

A possible $1 trillion bailout is coming—and soon.

America’s now-nationalized student loan industry just reached a value of $1 trillion, according to Citigroup, growing at a 20 percent-per-year pace. Since President Obama nationalized the industry (a tacked-on provision of the Obamacare bill), tuition has gone up 25 percent and the three-year default rate is at a record 13.4 percent.

Ron discussed this problem last night with Larry Kudlow:

With many young people unable to pay their loans (average graduating debt is about $29,000), Citigroup and others are speculating that this industry might be ripe for a bailout.

To pay off all the current defaults, Citigroup says it would cost taxpayers $74 billion. However, this number doesn’t include those who will default in the coming years, and, when the government rewards the defaulters, it will encourage more borrowers not to pay their debts.

And liberals in Congress have proposed forgiving all student loans via “The Student Loan Forgiveness Act 2012,” costing taxpayers $1 trillion.

Adding another $1 trillion dollars to the national debt isn’t exactly “forgiveness” for young people—it’s prolonging the payoff. In fact, student loan bailouts are a catch-22 for young people because they’re going to be held accountable for paying off the national debt and interest payments.

A student loan bailout will also be rewarding higher education bureaucrats for a diminished product. A college degree used to mean that a person would add on average $1 million to their income over their lifetime. Today a college degree only guarantees an average $300,000 in added income over a lifetime.

The answer isn’t a bailout. The student loan industry must to be returned to the private sector. Would a private lender ever invest $100,000 of their money in a student that had no plan? No.

It’s not about limiting access to college; it’s about making sure students have a well-thought out plan for their future before investors put a $100,000 stake in their education. College should be about specializing in a trade rather than defaulting to general studies that won’t lead to a job.

A civics education is important, but why would an employer hire someone with no applicable work skills, especially in a slow economy?

If we wish to end the incentives for bailouts, we need to hit higher education in the purse. Endless government money and bailouts won’t get our students jobs, and it won’t fix the problem.

Ron Meyer is the press secretary and a spokesman for American Majority Action. Celia Bigelow is the Campus Director for the same organization. Learn more at AmericanMajorityAction.org.

Via: Breitbart

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It Begins: ADP Cuts September Job Creation Numbers By Almost 50%…

Revisions to the way payroll data firm ADP counts private sector job creation have resulted in a sharp drop in the September employment count.

ADP's new calculations put the monthly job creation at just 88,200, down from the 162,000 the firm originally reported earlier this month.

The firm recently has entered into a partnership with Moody's Analytics that will change the way the private payroll count is calculated.

The new private payroll count now is actually under Labor's September job creation household survey net total of 114,000, 104,000 of which came from the private sector.

The unemployment rate dropped last month to 7.8 percent. Separately, as the government's establishment survey said the total number of new private-sector workers swelled by 873,000. (Read More: Consumer Prices Rise on Energy Surge; No Pay Gains)

Economists expect Friday's report to show 125,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to hold steady.

When the Labor Department revealed its September job count, it sparked criticism from some quarters that the numbers were being manipulated for political purposes as the November presidential election drew near.

The soft ADP count could add credence to those who believe the pace of job creation is slower than the government's numbers indicate.

"It's huge, no doubt about it," said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal at the BlackBay Group in New York. "Their changing the methodology tells me that if the number is cut in half with that revision, then the revision we're going to see Friday is going to be a disaster."

Moody's economist Mark Zandi did not return a request for comment.

Via: CNBC

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THE BIG FAIL: Voters Wonder Where Obama’s Vision Is For Country As Well As His Facts

ROMNEY HAS BETTER VISION FOR THE COUNTRY THAN OBAMA

CBS’s Charlie Kaye: “In the @CBSNews Instant Poll, 65% say Romney won on the issue of the economy. 34% say Obama won on the economy.” (Charlie Kaye, Twitter Feed, 10/16/12)

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “Look at this. 58%, 58% of debate watchers say Romney would better handle the economy, 40% say President Obama would. That’s issue number one.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “59% say Romney would do a better job on the deficit, 36% say President Obama would do a better job on the deficit.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who would better handle the issue of taxes. 51% say Romney. 44% say president Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “49% say Romney would better handle health care, compared to 46% for president Obama. 49-46.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who seemed to be a stronger leader. 49% said Governor Romney, compared to 46% for President Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who spent more time attacking his opponent. 49% said President Obama. 35% said Governor Romney.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “45% say Romney answered the questions more directly, compared to 43% for President Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Salena Zito: “I’m sorry but all day every reporter was talking about the Obama Team saying Obama would talk about his vision. Yet not once, not once did he.” (Salena Zito, Twitter Feed, 10/17/12)

CNBC’s Larry Kudlow: “You know I still don’t know what President Obama’s economic growth vision is, I don’t think he outlined it. You know I think Obama was a pretty good counterpuncher tonight. He had a lot more energy going, there’s no question about that. Both these guys had a lot of energy going but at the end of the day, I still don’t know what the president is intending if he’s reelected. I don’t think he made the case. I don’t think he provided a vision. I think he was mostly a counterpuncher and Mitt Romney wouldn’t let him have the counterpunch without the counter-counterpunch. So in that sense it’s a push but I still don’t see what the Obama case is for reelection. I just don’t see it; I didn’t hear it from him.” (CNBC, 10/16/12)\

Via: GOP.com

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Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Proves to Be Short-Lived

Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped 46,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the highest in four months. The increase represents a rebound from the previous week's sharp drop. Both swings were largely due to technical factors.

Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images Unemployed Americans attend a National Career Fair

The Labor Department says the four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell slightly to 365,500, a level consistent with modest hiring.

Last week, California reported a large drop in applications, pushing down the overall figure to the lowest since February 2008.

This week, it reported a significant increase as it processed applications delayed from the previous week. (Read More: Why Jobless Claims May Not Be as Good as Market Thinks.)

A department spokesman says the seasonally adjusted numbers "are being distorted ... by an issue of timing."

Many economists believe a reading below 400,000 points to an improving labor market. The four-week moving average of new claims, which smoothes out volatility and is considered a better measure of labor market trends, rose just 750 last week to 365,500.

"Improvement in the labor market will continue to be fitful and slow," said Joseph Trevisani, a market strategist at Worldwide Markets in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they decline, it suggests hiring is improving.

Via : CNBC

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Obama Has Left The Economy And The Middle Class Buried Under The Weight Of His Failed Policies

OBAMA HAS PRESIDED OVER A RECORD PERIOD OF ECONOMIC STAGNATION

Since Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 61,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained At Or Above 7.8 Percent (What The Rate Was When Obama Took Office) For 45 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• Jim Pethokoukis: "10.7%: Unemployment Rate If Labor Force Participation Rate Was The Same As When Obama Took Office" (Jim Pethokoukis, Twitter Feed, 10/5/12)
• By This Point Obama's Advisers Predicted The Unemployment Rate Would Be Near 5.4 Percent. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

• Under Obama, The Nation Has Lost 1,035,000 Construction Jobs And 610,000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• The Manufacturing Sector Shed 16,000 Jobs In September And 22,000 Jobs In August. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

Former Obama Council Of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee Said The Jobs Numbers "Need To Be A Lot Better." FORMER OBAMA COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS CHAIRMAN AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: "You want to take multiple months to take an average, that's far more accurate than any one month. If you look at the last few months, it's been okay. We should take some heart in that the numbers are improving but they're not improving fast enough. They need to be a lot better. I mean if you look around the world, I think one of the things to note is, we're not growing that fast, and we're one of the fastest growing of all the advanced countries. This is a pretty tough spot that the entire advanced economic world is in, especially in Europe, and so that's just a big weight that we're trying to get off. We're making slow progress but it's got to be faster." (CNBC's "Squawk Box," 10/5/12)

• "The Economy Is Growing At The Same Sluggish Pace It Has Been Since The Spring." "Those figures are roughly in line with economists' forecasts, and although the revisions were positive, the economy is growing at the same sluggish pace it has been since the spring." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)
• "The Country Generally Needs At Least 150,000 New Jobs Each Month Just To Keep Up With Population Growth." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)
• "That's Hardly Fast Enough To Recover All The Jobs Lost Since 2007." "That's hardly fast enough to recover all the jobs lost since 2007. Of the 8.8 million jobs cut during the recession, about 4.3 million have been added back. The Labor Department signaled last week that it may revise the job gains higher, but even so, the job market still has a long way to go before it's fully healed." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)

CNBC's Brian Sullivan: "It's Not Good News For The Economy." CNBC'S BRIAN SULLIVAN: "It's not good news for the economy because as we've talked about you really need 125,000 jobs created a month to keep up with population and immigration growth." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 10/5/12)

• Sullivan: "The Labor Force Participation Rate At 65.6% Rate Is Awful." MSNBC'S JOE SCARBOROUGH: "Again just to push back with you though, Brian, the only reason that number went down below 8 is because, not because we're adding jobs to bring the unemployment rate down but because people have stopped looking for work, right? CNBC'S BRIAN SULLIVAN: "I agree with that, the labor force participation rate at 65.6% rate is awful." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 10/5/12)

The Average Duration Of Unemployment Has More Than Doubled From 19.8 Weeks To 39.8 Weeks. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• There Are Currently 802,000 Unemployed Workers That Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

The Real Unemployment Rate, Including Those That Are Working Part-Time Due To Economic Reasons, Is At 14.7 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

There Are Currently 23.2 Million Americans That Are Either Unemployed, Underemployed Or Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• There Are Currently 12.1 Million Unemployed Workers. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)
• The Number Of Workers Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons Is 8.6 Million. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)
• There Number Of Workers Marginally Attached To The Labor Force Is 2.5 Million. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

 Via: GOP.com

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FUZZY MATH?: CNBC DESCRIBES NEW UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS AS 'CONTRADICTORY'

As soon as ex-General Electric CEO Jack Welch fired off a tweet questioning today's just released "unbelievable jobs numbers," the media went into a frenzy talking about how "conservatives" were launching conspiracy theories. Well, that's handy for the media and the Obama campaign, but it's not just "conservatives" who are confused by a full 0.3% drop in unemployment when only 114k jobs were created.

CNBC is as confused as the rest of us:

Job growth remained tame in September, with the economy creating just 114,000 net new positions though the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the first time it has been below 8 percent in 43 months.

The report presented a slew of contradictory data points, with the total employment level soaring despite the low net number.

The falling jobless rate had been a function as much of the continued shrinking in the labor force as it was an increase in new positions.

On the air, CNBC seemed equally perplexed by the biggest one-time drop in the unemployment rate in 29 years!

ABC News' Chris Cuomo is also skeptical of the numbers:

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Chris Cuomo

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@ChrisCuomo

#unemployment is at 7.8% in September. Except it really wasn't. It is much higher, w/ underemplyd and those who stopped looking.#notfixed

5 Oct 12

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That "not fixed" tag smells a little like sarcasm to me.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the U-6,  the longtime underemployment and unemployment number, remained fixed at a dismal 14.7%.

Via: Breitbart

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Obamanomics: Chicago PMI Shows Sharp Contraction In Economy, Back To Recession Levels…

Business activity in the U.S. Midwest contracted this month for the first time since September 2009, as new orders sank, a report showed on Friday.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer fell to 49.7 from 53.0 in August. Economists had forecast an unchanged reading of 53.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the regional economy.

The forward-looking new orders index plummeted to 47.4, from 54.8. while the gauge of employment sank to 52.0 from 57.1 last month.

Following the report, stocks added to their losses on the final trading day of the third quarter and amid uncertainty ahead of the result of stress tests on Spanish banks.

Via:CNBC

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Unemployment would be 11.2 percent if labor force same as when Obama took office

Last Friday’s jobs report does not tell the whole unemployment story, according to American Enterprise Institute blogger and CNBC contributor James Pethokoukis.

He writes, “If the labor force participation rate was the same as when Obama took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%.”

Had the participation rate remained the same as the previous month, Pethokoukis points out, “the unemployment rate would be 8.4 percent” — higher than the 8.1 percent in the August report.

Those who have returned to work amidst the meager recovery are often only finding jobs that are part-time and pay less than what they formerly earned.

“The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who want full-time work, is at 14.7 percent.”

Today, one in two are considered low income or below the poverty line, according to the Census Bureau, sparking fears of a shrinking middle class.

Record numbers of Americans receive food stamps and Social Security disability insurance, instead of seeking jobs that seem to be non-existent.

Via: The Daily Caller

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