Hope and Change turns Doom and Gloom
As evidenced by the latest jobs report, which shows a complete cratering on nearly every front, with economists and analysts roundly predicting another major slump around the corner.
Except not exactly wholly roundly; recall the wisdom of local shill artist John Connaughton, the guru with rose-colored glasses who cooked up a study to convince the Charlotte City Council that shelling out massive public subsidy for an uptown baseball stadium would be a winning bet. His forecast from last month on the economic horizon:
“I actually am seeing a greener pasture currently; I am pretty optimistic about these times. That is not to suggest that we could not get derailed. We all know there are problems, but right now, the economy couldn’t be coming along better. I think the future holds some pretty good darn years.”
Alrighty then ~ this from CNBC:
The American jobs engine hit stall speed in May, with the economy adding just 69,000 new jobs while the unemployment rate climbed to 8.2 percent.
As another summertime swoon looms, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job creation missed economist estimates for 158,000 new positions.
Labor force participation remains near 30-year lows though incrementally better than last month, rising to 63.8 percent.
The unemployment rate that counts discouraged workers rose as well, swelling to 14.8 percent form 14.5 percent in April.
Long-term unemployment also took a sharp upturn, with the number of those out of work for 27 weeks or more jumping from 5.1 million to 5.4 million. The average duration of unemployment moved from 39.1 weeks to 39.7 weeks.
“It’s painfully obvious the economic recovery in the U.S. isn’t just slowing down, it’s pulling up the emergency brake. And, lack of job creation isn’t the only critical concern. Wages/Income is sharply lower,” said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal The BlackBay Group in New York.
“For those lucky enough to have a job, their spending power is sliding when accounting for inflation. The markets will respond negatively to this report,” he added.
Markets reacted immediately to the numbers.
In May, stocks suffered through their worst month in two years, and the job-creation figures only added to the gloom.
So, yes, absolutely this is a great time to hike taxes and dump tens of millions of dollars into building a baseball stadium and a Streetcar to Nowhere.
Ignorance is bliss; if you don’t believe that, just ask Connaughton and our City Council.
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