Um, Whee? Unemployment at 8.1%

The latest unemployment figures are out for August. They fell a whopping .2% to 8.1%.

I guess it's time to break out the party favors, pour a glass of champagne and celebrate. Happy days are here again! Except for one teeny, tiny little thing: labor force participation is at a new 30-year low. Both the civilian labor force (154.6 million) and the labor force participation rate (63.5 percent) declined in August. The employment-population ratio, at 58.3 percent, was little changed.

The economy saw an increase of 96,000 jobs. Keep this number in mind. Just to keep up with population growth, we need to add around 240,000 jobs per month.

This, gentle reader, is pathetic. It's a direct result of Obamanomics, that curious blend of Soviet-style command and control economics, coupled with far too many regulations and laws that stifle job and wealth creation. In other words, this is the "new normal" we hear so much about. Despite this administration's attempts to cook the books to make these figures appear to be not quite as bad as they look, the results are the worst "recovery" since WWII.

But wait! There's more!

One thing you won't hear on the nightly news from the MSM is that the July figures were revised downward, "unexpectedly."

But job reports for June and July were revised lower. The June count fell from 64,000 to 45,000, while July’s number came in at 141,000 from an originally reported 163,000.
Despite hopes that job creation would be better than expected, the monthly report fell short of economist expectations that 125,000 jobs were added for the month. The government said private payrolls increased by 103,000, about half the 201,000 that ADP reported Thursday.
 

Oh joy.

But take solace that things are proceeding as planned. President Obama said the private sector is "doing fine."

Here's a video to help you understand how Obamanomics works, courtesy of Professor Glen Reynolds...

How to Revitalize the Economy - Watchers Council

OK, here's another post from Watcher of Weasels that adresses today's topic - What steps would you take to revitalize America's economy?

Read the whole thing.

Economics 103, Courtesy of Amity Shlaes

With the skewing of the economy in favor of an interventionist administration, we're on the brink of forgetting that we once had a free market that was independent of Washington. We once had a free market that was the primary source of income for a majority of Americans, and could be again with the right people in charge.

Naturally, the wrong people seek to make you forget that fact. In their mad quest for ever more power, these people want you to forget all about your old, outdated free market thingy. That's soooo "Twentieth Century", they'll say. Here's a bright shiny new thing called "governmental command and control" that will make sure nobody ever suffers from the natural variations in market forces that we used to plan for. As long as you belong to a union or other "friendly" group, that is. See, you can even have your own automobile manufacturing company!

If you manage to think of yourself as an independent American, you're SOL.

When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's kinda hard to remember that you were originally sent to the store for a loaf of bread. Some things take precedence over others.

That's why I'm glad to allow Amity Shlaes to present today's lesson in economics. Her article in Bloomberg.com entitled "Obama Misreads Message of "Live Free of Die" outlines the tale of two states, New Hampshire and Maine, separated by not by miles, but by light years when it comes to their experiments with government and taxation.

In the face of failed Keynesian economic theory, this short treatise fits right in with the national discussion that we should be having now. After years of a declining economy under a "progressively" controlled Congress, this shouldn't be a long conversation.

After all, there are only a few economic rules that need to be understood. Rule #1 is that the free market is capable of producing all the things that modern life entails all by itself. Free people love to innovate and create new products. It's a way of channeling energy into a productive occupation that also just happens to elevate others in the process. It's a win-win scenario for freedom.

But there are people for whom the freedom of others is anathema. They just can't stand the sight of someone living without their supervision. Necessary to this warped mindset is a large ego. The desire to control others is as old as mankind itself and is the prime mover of discontent and the major cause of strife around the world today. Notice, if you will, that the most self-absorbed among us seek out political office. Now, that there is either a classic Catch-22 or a good Groucho Marx joke: if you want the job, you're automatically disqualified because you'd just misuse your power.

And *waggles a cigar menacingly* we've seen the abuse of power lately.

But again, I digress.

Kindly click on the link above to read a short history of taxation and fiscal growth seen through two very different sets of political eyes. I won't give away the ending, but the results speak for themselves.

Just as it will eventually with the nation.

Oh, and today is election day in many states. Do your civic duty even if it is just a primary.

You'll get warmed up for November.