cue Mucktroll. your on, dude.
Posted by T2 at May 4, 2007 08:09 AMWhen undocs are factored in the E/P for docs is ~ .60 and unemployment at least 10%.
Posted by ken melvin at May 4, 2007 08:21 AMForeclosures at a 20 year high; regular gasoline approaching $4.00 a gallon; healthcare premiums up 20%.
Yep. Bush Murika is a winner.
Posted by Christopher at May 4, 2007 08:22 AMAnd they slipped in the little piece where they acknowledged they lied about the "good" numbers they stated for March, and that February was actually worse than indicated.
Profits are up, employment is down. Future growth is being sacrificed for short-term profit. All is good in republi-con America.
Posted by phidipides at May 4, 2007 08:23 AMWe need to spend more on social programs, energy conservation & renewables and mass transportation, less on useless military hardware and increase income taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.
Then everything will be fine. Try it. You'll see.
(We'll still get old and die, but long before our children.)
Birth Death Adjustment: A whopping 317k B/D adjustment -- that is the single largest "adjustment" on record for any single given month.
Posted by me at May 4, 2007 08:37 AMHooray for the topper aristocrat$....ain't life grand (double entendre meant)!
The military industrial corporate world is reaping the rewards of the Bushco 1% Principle....if you're in the top 1% then no sacrifices are necessary....tax cuts for you! Yup 1% of the population makes 22% of the income of the grand ole USA....at the same (record high)level since the depression. Poor babies!
What's the problem, gas prices have reached record highs once again...yippee for those who own stock in ExxonMobile....hoooray!
Think happy thought$, $$$$.....
Posted by emal channeling muck at May 4, 2007 08:39 AMJust like our last military quagmire in Vietnam, we can expect both energy driven inflation and a moribund economy (stagflation was the 70s term) in our future.
Too late to do much about it at this point. Party like it's 1999, short-term Repub Robber Barons....
Posted by euzoius at May 4, 2007 09:21 AMIt's a positive figure only because US government ambassadors aren't exporting as many jobs as they should. The US ambassador to Poland, however, has pulled his share of the load.
". . . we’ve increased our share of investment and that the United States is now the second largest investor in Poland. The list of new investments is growing so quickly--Gillette, Avon, Johnson Controls, Pratt and Whitney, 3M, Firestone, and so on . . . These add up to hundreds of millions in dollars in investments, thousands of new jobs, and billions of dollars worth of future business activity. American investors are taking advantage of Poland’s skilled labor and European Union market access. Claiming 17% of Poland’s foreign direct investment, U.S. enterprise is a potent force in a range of product and service sectors.
"Aerospace: American companies such as Pratt & Whitney United Technologies, Lockheed Martin, and General Electric Aircraft Engines are investing in Poland’s aviation industry – a sector employing 16,000 skilled workers. There are discussions with Sikorsky and Boeing that we hope will add them to the list. ----Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe, September 13, 2005
There's more: Automotive, Environmental Technology etc. etc.
http://poland.usembassy.gov/poland/ashe_amcham.html
T2,
Just keep in mind that to Muck, Wallstreet is the economy. As long as he is making money, the economy is beautiful. Screw the rest the idiots that are just scraping by on flat wages.
Posted by Simp at May 4, 2007 09:45 AMwell the GOP is the party that brought us the Great Depression. Get ready for part II of that.
Hopefully, this reign of terror will be the end of the GOP at last
Posted by marblex at May 4, 2007 09:53 AMThe economy is growing below trend, because the Federal Reserve has interest rates too high. Barney Frank railed against Bernanke last time about this. In addition, consumers are sending more money to OPEC as they fuel their cars, and this creates a drag on the economy. Just check out the earnings on retail stocks. Except CROX. People want their shoes. Oh and buffalo wings. People love buffalo wings. Even with this all said, unemployment remains around 4.5%. The nation is at full employment, so I wouldn't expect to see large jobs numbers at this point.
Barry Ritholtz linked to a story about millionaires in the United States.
"Being a millionaire is becoming so ... common. The damn people are seemingly everywhere, as a new report from TNS points out. The number of U.S. millionaire (excluding primary residence) households is up 5% to 9.3m, which means, given 92m U.S. households, that one in 18 households meets the definition, or one every urban block or so."
It makes sense. 50% of people now own stocks. As you can imagine, folks who have been dollar-cost averaging into the stock market the past 20-30 years have been able to "get rich slowly." I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you too want to be one of the millionaire households, it's not that difficult to do. Save 10-15% of your income, invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks on a monthly basis, and watch what Warren Buffett called the 8th wonder of the world, the magic of compounding.
Posted by muckdog at May 4, 2007 10:10 AMDisappointing effort, muckrat.
Posted by God Of War at May 4, 2007 10:27 AM"In addition, consumers are sending more money to OPEC as they fuel their cars, and this creates a drag on the economy."
Those damn soccer moms. Cut those team sports out, don't take your children to the doctor unless they are dying, only shop when the pains of hunger get too great, and ride a bicycle to work. Oh, and take the money you save from those unnecessary trips and put it a diversified portfolio of stocks. Sheesh.
Posted by Judith at May 4, 2007 10:40 AM50% of people now own stocks.
The vast majority through retirement vehicles, like 401ks and 403bs. It's not like the majority of Americans are buying individual stocks and making it big - they're tied up in long term investment. This is great for Wall Street and public companies, but it's only a payoff if folks can actually retire one day.
Posted by ann at May 4, 2007 10:47 AMEven with this all said, unemployment remains around 4.5%.
Does anyone else get tired of this misleading statistic? Once again, if your unemployment benefits run out, or if you don't qualify for unemployment, you aren't counted as unemployed
Posted by ann at May 4, 2007 10:49 AMI'm with GOW on this here...funny from the same site that muck links to I see has this to say about the 88,000 job post number/
While Wall Street celebrates the upcoming recession, let me remind you that this economy requires about 150k new monthly jobs to merely keeep up with population growth.
Come on muck..I'd figured you'd be downright giddy and happy with glee from all the celebrating...is that rather gentlemen's C comment of yours really the best cheerleading you've got here? Or Maybe you're just hungover from all the upcoming recession festivities?
Posted by emal at May 4, 2007 11:08 AMBarry Ritholtz linked to a story about millionaires in the United States.
ROFLMAO!
The nouveau riche think a million means something in this day and age. It does not. How cute!
Posted by phidipides at May 4, 2007 11:09 AMEven with this all said, unemployment remains around 4.5%.
Does anyone else get tired of this misleading statistic? Once again, if your unemployment benefits run out, or if you don't qualify for unemployment, you aren't counted as unemployed
Yep.
Remember also that since St. Reagan's day, military personnel are counted in the workforce.
So what?
So if the unemployment rate is the number receiving unemployment benefits (which doesn't include those who've used 'em up) divided by the number of Americans working, then increasing the denominator (# working) decreases (understates) the reported unemployment rate.
Posted by bartcopfan at May 4, 2007 12:02 PMA lot of people seem to think things will just wind up naturally good for the U.S. From the Revolutionary War, to the War of 1812, to the Civil War, to the Great Depression, thru WWI and WWII, even the Civil Rights struggle, the Cold War, numerous recessions, etc., things just seemingly end up righting themselves, eventually, for the U.S.
But, the scary thing is, there is no guarantee of a good ending in real life.
All those other things this country has survived and end up triumphing over, we got lucky as much as skill or effort played a part.
Today, no one with half a brain would argue Bush comes anywhere close to an FDR or a Lincoln or George Washington, etc., indeed he scarcely belongs in the same sentence. And nobody with half a brain would tell you he is working with as much effort or as much skill as those great presidents did. Indeed, large problems in domestic and foreign policy, including problems in war and defense, are routinely ignored or excused as a matter of politics and incompetence over policy. How would WWII have gone if FDR hadn't fired something like 100 admirals and generals? How would the Civil War have gone if Lincoln didn't go through so many commanders as well? Would they have stuck with Rummy for SIX FREAKING YEARS?!? No, most assuredly, they would not have. The U.S. is paying the price for Bush's malfeasance now.
As in matters of war and foreign policy, so has gone the economy as well. Gross incompetence. Laziness. Gross negligence. The politics of the bribed and stupid are routinely the order of the day over any sound policy.
My point is, given that we as a country have come through with luck and effort before, do any of us really believe we have a shot of coming out on top when we are saddled with a president and administration that seem to seek out terribly bad luck and exert no effort?
World history is littered with the collapse of once great countries and empires. Yourselves and your children and their children may be doomed to be paupers and worse.
Posted by Brian Bell at May 4, 2007 12:39 PMWhy do you guys even bothter with the silly muck? With all the failure and incompetence, he is still voting to continue the Bush agenda in 2008.
Posted by Ga6thDem at May 4, 2007 01:04 PMBrian, I've been reflecting on this issue a lot lately. We will need someone like FDR (or better) to get us out of the shitstorm this buffon has created!
Only problem, I don't see anyone coming close.
Au contraire, the interest rate are low. the cpi is growing @ 4.7 per cent for the quarter that ended on March 31. The federal reserve is lending at 5.25 which means the real interest rate is .55%. Which means the Fed reserve is pumping a lot of $ in the market. for a neutral stand the discount rate should be 7.7.
This is worse thant the 1970's stagflation. During the 70's the savings rate was 7 % now is a negative .8 %
Some of the very same people did the statistics in the Clinton Admin...and things were so great then weren't they...some 22 million jobs created, are doing the job counting today. Yet THESE numbers are no good. Maybe those numbers were no good either. Those 22 million jobs were fictitous, just imaginary. I accepted the numbers then and I accept the numbers now. No difference.
BTW, my place of employment just had a record April. Blew it away. Held a function that 60% exceeded the very same event last year. Our profit sharing has happened the last three years after missing for the three years after September 11th. It's not just Wall Street, the place I work at depends upon many other companies having successful businesses. We're having a record year, yet you nay sayers always want to dwell in the negative. Is that all thats left for Democrats. Dwelling in the negative.
Posted by peter at May 4, 2007 07:52 PMSome of the very same people did the statistics in the Clinton Admin
One may think you forgot the shitty economy he inherited from Ray-gun and Bush-pater. Any growth after these two maroons was more than could have been expected. Besides, Clinton was the best republi-con you guys ever had. You are so fucking stupid you don't realize it.
BTW, my place of employment just had a record April.
Fast food always sets a pace. Cigarettes and illicit drugs are doing well, also. Always happens during the down times.
Posted by phidipides at May 4, 2007 10:42 PM