Arkansas Blog

Man, those green shoots are tasty.

Heard on the radio that the auto industry troubles account for a major portion of this. Sales were off one third from last year, related industries are suffering. In addition, people are being tighter with their money thus significantly reducing the public's spending into the economy.

How much worse would it have been without the stimulus (which is still ongoing and forthcoming in several areas)?

Does remind me of the Dandy Don recitation:

If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts
What a Merry Christmas we all would have.

Proves what Krugman has been saying all along: the stimulus package was too small.

All I've seen of the stimulus package is a couple of really nice signs on the highway explaining that a project was made possible by the stimulus package, but, I have yet to see the actual project.

Hey, where is the "Things are getting better" quote that always comes with this kind of news?

The "stimulus" was half tax cuts for those who needed it least.

Building a new green grid
Broadband - fiber-optic to every home in the country
Single payer health care

Those three things would be catching up or actually modernizing. A sound investment in the future, and actually stimulate while creating millions of jobs.

But, hey, the banksters are handing out the largest bonus's ever... fresh off the treasury printing press! Insurance and pharma are more likely to get a giant bailout this year, than we are to get health care, much less at rates 30 to 50 percent lower... down with the rest of the counties who do it better for less. And a trillion per year on defense and needless wars... we ought to at least get video of that money burning. And these same oligarchs are hell bent on privatizing Social Security... which will will certainly be met by Dems as something which deserves a bipartisan compromise.

The criminals are still in charge... and they don't just want your jewelry and television... they want your kidneys!

BHO said last Feb that he expects the unemployment rate to hit 10% this year. I expect it to go even lower like 12-15%.

Got rice? Beans? Peas?

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from-Real Time Economics

..........Broader Unemployment Rate Hit 16.5% in June

"As job losses accelerated in June, the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percentage point to 9.5%, the highest level since August 1983.

But another more comprehensive gauge of unemployment also continued to tick up. The government's broader measure, known as the "U-6″ for its data classification, hit 16.5% in June, 0.1 percentage point higher than March.

The comprehensive measure of labor underutilization accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can't find full-time jobs. The index had posted a 0.6 percentage point jump in May. The pace of increase has begun to mirror the rise in the headline rate after soaring at higher pace earlier this year, possibly signaling that more workers are starting to look for jobs again.

Though the pace may be moderating, the figure still is the highest since the Labor Department started this particular data series in 1994. It's also above a discontinued and even broader measure that hit 15% in late 1982, when the official unemployment rate was 10.8%. (That data series goes back to the 1970s.)"

So, conservatives should be happy. We now have high unemployment and high deficits, just like
1982-1987 under your hero, Reagan.

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From some of what I've read, the unemployment rate is actually already in the 12-15% range. The 'official' number is based on those who have recently filed for or who are currently collecting unemployment benefits. It does not take into account those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits but have not yet found a job, or those who have just given up looking.
Three in my little family have been laid off since the first of the year. First it was the hubs in January. He was fortunately in the right place at the right time to start his own business and team with some people who really needed his services. Two of the kids, however, are still looking and prospects are slim to none. One has a family to support and the other was barely making ends meet as it was, so has no cushion at all.
And then there's me. I've been self employed for 30 years and done quite well. Some years better than others. But my business is directly related to the housing and real estate market, and when times get tough, my speciality work is the first to get cut from the budget. In the last year I've had only three jobs come in, and I'd be embarrassed to tell you how little I've made from them.
My daughter-in-law is fairly safe in her employment, but then that's what I would've said about all the others this time last year.

Oops. Link for REAL TIME ECONOMICS on blue name.

>>The "stimulus" was half tax cuts for those who needed it least.<<
by ES.

That was to get the dinosaur Republicons behind the measure so it would pass.
The dinosaurs also includes bizzaro Blanche and DINO Mark Pryor.

Back when I was a conservative I predicted that unemployment would hit 9 or 10% due to the stimulus (called it porkulous bill) and that the liberals would say "boy, just think what it would have been had the stimulous bill had not passsed."

Now that I am a liberal POS, I think that the unemployment rate will probably hit 12 or 13%, and it is all George Bush's fault. THis and the news that job losses were 425,000 in June...bringing the grand total since the immaulation day, to over 2 million (all in less than 6 months).

Let's use these figures to bury the Republicans so that they will have no chance to ever have a majority in Congress again, or have access to the White House. eLwood is right. Regan created the same problems back in the 80's with his high greed and basic stupidity on the Economy. We really didn't see the economic growth that the figures showed from the 80's, it was all lies and more lies.

signed...

Catfish,
The Liberal POS