Comments on: U.S. Unexpectedly Loses Jobs In February http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/ An Internet hub for moderates, centrists, and independents, with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, and right Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:29:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: DLS http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-143705 DLS Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:19:05 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-143705 A recession may or may not be happening but there are some job cuts and many people believe there is a recession. (We've seen silly "Depression" references already by the Chicken Littles and Bush- or GOP-bashers, just like we heard ashen talk in Reagan's first years and in 1991-2.)<br><br>I'm actually interested to see how things go. Home prices still are far, far, far too high and need to fall greatly, to reasonable levels so they are affordable rather than the bubble the housing market was with ridiculous prices. Along with the bursting of a housing bubble we are seeing the after-effects of mishandled money by so many participants in the bubble, and to the extent that spending in our economy was driven by foolish borrowing related to equity in overpriced homes financed haphazardly, we may see worse to come. (Governments should not be intervening in the current wave of foreclosures and mortage interest rate revisions upward. We should not be creating moral hazards, and behaving in morally defective ways, which would include bailouts and foreclosure and interest and even principal payment freezes without compensation to the lenders, just to buy the votes of many voters whose souls as well as voters are offered for sale. I also don't like to see any dumping of cheap money into the market and into society.)<br><br>If there is a recession I am wondering if we'll continue to see inflation -- do Dems really want to be in the White House and experience the Seventies once more, especially if they seek things that would make things worse like higher taxes? So far we have not seen threats of the opposite even with reduced consumer spending, namely a tendency toward depression and a liquidity trap as people feel the need for more spending reductions. I haven't been expecting this to happen, but it's possible here just as it was hardly "impossible" in Japan, and certainly it's of interest as an alternative scenario we have yet to experience but someday might.<br><br>Given inflation that we're currently experiencing, prices are uncertain, so it is not often possible to know for certain what the price of certain things like gasoline costs today. (Here in Iowa it's changing frequently. Oh, and we're getting winter weather, still, subzero tonight predicted, and heating bills aren't going down any time soon.) A recession may or may not be happening but there are some job cuts and many people believe there is a recession. (We've seen silly “Depression” references already by the Chicken Littles and Bush- or GOP-bashers, just like we heard ashen talk in Reagan's first years and in 1991-2.)

I'm actually interested to see how things go. Home prices still are far, far, far too high and need to fall greatly, to reasonable levels so they are affordable rather than the bubble the housing market was with ridiculous prices. Along with the bursting of a housing bubble we are seeing the after-effects of mishandled money by so many participants in the bubble, and to the extent that spending in our economy was driven by foolish borrowing related to equity in overpriced homes financed haphazardly, we may see worse to come. (Governments should not be intervening in the current wave of foreclosures and mortage interest rate revisions upward. We should not be creating moral hazards, and behaving in morally defective ways, which would include bailouts and foreclosure and interest and even principal payment freezes without compensation to the lenders, just to buy the votes of many voters whose souls as well as voters are offered for sale. I also don't like to see any dumping of cheap money into the market and into society.)

If there is a recession I am wondering if we'll continue to see inflation — do Dems really want to be in the White House and experience the Seventies once more, especially if they seek things that would make things worse like higher taxes? So far we have not seen threats of the opposite even with reduced consumer spending, namely a tendency toward depression and a liquidity trap as people feel the need for more spending reductions. I haven't been expecting this to happen, but it's possible here just as it was hardly “impossible” in Japan, and certainly it's of interest as an alternative scenario we have yet to experience but someday might.

Given inflation that we're currently experiencing, prices are uncertain, so it is not often possible to know for certain what the price of certain things like gasoline costs today. (Here in Iowa it's changing frequently. Oh, and we're getting winter weather, still, subzero tonight predicted, and heating bills aren't going down any time soon.)

]]> By: Slamfu http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-143704 Slamfu Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:13:15 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-143704 There simply have to be more reports whose numbers the administration can fudge to prove that we aren't in a recession? I mean c'mon, the rich have more money now how can things be bad for the country?<br><br>Oh and for the record I hate that bread and milk anecdote. I've been living paycheck to paycheck for years and I don't know what they cost exactly. I can tell you that ground turkey is $3.99 for 1.25lbs and that a can of decent soup for under $2 is a deal. There simply have to be more reports whose numbers the administration can fudge to prove that we aren't in a recession? I mean c'mon, the rich have more money now how can things be bad for the country?

Oh and for the record I hate that bread and milk anecdote. I've been living paycheck to paycheck for years and I don't know what they cost exactly. I can tell you that ground turkey is $3.99 for 1.25lbs and that a can of decent soup for under $2 is a deal.

]]> By: DLS http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-143703 DLS Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:49:51 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-143703 "[H]e doesn't have a clue."<br><br>"Just as his father didn't."<br><br>It's unfair, but I have already said months earlier that "Like father, like son" is a psychological warfare tactic that is available to the Dems. “[H]e doesn't have a clue.”

“Just as his father didn't.”

It's unfair, but I have already said months earlier that “Like father, like son” is a psychological warfare tactic that is available to the Dems.

]]> By: kritt11 http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-143702 kritt11 Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:41:47 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-143702 Just as his father didn't. I remember the 1992 debate where he had no idea what a loaf of bread or gallon of milk cost. Those concerns are only for the "little people". The "haves" and "have mores" that put the son in office are probably riding high despite the economic woes of everyone else. Even when the economy was strong, the middle and working class didn't feel it. Just as his father didn't. I remember the 1992 debate where he had no idea what a loaf of bread or gallon of milk cost. Those concerns are only for the “little people”. The “haves” and “have mores” that put the son in office are probably riding high despite the economic woes of everyone else. Even when the economy was strong, the middle and working class didn't feel it.

]]> By: Kathryn http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-143701 Kathryn Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:13:38 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-143701 Bush says that the question is "how do you deal with the down-cycle"? It's pretty obvious he doesn't have a clue. Bush says that the question is “how do you deal with the down-cycle”? It's pretty obvious he doesn't have a clue.

]]> By: U.S. Unexpectedly Loses Jobs In February · One Looking http://themoderatevoice.com/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/comment-page-1/#comment-111088 U.S. Unexpectedly Loses Jobs In February · One Looking Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:32:30 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/george-bush/18257/us-unexpectedly-loses-jobs-in-february/#comment-111088 [...] American Street wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt More signs that the economy is worsening and that despite President George Bush’s insisting that it just ain’t so, the U.S. is in a recession: The U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs in February for the second consecutive month, adding to evidence the economy is in a recession. Payrolls fell by 63,000, the most in five years, after a revised decline of 22,000 in January, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate dropped to 4.8 percent, reflecting a shrinking labor force as some [...] [...] American Street wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt More signs that the economy is worsening and that despite President George Bush’s insisting that it just ain’t so, the U.S. is in a recession: The U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs in February for the second consecutive month, adding to evidence the economy is in a recession. Payrolls fell by 63,000, the most in five years, after a revised decline of 22,000 in January, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate dropped to 4.8 percent, reflecting a shrinking labor force as some [...]

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