Unemployment at 7.6%

[Saltie]

On its face value that sounds great doesn't it? After 5 years in office with jobs as his number one priority, the president and his administration have gotten the unemployment rate down to 7.6%, but what's the reality?  Since President Barack Obama was first inaugurated in January 2009, 9,460,000 people have dropped out of the labor force. A record 89,967,000 Americans were not in the labor force in March, that is an increase of 663,000 from the 89,304,000 Americans who were not in the labor force in February.

The main stream media, which is a wing of the Democrat re-election team, will spin the numbers that isn't it great that we added 88,000 new jobs in March. We added 88,000 and just last week lost 380,000 jobs. How is this an improvement.

What's causing the continued bad employment numbers? What has changed? OBAMACARE. Small business is being forced to reduce employment hours or simply lay off employees because all the regulations make it very hard for them to stay in business.

Imagine where we could be if we elected a businessman? This is only going to get worse, but you won't be told that anywhere on the MSM.

 

 

[P.A.]

Of course no jobs is what the republicans are working for. With them trying very hard to keep the numbers as high as possible I think he has done an amazing job.

[Saltie]

How can any of this be blamed on Republicans? Obama passed Obamacare and its 16,000 pages of regulations. He let the payroll tax cuts expire after promising no new taxes on the middle class. What has he proposed that is new that the Republicans blocked? How has he done an amazing job when you look at the numbers?

[P.A.]

The answer to that is very simple. Their policies created the recession and when they lost the election in '08 they made it their business to see that Obama failed. Their just say no policies are to blame for the slow recovery. You republicans are not worried about the country but just your crazy beliefs about the economy and social issues.
The affordable care act has not even gone into effect yet. If republicans would have worked with the president we could of had something better but NO they just complained and obstructed.

[Saltie]

The Democrats controlled everything for 2 years. With all due respect, put down the kool aid and do some reading.

[exedir]

It's complicated.  And yes, it is political and explained by the media.  But what this is, is the economy, stupid.

What we have here is slow growth, and in fact, no growth.  Almost everything in the economic tool box has been used to move the economy forward, and it is not happening.  Beyond the Fed providing free money in support of credit, nothing much is happening, happening by business to expand and create new jobs.  In the meantime government has not been able to sustain employment because of reduced revenue and limits to access of more debt.  

What is difficult is to see is what is behind the numbers.  The Unemployment Rate is a flawed number but is usually taken as the headline number to use as the temperature of the health of the economy by the media.  What is more important is more complicated, very complicated as to the structure and compensation of employment across wide sectors of the economy.  Jobs, are jobs, that is true, but the type, geography, level and compensation is not the same as just a count of the number of jobs done in the economy, that changes dramatically as the economy changes and the demand for labor changes.

What we are in, is a period of transition from what the labor market was to what the labor market is and will be in the future, and it isn't you father's labor market or even the Baby Boom labor market anymore.  To sustain production and manufacture, to provide services and do what has to be done takes fewer people because of mechanization, computers and more efficient ways of doing business.  Blame it on Al Gore for inventing the Internet?  Sure, why not.  As to need of Luddites and unions, not going to happen because companies can do business anywhere in the world and still sell in domestic markets.  And no, companies do not have to pay American wages and benefits or pay for healthcare, if you move what you do to some place else

[Saltie]

For the most part you are correct exedir. It is also the strain that is being put on business which is a big part of the problem. One of the biggest problems is that the left is being led to believe that it's so hard and how could it possibly be the fault of the current administration. They forget that for the first two years the Democrats controlled the hose, the senate, and the presidency yet they still find it easier to fall back on the idea that it's the Republicans fault.

Business is not in business to hire people as Democrats believe but to make profit. If they don't make a profit thay can't hire or stay in business. The harder you make it forr them to earn a profit through either over regulating or forcing them to pay for everyone's health care.

The bottom line is that the simplistic approach is like that of P A and believe all the bunk they're being fed, or actually looking at the numbers and causes. Cause and effect.

 

[P.A.]

BS, and do not call me simplistic. On a bad day I am twice as complicated as you who gobble up the right wing talking points and take them as proven facts when they are just the opposite of facts.

[Saltie]

I did not call you simplistic. I said that your reply was a simplistic approach to a complex issue.

[P.A.]

And your approach is not even in the logical universe! The problem is not nearly as complex as you make it out to be if you side would even consider serious talk and reasonable compromise.

[ProblemAgain]

ohhh yeah, it's all someone else's fault they aren't making money....when was the last time you quit or were fired and walked away with a hefty check for being a fuckup? but somehow everything is the government's fault....

JC Penney's CEO steps down

Ron Johnson was widely criticized for forcing too may ill-conceived changes on customers. Now, his predecessor is coming back to calm the waters.

By Kim Peterson 16 minutes ago

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The train wreck that was Ron Johnson's tenure at J.C. Penney (JCP +2.72%) is over.

Johnson has stepped down from the top spot nearly 18 months after charging in with big plans to overhaul the retailer and its long-established business model.

His predecessor, Myron Ullman, is returning to lead the company. Investors initially applauded the move, sending shares up more than 12% in after-hours trading Monday. Later in the evening, shares fell back to a 7% loss.

Johnson's resignation brings to an end one of the more extraordinary business upheavals in recent memory. He made a name for himself leading the retail efforts of Apple (AAPL +0.71%) and also held a top management position at Target (TGT +0.60%). He was envisioned as a savior of sorts, and promised to return Penney to profit and make it a fashionable and exciting place to shop.

Johnson tried nixing sale events in favor of everyday low prices, and almost immediately found resistance from shoppers accustomed to Penney's couponing and discounting culture. He boldly revised the company's advertising, eschewing value propositions in favor of sparsely elegant and stylish displays that confused customers because they didn't display prices.

Investors watched in horror as Penney's stock price plummeted more than 50%.

Penney's board grew restless and perhaps rebellious at the end, cutting Johnson's 2012 pay by some 97% in a display of dissatisfaction. His cash salary was the same, but the cuts came from stock awards and bonuses. Johnson's final weeks as CEO were also marred by a costly legal battle with Macy's (M +1.38%) over who had the right to sell Martha Stewart-branded products.

Johnson will likely take a hefty paycheck with him. Recent regulatory filings show that he was guaranteed a $150 million payout if he resigned or was fired, Business Insider reports.

[exedir]

As a mass retailer, Penny's is in a death spiral which will leave little but empty real estate.  The nature of general merchandise retailing is changing and has changed leaving few left standing particularly at the "moderate" price level Penny's serves.  

And no, it is not just a rearranging of the the deck chairs, it is the economy stupid, and the lost of retail shopping in department stores such as Penny's and will soon join Montgomery Ward in the hall of shame as to trying to continue the last century's business model.  

[ProblemAgain]

does it dawn on anyone that the very ones complaining that obama is not doing enough and has not done enough to reduce  the unemployment rate are also the ones who are saying out of the other side of their mouth that government should play no part in stimulating employment?..very similar to the whining about green industries and solyandra etc while conveniently ignoring such things as the chinese government subsidizing the solar and green industry fields in china to the point that CHINESE companies went bankrupt....and conveniently ignoring the payouts to oil companies etc without terming it welfare for the corporations...seems logic and coherent thought  aren't part of that game plan...oh and sarah sarah sarah....good to see you back....and of course don't let facts or logic deter you in your accusations....must have taken a brushup course thru the michelle bachman demented universe program...

Sarah Palin in Tesla 'loser' dustup

The former governor of Alaska says the automaker benefits from wasted taxpayer money.

By Kim Peterson Tue 2:38 PM

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Sarah Palin is calling Tesla Motors (TSLA +2.87%) a loser, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk doesn't like it much.

The former governor of Alaska took to Facebook (FB +1.76%) to vent about electric car maker Fisker Automotive, which is firing 75% of its employees after failing to seal a funding deal.

Fisker got the green light for $529 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. government and drew down $193 million from that pot before officials blocked access to the remaining amount in 2011.

Palin said that Fisker "joins other past losers" like General Motors' (GM +3.14%) Chevrolet Volt, which gets 40 miles per battery charge, and Tesla, which turns into a "brick" when the battery completely discharges and requires a $40,000 repair bill.

Here's a little more from Palin:

This is really just the latest manifestation of the administration's crony capitalism as their green energy buddies benefit from this atrocious waste of taxpayer money. Americans really need to get outraged by these wasteful ventures. As we’ve seen time and time again, We the People are always stuck subsidizing the left's "losers."

You can read her Facebook post here.

In 2010, Tesla received $465 million in loans from the Department of Energy. The company was supposed to pay the loans back over 10 years, but announced last month that it's repaying the money on an accelerated schedule and will finish payments five years ahead of schedule.

Musk responded to Palin's words with a bit of sarcasm. "Sarah Palin calls Tesla a loser," he wrote on Twitter. "Am deeply wounded." He added that the warranty for Tesla's Model S sedan does cover "bricking."