From another website I read:
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America .
ABBOTT: Good subject. Terrible times. It’s about 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 16% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 9%…
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 16%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: But … they are out of work!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work, can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work… Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how you get to 9%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don’t want to read about 16% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they’re two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said! And now you know why Obama’s unemployment figures are improving!
Today the Bureau Of Labor Statistics announced that 243,000 jobs were created in January and the unemployment rate dropped from 8.6 to 8.3%. But lets take a look under the hood of the most fudged economic report in existence. The unemployment rate dropped because the BS oops, the BLS stated that a whooping 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force because they became “discouraged” workers and stopped looking for a job. By election day the unemployment rate should be comfortably below 7% as another 4 million workers will become “discouraged”. Of course, the Administration is out there touting how the President’s policies are helping to improve employment in America. George Orwell would be proud.-Lou
A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that’s not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement.
Great news from today’s BLS report, right (when one excludes that record 1.2 million explosion in people out of the labor force of course)? Wrong. As is well known banks have been firing workers left and right: these are the jobs that actually matter in the grand withholding taxes scheme of things. Yet someone is getting hired supposedly. Well, as we suggested before the NFP report, this is merely rotation from high paying jobs to “low-wage jobs.” And no, it’s not our words – this is what CRT Capital says. Per Bloomberg: About 113k of NFP gain from “low wage jobs,” David Ader, strategist at CRT Capital Group, writes in note. Additionally, “we didn’t see the drop in courier and messengers as expected – but suspect we will.” Moreover, ‘‘long-term stress remains at the U6 measure at 15.1% is still high, but likely falling due to people leaving labor force, and duration on unemployment remains over 40 weeks.” But yes, it is an election year, so by November expect the labor participation rate to be under 60% and the unemployment rate to drop to under 6%, or some other propaganda BS.
Gerald Celente talks about presstitutes and the latest on MF Global’s looting of billions of dollars on The Alex Jones Show. Worth your time to watch all four segments.-Lou
Part 1
Part2
Part 3
Part 4
In other words, even though he has lowered interest rates to zero (and will keep them there until at least late 2014), printed trillions of dollars to bail out banks worldwide and is monetizing U.S. debt, the economy here and abroad still stinks and is danger of falling back into recession.-Lou
From: Business Insider
Bernanke Testifies That The Recovery Has Been ‘Frustratingly Slow’ And The Recovery Remains Vulnerable
Chairman Ben Bernanke is delivering a testimony to the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives right now.
His speech is titled, “The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation.”
Some main points from his prepared remarks:
- The sluggish recovery has been “frustratingly slow,” leaving the economy vulnerable to shocks.
- Household spending is a driver of growth, but households still face “significant headwinds.”
- The economy is improving but there are significant policy risks ahead.
- The slowing pace of business investment reflects “concerns about both the domestic outlook and developments in Europe.”
- Global stresses are primarily stemming from Europe, and the Fed will “continue to monitor the situation closely and take every available step to protect the U.S. financial system and the economy.”
Chairman Ryan, Vice Chairman Garrett, Ranking Member Van Hollen, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss my views on the economic outlook, monetary policy, and the challenges facing federal fiscal policymakers.
The Economic Outlook
Over the past two and a half years, the U.S. economy has been gradually recovering from the recent deep recession. While conditions have certainly improved over this period, the pace of the recovery has been frustratingly slow, particularly from the perspective of the millions of workers who remain unemployed or underemployed. Moreover, the sluggish expansion has left the economy vulnerable to shocks. Indeed, last year, supply chain disruptions stemming from the earthquake in Japan, a surge in the prices of oil and other commodities, and spillovers from the European debt crisis risked derailing the recovery. Fortunately, over the past few months, indicators of spending, production, and job market activity have shown some signs of improvement; and, in economic projections just released, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants indicated that they expect somewhat stronger growth this year than in 2011. The outlook remains uncertain, however, and close monitoring of economic developments will remain necessary.
More government meddling in the free market. Why would banks want to refi mortgages on homes that have negative equity? How would this affect holders of exisiting mortgage backed securities? This is an election year scheme that would cost taxpayers billions when homeowners walk away from these new refied mortgages.-Lou
Obama pressures Congress to take up refinancing proposal
Sketches out his plan
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Congress to act on his plan to give homeowners a chance to refinance at historically low interest rates and released details of his proposal.
Obama rejected arguments that only time would heal the housing market. Data released Tuesday showed house prices have dropped by nearly a third from their peak. See story on house prices.
“It is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom,” Obama said in a speech in a Washington, D.C., suburb.
Some Americans with good credit and clean payment histories are rejected for refinancing because their mortgages are bigger than the current prices of their homes, a term called being “under water.” Obama said more than 10 million homeowners have underwater mortgages.
Last week in his State of the Union address to the nation and members of Congress, Obama said the new refinance program would result in “no more red tape, no more runaround from the banks.” Read ‘Obama calls for economy built to last”
Almost as soon as Obama finished his speech to Congress last week, analysts expressed scepticism that the plan could pass Congress. Read ‘Obama refi plan has bumpy road ahead’
The White House has already set up a plan, called the Home Affordable Refinance Program, to help borrowers refinance whose loans are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But so far, the programs “have not worked on the scale we had hoped — not as many people have taken advantage of it as we wanted,” Obama said.
Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist with BNP Paribas, said Obama’s plan “would potentially have a significant impact” and estimated that more than 1 million homeowners would be eligible.
But Shulyatyeva said, “Overall we think it is not a game-changer” because Republicans in Congress are unlikely to go along with it.
Rep. Scott Garrett, a Republican from New Jersey who is chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, rejected Obama’s proposal as government intrusion in markets.
“Until the president gives up his crusade to increase the government’s interference in the housing market, home foreclosures will continue to rise, our economy will falter and every American’s share of the national debt will continue to grow,” Garrett said.
Obama said the new plan is not designed to help irresponsible borrowers or speculators.
The new program would focus on borrowers whose loans are not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and operate through the Federal Housing.
But the government says there is no inflation. “Let them eat chicken!” says Michelle Obama-Lou
Soaring Beef Prices Force Shoppers To Find Other Foods
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- At Cappuccio’s Meats in the Italian Market, the cuts of beef are cutting into the profits.
“Every week when I talk to my suppliers, I’m amazed by how much it’s going up,” said owner Domenick Crimi.
Beef prices soared more than 10 percent last year according to the Department of Agriculture, and they will likely go up at least another 5 percent this year.
“It bumps up a bit, comes down a tiny bit, then it bounces again, and when it bounces, it goes up another dime, 15, 20 cents,” said Crimi, “and sometimes that’s in a week.”
A drought across Texas and Oklahoma has made food and water scarce for cattle, which has kept herds small. The Department of Agriculture says there are 91 million cattle nationally, the smallest herd since 1952. Add to that the rising cost of feed and rising beef exports, and the price of beef in the states is surging.
“Your customers get tired of hearing every week that it’s going up,” said Andrew Hurford, manager of Kissin Fresh Meats. “Sooner or later, they’re going to reach a tolerance ceiling and they’re going to say maybe it’s not worth it anymore.”
The meat locker at Kissin used to be filled with fresh beef hanging from rails. But now it is only half full, since they have replaced beef with pre-packaged goods like eggs and cole slaw, leaving them something else to sell when customers stop purchasing as much beef.
“We do a lot of fish now and chicken,” said Johanna Butler, visiting the Italian Market from Swedesboro, NJ. “I mean, beef indeed is very expensive, so I’ve made some changes.”
For many shoppers tired of high beef prices, the question is no longer where’s the beef, but how much is it going to cost?
February 1st is the official start of income tax season and for the first time I am offering tax preparation services to readers of this blog. I have been preparing taxes for over 25 years and this year I am taking on a limited number of new tax clients.
If you are not a resident of the Jersey Shore, no problem, taxes can be done through the mail. Simply mail me your 1099′s W-2s and all other pertainant tax information and I will prepare your taxes and mail them back to you U.S. Postage Express Mail.
Want to find out more? Call my assistant Evelyn at 800-732-5250 to discuss our services and procedures. I can only take a limited number of new clients so call as soon as possible.
Welcome To New Readers
Over the past few weeks the number of visitors to this website has grown dramatically and I am thankful for that. My goal here is to inform you about the financial issues that will have a great impact on you and your family. I spend a good portion of my day researching all things financial. The topics I believe you should know about are posted here with my comment and opinion.
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I produced a reality TV Pilot a few years back, watch the full version here. Make sure you have a tissue handy, it get’s quite emotional. Juliet passed away 12 months after we shot the program. We are still pitching the program to major TV channels.
Here is the 3 minute trailer:
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Welcome aboard, I hope you find this website informative and entertaining.
Lou
Listen to this week’s “The Financial Physician” radio shows on both WOBM AM 1160 in New Jersey and the national program on XM Talk 168.-Lou
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