Positive Jobs Report Doesn't Ease Worries of a 'Double Dip'

CNBC ^ | March 5, 2010 | Jeff Cox

[ricks_place]

Friday's better-than-expected jobs report, while cheering stock investors, hasn't taken the threat of a double-dip recession off the table.

What's Next?

Even as the jobless rate held steady at 9.7 percent and the 36,000 workers laid off in February was much less than expected, economists and investment analysts said it's still too early to discount the economy's chances of revisiting recession.

"Eight months into the much-touted recovery, the economy should be adding jobs not just losing jobs at a slower pace," University of Maryland economist Peter Morici wrote in an analysis.

"No study of economic history could yield a conclusion other than that the US economy (walks) along the precipice of a double dip recession."

..."It's going to feel like a very severe recession once again," Pento said. "There's going to be very little job growth and it's going to feel like the new normal."

[ricks_place]

Positive Jobs Report when 36,000 lose their jobs?

[Riley]

Imagine if Omar Bradley had said, "We had a good week. We only lost 15 miles and 560 men."

Ike would've fired him.

[jeffc]

Positive Jobs Report when 36,000 lose their jobs?

It's called spin, but only when conservatives do it. LOL!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I came down with pancreatic cancer, but I expected bubonic plague. Good week.

[vpintheak]

That’s what I was thinking! Only in a sick twisted world can saying something like that be called positive.

[pnh102]

LOL. A positive jobs report? What year is this, 2008?

[A message]

Even as the jobless rate held steady at 9.7 percent and the 36,000 workers laid off in February was much less than expected, economists and investment analysts said it's still too early to discount the economy's chances of revisiting recession.

Chances of revisiting? Hey morons -36k MORE jobs lost in Feb., we are still visiting hotel 0bama recession.

[RayChuang88]

In the end, we're NOT going to solve our economic ills when we have an income tax system that:

1) Costs nearly US$500 BILLION per year in compliance costs.
2) Actually discourages personal savings and investments since the income from these sources are subject to income tax.
3) Creates an illegal cash-only underground economy that's grown in size to around US$2 TRILLION in size, all in order to avoid income taxes.
4) Causes American citizens and companies to funnel using tax loopholes around US$13 TRILLION in liquid assets out of the country to offshore financial centers around the world, just to keep these assets beyond the reach of the IRS.
5) Causes American businesses to outsource both white and blue collar jobs for income tax reduction reasons.

This is why I am a huge proponent of FairTax, since it has these positive economic effects:

1) Reduces tax compliance costs to a tiny fraction of the current cost. Imagine having US$400 billion per year back in the pockets of American citizens and businesses.
2) Encourages Americans to keep their personal savings and investments in the USA.
3) Ends the underground economy since there is no more incentive to do so, bringing back around US$2 TRILLION back to the US financial system.
4) Ends the practice of offshoring liquid assets since we no longer tax the process of earning money. Most of that US$13 TRILLION now sitting offshore returns to the USA, in effect the world's largest "private bailout."
5) Encourage American businesses to keep as many jobs in the USA as possible.

Under FairTax, we would create an economic boom on a scale that would make the boom of the 1980's seem like a minor event, especially when foreign companies realize they can expand operations in the USA in what amounts to the world's largest legal income tax haven.

[Zeddicus]

This is like saying to a patient who has already lost 4 pints of blood, “Good news! You only lost one more pint this past hour!”

[ricks_place]

Good news. Only lost one more pint of blood... cause you don’t have no more!