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This morning I'm watching Bloomberg news, and they just started the hour with a quick discussion of unemployment, in anticipation of the week's statistics. I am left distinctly unenthused by the nature of that "discussion". Nobody is talking about unemployment, as a lack of jobs. We have as a country, one big problem. We have sent millions of AMERICAN JOBS to other countries. Many to the Peoples Republic of China. Our solution is so simple. America needs to bring back American jobs. Nobody is willing to say that. We continue as a nation to run a 30 billion trade deficit...

The U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September as labor markets rediscovered the momentum gained earlier this year. The headline unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to 5.9% from 6.1% The better-than-expected figures are certain to rekindle the debate over the timing and trajectory of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, as the positive report will have many economists looking for rates to move higher sooner rather than later. In August the economy generated just 142,000 new jobs, well below expectations on weakness in major sectors including manufacturing, retail and transportation. That number was revised upward to 180,000 on Friday, according...

The U.S. unemployment rate is below 6% for the first time in more than six years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning, Oct. 3, that the economy added 248,000 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.9% from 6.1% in August. The unemployment rate hadn’t been below the 6% mark since July 2008, according to BLS historical data. Employment increased most strongly in professional and business services, retail trade and health care, the government said. The government said the number of people unemployed in September declined by 329,000 to 9.3 million. During the last year,...

While many will be giddy because the BLS reported that job creation came in at 248,000, well above analysts expectations-- and because unemployment ticked down to 5.9 percent-- make no mistake: this is still a bad job market.ThatÂ’s because another 315,000 people left the labor force last month. When adding in the numbers of people who entered the civilian population (217,000) job creation is hardly keeping up with population growth.The job gains, in fact, are not much better than in previous years. When one accounts for part-time work, discouraged workers and those who have dropped out of the labor force...

Initial Reaction The payroll survey shows a net gain of 248,000 jobs vs. an expectation of 215,000 jobs. Last month was revised up by 69,000 to 180,000. The six-month string of plus 200,000 jobs remains broken. Last month the household survey had a gain in employment of only 16,000. That number was not revised up. This month the household survey shows a respectable gain of 232,000, pretty much in line with the establishment survey. Nonetheless the household survey over the past six months has been much weaker than the establishment survey. One or the other is apt for some serious...

Northeast States: For an area that used to be a political powerhouse, it is becoming increasingly marginalized due to excessive taxes and the ensuing population shift I have written on this subject before, and now the affects of high taxes and population migration are playing out in a substantial, political way: the decline of about 40% of Congressional seats in the Northeast. According to the Census Bureau, high taxpayers are moving south. It notes that in the 11 states that comprise the Northeast, population grew at a rate of only 15% over the thirty year span from 1983-2013, while the...

Not so long ago the federal deficit was projected to destroy the country, our children’s future and just about everything else. Budget battles shut down the entire government for a couple weeks. How times change. A count by our colleague Alice Crites illustrates how the issue gained media traction – - especially after the Bush/Obama stimulus packages to mitigate Bush’s Great Recession – and how much it’s faded from the front pages. So what happened? Simple answer, of course, is that the deficit is way down and, for now, no longer a big problem.

(CNSNews.com) – Author and retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson said at a National Press Club luncheon that the reason for the “sluggish growth” of the U.S. economy is because of bad policy. “And why do we have such sluggish growth?” Carson said on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. “Because we have asinine economic policies.” Carson, who gained a following after remarks he made about the “moral decline” of the nation in a speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, told an appreciative audience that they should think about that fact concerning the economy.

Memorial Day weekend drivers will continue to take a hit as gasoline prices remain high. May 20 marks the 1,245th straight day that the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline costs more than $3 a gallon, according to AAA data. That’s nearly three-and-a-half years above $3 a gallon.

A record 92,594,000 Americans were not in the labor force in April as the labor force participation rate matched a 36-year low of 62.8 percent, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In March, according to BLS's non-seasonally adjusted data, there were 91,630,000 Americans not in the labor force. In April, that increased by 964,000 people to an all-time record of 92,594,000. The previous record was 92,534,000, set in January of this year. The BLS's seasonally-adjusted number for people not in the labor force--which was 92,018,00 for April--was also an all-time record. This was up 988,000...

The U.S. economy stalled in the first three months of 2014, but don't panic yet as it's probably just the winter weather effect. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, grew at a 0.1% annual pace in the first quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. That's brutally slow, even by sluggish post-recession standards. Since the Great Recession ended in June 2009, the economy has been growing at a rate of about 2% to 3% per year.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH:  One-tenth of 1%.  One-tenth of 1%!  Let me say it again.  One-tenth of 1%.  That's first quarter economic growth, and the Regime is blaming the cold weather.  I thought it was supposed to be global warming.  That was the reason for the cold weather.  Now the cold weather, which, because of global warming, is what the Regime is using to explain economic growth.  One-tenth of 1%.  Ladies and gentlemen, the ChiComs have overtaken us.  The ChiComs are the world's biggest economy, a communist country.  I warned everybody about this March the 4th of last year, this McKinsey...

Washington - Drivers on the nation’s Interstates could soon be paying more to travel. A transportation proposal sent to Congress by the Obama administration on Tuesday would remove a prohibition on tolls for existing Interstate highways, clearing the way for states to raise revenue on roads that drivers currently use at no cost. Congress banned tolls on Interstates in 1956 when it created the national highway system under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The administration said lifting the toll ban would help address a shortfall in funding to pay for highway repairs. The tolls, along with other changes, could provide an

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, now speaking to the NRA Annual Meeting’s Leadership Forum, held at the Lucas Oil Stadium: “One hundred million gun owners will not back down, not now, not ever. Freedom has never needed our defense more than now.” “The core values that we believe in the things we care about most are changing and eroding: our right to speak, our right to gather, our right to work, our right to practice our religion and raise our family and protect them they see fit. Those aren’t old values or new values. They are core...

As a thank you for paying taxes today, the White House has written up a “2013 Federal Taxpayer Receipt” that shows most income tax, 25.19 percent, goes to health related areas, after accounting for Medicare and Social Security. “Want to know how your federal taxes are spent? President Obama is keeping his promise to make sure Americans like you can easily see what you're getting for your taxes,” said an email from the White House. The email notes that payroll taxes for Social Security tops Uncle Sam's take. They also break out Medicare separately from income tax expenditures. Users can...

Obamacare is hurting people. A lot of people -- and not just the ones who are wasting all day trying and failing to sign up for the dysfunctional 600 million dollar website. Millions of Americans are losing their insurance, losing their doctors, and taking huge hits to their wallets because of Obamacare. Here are some of their stories... 1) Man with leukemia loses his health insurance: Michael Cerpok is a high school drop-out, one of six kids born to a school teacher, and doesn't come from a wealthy family. He has run two businesses for more than 25 years and...

WASHINGTON – Those tax-free spending accounts that you and your co-workers use to help pay for dental work, insurance copayments or over-the-counter drugs face a hit under the health overhaul bills in Congress — unless a coalition that includes a powerful union, insurers and others can stop it. Bills in the House and Senate would cap at $2,500 an employee's allowable annual contribution to a health care flexible spending account. There is no federal cap on contributions now, though companies that offer the accounts — more than 80 percent of companies employing 500 or more workers do — typically impose...

In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year. Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS. The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for family of five will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan. “The annual national...

Breaking Bad is the story of a seemingly well-intended but very misguided man who turned to cooking meth in order to amass enough wealth to provide for his family once he dies of cancer. The consequences of that unfortunate decision—not to mention the lies and deceptions to keep it on track—pyramid alarmingly over the course of five seasons, culminating in mayhem and a head-spinning body count. Obamacare isn’t a TV drama. But it will unleash its own tsunami of unintended consequences: more than a million jobs lost, an economy increasingly made up of part-time workers, higher health spending (at least...

Under the Affordable Care Act, someone making less than 138 percent of the poverty line qualifies for Medicaid, and someone between 138 and 400 percent of the poverty line is qualified to receive a federal tax subsidy for health insurance bought on a government exchange. But here is the problem: premiums will rise for millions of Americans because of requirements that policies provide certain benefits that they didn’t offer before. This means plenty of people will now have a pricier plan, and no way to defray the cost. My colleague Chuck Blahous sends me this piece from SFGate that gives...