"JOBS AT A RECORD HIGH!" - Fred Barnes

Fox News | 3/12/04 | Fred Barnes

[The G Man]

Fred (The Beatle) Barnes on FOX just B-slapped Juan Williams after Juan-ton-ton (the lib who saved Hollywood) parroted the company line of a "jobless recovery" and people "leaving the workforce because they are so discouraged"

Fred then cut him off and went onto forcefully explain the difference between the "payroll survey" which polls employers as to their employment info and the "household survey" which polls, well, households as to THEIR employment. He went onto explain that if you use the household survey number EMPLOYMENT IS AT A RECORD HIGH BY $700,000 JOBS!!!

The household survey takes into account things like people who leave their jobs to become consultants, independent contractors, or to run home based businesses.

Juan was left dumbfounded.

This is our avenue of attack! This is the road that we conservatives need to take to counter the Dems slanderous allegations about the economic recovery. The workforce dynamic has changed over the last 10 years. The advent of the internet and eBay has made running a home based business a reality for countless Americans. Lets count 'em!

[luvbach1]

Al of this logic and documentation is impressive, but will it counter "jobless recovery" among the surface thinkers?

[Unicorn]

BTTT

[luvbach1]

Kerry wants to be president. Oh yes, he definitely wants to be president! That's about all he's sure about.

[Consort]

...does that mean I have a manufacturing job?

Nah, you're still doing the same old snow job.

[GailA]

Here's Heritage Foundations take on this: Click here

[been_lurking]

The advent of the internet and eBay has made running a home based business a reality for countless Americans. Lets count 'em!

True. But these same people are not punching a time clock, slaving over a machine, manufacturing an American made widget, and paying union dues.

As the democrats (and Willie Green) always say, "...they aren't 'real' jobs."

[speekinout]

Now about those home based businesses - the ones where you can stuff envelopes and make $1,000 per week in your spare time - oh, come now.

There are people with no imagination and no ambition who need someone else to tell them what to do, but there are also a lot of people who can make a lot of money with home based businesses.
I personally know a guy who has a home cleaning business (he started out with a vacuum cleaner and some rags, and now he has 50 employees); another who has a lawn care business (his employees are based on how much business he gets); a free lance editor; and a medical transcriber. I also know several high-tech workers who moved from dot com ventures to consultant work.

Home based businesses can be very lucrative if you have any ambition at all. They are not for people who need to be taken care of.

[GeronL]

The Household Survey is much much more accurate than the one used for the unemployment rate. Different surveys.

[GeronL]

2 surveys. Guess which one the media ignores?

What a shock huh?

[GeronL]

I think all the GOP needs is 51 conservatives. A lot can happen, rules can change.

[oceanview]

sure, that's the household survey. it counts a person who has lost their job at IBM, and now declares themself as a "consultant" as employed. even though they might not have a contract at all, or one with just a fraction of what their wages & benefits were at their corporate job. and those "home based businesses" are mostly people selling their belongings on EBAY.

[oceanview]

and when they run out of their own belongings to sell, I guess they can check out some garage sales and buy stuff that they try flip on EBAY for a higher price.

that's a hell of a model for a productive economy. who needs the semiconductor industry, when you can buy a lamp at a garage sale and flip it to some greater fool on EBAY for a profit.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

RE: The household survey shows millions of new jobs created says Medved, Limbaugh, et al.

Attn: Republicans. laughing at, ridiculing and otherwise trashing (or simply ignoring) 4.4 million potential voters is stupid! Talk about helping dem Rats!

Here is from he latest BLS Employment Situation

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

The number of persons who work part time for economic reasons edged down in February to 4.4 million, seasonally adjusted. This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.) [end excerpt, my emphasis]

[Jorge]

Hey Fred! I'm cooking myself a burger for dinner this evening... under the household survey, does that mean I have a manufacturing job?

For you? Yes.

[COEXERJ145]

Reminds me of a Dilbert shirt that was given to my dad's old boss when the boss was fired for reporting a higher up's misconduct.

Dogbert was carrying a briefcase and below it had "Unemployed" crossed out and below that it read "Consultant". Last time I heard, he and his company were doing very well, and he is making for more money than he did when he was "employed".

[Edit35]

Hey Fred! I'm cooking myself a burger for dinner this evening...under the household survey, does that mean I have a manufacturing job?

Dunno.

Are you getting paid for the work?

[Edit35]

This category includes persons who indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs.

And if off-the-books and under the table jobs were counted, the unemployment rate would be even lower.

This economy is booming as evidenced by the big jump in retail sales last month.

Anyone still trying to fight that reality is simply averting their eyes so as not to see the light.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

My gast is flabbered (as Lee Rodgers says).

4.4 million (estimated) working part time because they cannot find regular full-time jobs is good news?!

The Republican rank-and-file are going to debate dem Rats with that spin?

Even the President said that there needs to be more good jobs created.

[Strider]

Consultant translated means unemployed.

That's not true.

I've been a consultant for years. I make plenty of money, so I buy my own health insurance and so forth.

I have more work than I can handle. I even finally got my wife to quit her job and help me. She can do enough of my work in two weeks to generate more income that she did in a month at her job.

I don't have one company that pays me. I have many. I had two job offers last year, nice ones too, but I can make more money this way.

I really don't think it makes sense not to count me as employed.

[McGavin999]

It's about time. I've been screaming about this for a month. So many people have started up their own businesses partly because our president has been telling us it's part of the American dream, and pushing the entrepreneurial spirit of this country.