Posted on 04/24/2009 8:33:14 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In his Earth Day speech on Wednesday, Barack Obama claimed that Porkulus and its tax breaks for weatherization and residential energy efficiency had set off a “rush” to hire construction workers to make homes more energy efficient. Yesterday, his Labor Department begged to differ. They adjusted the numbers announced earlier this month on jobless claims upward, past analysts’ expectations, and the analysts predicted that unemployment would rise for the next 12 months into double digits:
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Worse-than-expected news on unemployment and home sales Thursday dampened optimism that a broad economic recovery might be near.
Many analysts don’t expect the housing slide to show signs of stabilizing until the second half of this year. They said layoffs may be at their high point, but that the jobless rate, already at a 25-year high, will keep rising until the middle of 2010.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000 last week, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. That was slightly more than analysts’ expectations of 635,000.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 3 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units, with February revised down to 4.71 million units. Sales had been expected to fall to an annual rate of 4.7 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.
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If sales of existing houses dropped, new starts will drop as well. One of the problems left over from the housing bubble collapse is an excess of inventory, as there are now more homes than buyers. Foreclosures make the problem worse, although those have been mainly concentrated in specific areas where the subprime lending created the most inflation of housing prices — California, Las Vegas, and Florida.
Porkulus has not reversed the loss of jobs, nor has it created a “rush” to hire construction workers. Government programs for weatherization will not create massive stimulus to the economy, mainly because they require people to spend money they may not have rather than simply cut their taxes on the front end to get the money to them. The Obama tax cut of $13 per week will not stimulate that kind of spending. Until people feel secure about their jobs and their businesses, they will cut back on expenditures and reserve their cash for potential setbacks.
Unfortunately, we’ve committed to the $787 billion price tag, and we’re not likely to get any short-term stimulus out of it, as these numbers show pretty clearly. What we will get is long-term debt that will hinder long-term growth. Obama claimed that the benefits of the stimulus in the short run would compensate for that, but with unemployment expected to rise above 10% over the next year, his gamble looks like snake eyes now.
I think the shovel ready projects will be ready shortly before the next election.
They still don’t get it.
“The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency” - Vladimir Lenin
Best look at the GE bondholders... that would be you the taxpayer via the FDIC... and GMs. Hence the wind/green agenda; If cap and trade fails, GE fails, we’re busted; If it succeeds, you get taxed, you still get jerked, we lose even more freedom and money, we’re busted.
Hmmmm...just got a call from an electrician looking for work. No rush to hire around here...
That’s exactly the way I see it. The rush to go Green is nothing more than a way to funnel our dollars to keep the self-perpetuating GE and its government (not mine anymore) alive and well. Follow the money.
Years ago I worked for them (our part of the company got sold off in ‘91). I dumped my shares when Jack Welch retired.
But remember - according to Robt Reich they should only hire non-white, uneducated, unemployed couch potatoes when using tax payers funds - all white, male, working stiffs need not apply.
I bet ACORN got the first check.
My son-in-law’s brother is a builder/carpenter/contractor. He’s been pretty short of work recently, and has been interviewing for a job in another line of work.
We have a neighbor who is a very talented sculptor/stone mason. I asked him about fixing our stone steps last fall, and he spoke to me again the other day about doing it soon.
I really can’t afford it, but I guess I’ll go ahead before someone falls down and breaks their head open on this disintegrating set of steps. He has just finished a very handsome looking Classical Style nude woman, made of granite, which was in the back of his pickup on the way to an art gallery—a garden ornament, I suppose—but he needs other work to make ends meet and avoid foreclosure on his house.
WAKE UP AMERICA.... we don’t see ANY improvement in numbers because those “shovel ready jobs” are being filled by ILLEGAL ALIENS.
Big Business and our Government’s PANDERING to illegal aliens is what CAUSED the crisis.
They could care less about unemployed AMERICANS. PANDERING to illegal aliens is how they plan to help illegal aliens keep their homes, create more skilled labor jobs for illegal aliens, educate their children, and provide health care for those who aren’t already stealing it.
This was NEVER a gamble. It was a complete and utter failure before it was even made into a plan. It simply could not work and we tried to tell them that.
Instead, they passed it on their laurels in mere hours and did not even read one sentence in the 600 page bill.
And now they claim it was a “gamble” gone wrong? It was clearly Economicide before it even hit the House floor.
Projects Americans won’t do?
I want GE to fail.
GE is the enemy. GE operates NBC et al as the propaganda engine of the DNC. A great corporation has been taken over from within and turned into a self sustaining propaganda organ.
GE employees should resign rather than support such a travesty.
the only shovels working belong to the BO admin and they are moving full steam ahead
Still no rush to hire construction workers (where are the shovel-ready projects to stimulate ?)All those "shovel-ready projects" are now in the Bidding Process(1). No construction workers (Field guys) are going to be hired for a while. Office personnel will be first: i.e. Project Managers and CAD Draftsman/Engineers.
BUT at least there's jobs to Bid on now, however Barry's *porkulous* has nothing to do with it. The jobs are schools, libraries and Village Buildings which are funded by Bonds that were voted on last November, are even before that.
(1) I've been checking Dodge Construction News (Dodge Reports) for my County. 'Dodge' is where everyone in the business gets their info - Jobs to Bid, Bidders List, Contract Awards, etc.
“shovel ready” in this case means “environmental impact study ready”, placing stimulus cash in the hands of green lawyahs and enviro-consultants
Worse-than-expected = Obama on the march.
totally.
I love GM cards, but If I’m paying for their health care and retirement etc. I’m out.
My son is a painting contractor. He specializes in high end residential re-paints. No new construction and very little commercial. He’s been busy for years and has never been stiffed. He hasn’t even had to lower his prices.
I wish it could be this way for everybody.
I can’t get an electrician no matter how hard I try.
You’d think one of ‘em would want work. I never even get the estimate.
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