Free Republic

America’s economy resembles the propped-up false fronts of an old Western movie set; it seems unlikely to support a middle class anymore.  The existential issue is simple, though insufficiently discussed: technology, demographics, and government policy are collaborating to impose economic decline.  The evaporating middle class is taking the erstwhile American worker and his employer with it as it fades.  Folk whose worry ends with the deficits hollowing out Social Security and health care are worried about poor passenger service in a falling airplane. First, consider the U.S. workforce.  Contrary to some folk, the government isn’t going to support everybody;...

Obamacare will push the equivalent of about 2 million workers out of the labor market by 2017 as employees decide either to work fewer hours or drop out altogether, according to the latest estimates Tuesday from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s a major jump in the nonpartisan budget agency’s projections and it suggests the health care law’s incentives are driving businesses and people to choose government-sponsored benefits rather than work. “CBO estimates that the ACA will reduce the total number of hours worked, on net, by about 1.5 to 2 percent during the period from 2017 to 2024, almost entirely...

In its first reaction to this morning's worse-than-expected jobs report, the White House stressed that the nation is still fighting back from the recession and that the "problems in the job market were long in the making and will not be solved overnight." "There is much more work that remains to be done to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and deep recession that began at the end of 2007," Alan Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, writes in a White House blog. "Just like last year at this time, our economy is facing serious headwinds,...

The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Had To Do… Jan 6th, 2012by Gary Zimak. During the fourth watch of the night, He came toward them, walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.  “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.”  Peter got out of the boat and began to walk...

"I understand why extending unemployment insurance provides relief to people who need it, but how does that create jobs," Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler asked Jay Carney at Wednesday's WH briefing. Carney responded: "Oh, uh, it is by, uh, I would expect a reporter from the Wall Street Journal would know this as part of the entrance exam." "There are few other ways that can directly put money into the economy than applying unemployment insurance," Carney said. Carney answers the question: "It is one of the most direct ways to infuse money directly into the economy because people who are...

Novena to Saint CajetanPatron of the Unemployed Cajetan was ordained priest in 1516. He left the papal court and dedicated himself entirely to the service of the Lord. With his own hands he cared for the sick. Such zeal did he show for the salvation of his fellowmen that he was surnamed the "huntsman for souls." St. Cajetan often prayed eight hours daily. While attending the Christmas celebration at St. Mary of the Crib, he is said to have been given the grace of receiving from Mary the Child Jesus into his arms. St. Cajetan founded in 1524 a community of priests who...

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- After the nationwide unemployment rate peaked above 10% in late 2009, we saw a fairly rapid decline in jobless rolls during the next 12 months. By March of this year, the headline jobless number had crept back under 9% and renewed optimism in the economic recovery and equity markets. Well, we've been reading a much different story in the last month or two, with disappointing job creation and a rise in the overall unemployment rate as the meager number of new positions can't keep up with the sheer volume of folks looking for work. To make matters...

I want to continue to focus on the new economic projections from OMB and CBO. Here is some basic background: - The unemployment rate in July was 9.4%. - Most economists consider “full employment” to be in the 4.5% – 5.5% range. - There are now about 154 m people in the workforce, so each tenth of a percentage point on the unemployment rate is about 150,000 people. - This means July’s 9.4% unemployment rate translates into about 14.5 m people who want work but don’t have it. - Rule of thumb: Because the labor force grows over time, the...

WASHINGTON — U.S. engineering unemployment soared to a record in the second quarter of 2009, nearly doubling on a quarterly basis to 8.6 percent, the IEEE-USA said Tuesday (July 7), citing government figures. The previous quarterly record for joblessness among U.S. electrical and electronic engineers was 7 percent, reached in October 2003. EE unemployment previously peaked in 2003. (Source: Ron Hira)