The Shiny Object Test - Part 1
Relax! I'm not going to administer a test at the end here because too many might fail one. The American public is generally distracted by shiny objects and Barack Obama knows that. He, like most progressive liberals, see how easily distracted people can get thinking that all that glitters is gold. Lately with the debacle of his failed health care issues mounting he wants you to look over that way and not at what he is, or isn't as the case may be, doing.
Sometimes, many times in fact, he says lets focus on creating jobs and building a strong economy. Neither of those things does he know much about doing but it always sounds good. Or maybe his pied piper tune plays the "unemployment rate is falling" tune which is about as far from the truth as one can get. In Liberalville it is always easier to change the subject rather than face reality. So lets take a gander at the latest unemployment data to see if we can make sense of it.
He;s On The Job! You May Not Be!
Somethings should make clear how these types of figures are jiggered. There was a more robust figure just released of 204,000 jobs added in October of 2013, That is better than it has been but still not enough to meet the needs of people looking for work, or maybe not looking anymore as the case may be. At the same time the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.3% from 7.2% where it was artificially set in September of 2013. Please ignore that number. One must remember that Washington DC is now the land of make believe with President Sham Wow steering our course. As I poured over the data some significant numbers and facts started jumping out at me.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report showed that 720,000 workers left the work force. One can easily see where the math isn't working in the right direction. This pushed the labor participation rate down to 62.8%. That rate you want to go "up" and not "down." That means that one (1) out of every three (3) adults is either not working or they are not actively looking for work. We haven't seen a percentage like that since 1978. Guess who was President in 1978? That's a bonus points question.
Even more shocking is that the total number of adults not in the labor force rose by 932,000 to over 92 million. The 720,000 exodus is the largest in history so Obama has another historical first. The BLS has confirmed that furloughed workers aren't in the count so don't even try that tactic.
This is not warm and fuzzy stuff for sure. Half of the 204K jobs added were in retail and hospitality. The adult population grew by 213K so the math doesn't work there either. Jobs haven't been keeping pace with population growth under Obama's reckless tutelage. Despite the gain in jobs created overall the number of Americans with jobs fell 735K. That equates to less than 144 million Americans being productive in some manner. Percentage wise plug in 58.3% were working in October.
The picture doesn't get better as more paint is applied. I became a bit overwhelmed with my research just looking at October so I decided to give it to you straight in small bites so that you don't end up gagging.People saw that 204K figure and probably got a warm fuzzy that isn't a warm fuzzy at all. That's not to say that gaining more jobs isn't a worthy goal. No doubt it is. Despite Obama wanting you to look over the wrong way the US economy is sluggish at best. More Americans now, more than ever before in history, are giving up looking for work. The math just doesn't add up.
Now Obama wants to dangle the "illegal immigrant" shiny object in front of his adoring audience. In view of what I just presented you tell me what is logical about his contention that solving that issue will create more jobs rather than less jobs? I'm always amazed at liberal logic, if there is such a thing, so give it a whirl. Stop looking at the shiny objects he likes to pull out of his magic hat and focus on reality.
Part 2 will follow shortly and some more disturbing FACTS will come forth.
Vote It," "Like" It, "Tweet" It, "Pin " It, "Share It" With Your Followers. Time to let em read it and keep reading it.
As Always,
The Frog Prince
Part 2 Is Here.
- The Shiny Object Test - Part 2
Obama had another shiny object but those darned Frogs screwed the pooch for him. Part 2 in the series about the real deal with unemployment minus the smoke and mirrors routine.