Some articles that really shine light on the hypocrisy of the national Democratic machine.
For those who think capitalists are dirty, profit seeking junkies that are detrimental to those who don't have look where public employees are putting their pension money to create wealth.
Large public pension plans are pouring more money into private-equity funds, deepening ties between government workers and an industry currently under the harsh glare of U.S. presidential politics.
Big public-employee pensions had about $220 billion invested in private equity in September, or 11% of their assets, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, which tracks the holdings of pensions, foundations and endowments.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or Afscme, one of the nation’s biggest public-workers unions, has members with billions of dollars invested in about 150 pension funds, some of which is invested in private-equity funds, WSJ reports Thursday.
That wouldn’t be that surprising, given the union’s pension fund is meant to make its members money, and PE firms can do pretty well in that whole money making job.
But, the WSJ story is about the fact that Afscme and other pension funds for public workers have made quite a lot of noise about Mitt Romney’s work at private-equity giant Bain Capital.
They emulate what they blast Romney for. Romney shouldn't duck questions about his wealth. He should remind the American people how successful he is and that is what we need as a President. Last election the majority put an amateur in there and look what we got.
Look at unemployment during the Bush years and Obama's term.
You will see this chart chopped for those who want to skew the data.
President Bush’s overall record continues to look far better than President Obama’s to date. Over President Bush’s presidency, the private sector created a net 141,000 jobs. Surprisingly, this number includes the 3.78 million private sector jobs lost in 2008. In contrast, under President Obama’s administration, the private sector has still lost a net 2.91 million private sector jobs. If I blame Bush and Clinton for the January 2009 and January 2001 numbers, respectively, the private sector would still have lost 2.07 million private sector jobs under the Obama administration.
Do we really want paying people not to work for 99 weeks – nearly two years – to be a permanent feature of the American economic system? Is that what the American people voted for in the historic landslide election of 2010? If not, then why are Republicans poised to – for the first time since the election – extend this program?
The economic case for nearly two years of unemployment benefits is extremely weak. While supporters tout the demand-side effect of the benefit checks being spent, they ignore the much larger supply-side effect of creating a significant disincentive for work and consequently for economic production. The same Keynesians who brought us trillions of failed stimulus and a mountain of debt tell us the paying people not to work is a good way to grow the economy. Common sense – and the data – say otherwise.
As the Cato Institute’s Alan Reynolds eloquently explained: “Whether the government pays people to work or to stay on the dole, it has to get the money by taxing, borrowing or printing money — all of which reduce real income and employment opportunities in the private sector. … If every dollar of unemployment benefits really added $1.61 to real GDP, then putting everyone on the dole would make us all much richer.”
In reality, economists have shown that unemployment benefits actually increase unemployment because they increase the average duration of unemployment for individuals. There is less incentive to search for new employment when the government pays people as much as 60 percent of their previous salary to do nothing at all.
Not all of this can be attributed to overly-generous unemployment benefits, of course, but they certainly aren’t helping. And given that more people are staying on government benefits for longer periods of time, federal spending on unemployment compensation has nearly quadrupled from $45 billion in 2008 to $160 billion in 2010 – all funded by higher taxes or federal debt, which takes resources out of job creators’ hands.
House Republicans will have their first opportunity to end this costly giveaway. To win, they need only to do nothing; the 99 weeks of unemployment are set to expire at the end of the year, automatically returning to the standard 26 weeks of unemployment (some states pay more).
Unfortunately, it looks like most Republicans missed one of the key messages of the landslide 2010 election – no more expensive giveaways.
Last Thursday The Washington Post reported that House Republicans plan to renew the expiring benefits program in a larger package that also includes an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut. Perhaps it will be similar to a bill introduced by their Republican counterparts in the Senate, which extends the benefits but subjects them to means testing. Regardless, it will mean continuing to pay many people for nearly two years for not working.
This is a key test for the House Republican majority: will they listen to the small-government mandate that swept them into office? Or will they succumb to political pressure and advance a disastrous economic policy?
Even if Congress heeds President Barack Obama's demands to "pass this bill right away" and enacts his jobs and tax plan in its entirety, the unemployment rate probably still would hover in nosebleed territory for at least three more years.
Why? Because the 1.9 million new jobs the White House says the bill would produce in 2012 falls short of what it's needed to put the economy back on track to return to pre-recession jobless levels of under 6 percent, from today's rate of 9.1 percent.
That's how deep the jobs hole is. The persistent weakness of the U.S. economy has left 14 million people unemployed and more than 25 million unable to find full-time work.
More on the Obama Campaign and A Stimulus Recipient Hosting a $25,000.00 Fundraiser
Tom Carnahan is at the helm of Wind Capital Group, an investment firm that received a $107 million federal tax credit to develop a wind power facility in his home state of Missouri. In October, he’s scheduled to host a $25,000-per-person fundraiser to aid Obama’s reelection effort.
“At a time when Barack Obama is under fire for steering hundreds of millions of dollars in stimulus funds to a failed company linked to a major campaign donor, it is stunning that he would come to Missouri and raise money with another recipient of stimulus cash,” Smith said in a statement to POLITICO. “Sadly, Missourians have come to expect this kind of pay-to-play from the Obama administration. November 2012 can’t come soon enough.”
Please tell me how this scheme is all that much different than what Mericle did with Ciavarella and Conahan.
In today's Standard Speaker Paul Kanjorski wants to remind Americans that the Democrats should be proud of what they accomplished.
"First, and foremost, when I say Democrats, stand up tall, be proud. My God, the Democratic Party did everything that was good for this country and good for the working individuals of this country, and good for the middle class of this country. We have nothing to apologize for."
"You know why I'm charged up?" Kanjorski said in an interview later. "Because I think it is one of the most definitive elections in our lifetime. And that's why I'm in it. Because I think we can't afford to make the mistake of going in the wrong direction. And all of these people who are talking about going in another direction, they're (like) pre-Franklin Roosevelt people."
Evidently this chart is what he means.
"They want to go back to when Wall Street billionaires or millionaires controlled this country and their kids could just slosh around, didn't have to work, didn't have to produce and they were guaranteed their membership at the country club and their membership at the yacht club," Kanjorski said. "I don't believe in that. I believe in a merit society.
Paul, are you talking about the firms that gave you $4 million in political contributions? Paul, are you talking about the people who had American working?
This statement by Kanjorski is going to resonate over the next few days.
"The fight's not about the damn mosque in New York," he tells the Democrats at Waldorf Park. "All of us are annoyed at the fact that ... they want to build that mosque, but it's not going to have an effect on our lives.
Kanjo, you tell that to these people.
I feel sorry for you. When you are used to this it is hard to remember the sacrifices I guess.
Election will offer clear philosophical choices for U.S. COMMENTARY Stephen M. Alinikoff
I CONSIDER myself an average citizen, lucky enough to be born in a country that has bestowed bountiful gifts to my family and to me. I have lived my entire life in the Wyoming Valley and was born in the waning days of World War II. The country has changed dramatically since then and I must say in most respects not for the better. I honestly feel that we will not be leaving our children a country in which their generation will be better off and better equipped to surpass the achievements of previous generations.
If I were not so angry with what is happening with my beloved country I would have merely passed over an article in The Times Leader, which reported a meeting that Congressman Paul Kanjorski hosted at the East Mountain Inn on Sept. 8.
What Kanjorski was reported to have said is emblematic of one of, if not the major problems facing this nation: a dysfunctional Congress totally out of touch with the desires, needs and history of this country.
Kanjorski related his defense of the bailout packages over the last two years: “Those days will be remembered as the most instrumental moments of the 21st century.” Kanjorski, Nancy Pelosi, Charley Rangel and Maxine Walters were the ones standing between us and the total financial collapse of the United States. Yes, he honestly believes that and expects us to believe it.
The congressman went on to say: “If you recall gun sales were way up, America was weaponed up, that’s what the times were like two years ago.” He then said something that has yet to be followed up by our local or national media. He told the group “8,000 troops stood at the ready” in North Carolina to come to Washington to guard the White House and the Capitol.
I certainly was not aware we were so close to an armed insurrection. My question is: from whom?
It really is hard to believe, if nothing else Congressman Kanjorski is at the top of his game when it comes to political hyperbole on the campaign trail. History and its facts do not lie. The facts are that over the last 77 years, we have seen an undeniable march of one-party rule and that party’s philosophy being legislated into statutory policy.
It is the undeniable philosophy of central government growth at the expense of federalism and individual rights.
It is an undeniable fact that we are on the verge of a national bankruptcy, which, if continued, will have consequences for our national security and ability to remain the world’s preeminent power.
It is an undeniable fact that all legislation concerning matters of revenue, taxes, spending and finance must constitutionally originate in the House of Representatives.
From 1933, (the 73rd Congress) to the present (the 111th Congress) there have been 38 sessions of Congress. Thirty-one of the sessions – 81 percent – have been controlled by the Democratic Party. In the most recent 26 sessions the percentage in Democratic control has been 85 percent – even higher.
Kanjorski, one of the most senior Democrats, has served since 1985. He has worked to bring us public projects such as: an inflatable dam; some sort of shooting range/training facility to be placed somewhere. He also was successful in steering over 5 million in taxpayer funds to a failed business owned by family members. As one of the most senior members, he was one of the leaders in bringing us “Obamacare,” which will create the single largest bureaucracy by any Congress in our history.
In his meeting at the East Mountain Inn, he also heralded his role in passing Wall Street reform although he didn’t mention that the two main culprits – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – were left noticeably untouched in this new legislation. Those agencies have been used by Congress for years as a repository for political jobs and bad loans.
After reading the article, I do not for one moment doubt that Congressman Kanjorski believes in what he said and has done and is proud of where he has taken us. He is not only one of the leaders of the present majority in Congress, but also one of its most outspoken defenders.
So, our choice seems clear. If you are satisfied with the politics of Kanjorski, Pelosi, Walters and Rangel, and where they are taking us, your choice is easy.
However if you feel anger about the half truths, the lack of integrity, the self serving attitude and arrogance as well as the downright incompetence of our elected representatives, the choice is also yours.
Stephen Alinikoff lives in Kingston. He is a managing principal in a local insurance and investment firm.
Unemployment Locally By Gary Visgaitis, Times Leader
The Times Leader is reporting that Barack Obama is urging voters to support Paul Kanjorski in the 11th district.
“In just 20 months, this movement has accomplished a tremendous amount,” Obama wrote in an e-mail. “But we couldn’t have done it without the Democrats in Congress who were willing to take a stand and fight for policies that would move America forward.
Gort put up a post containing Kanjorski's press release about the Obama support.
Let's explore how Obama and Kanjorski moved America forward but first let's take a look back. Here are some unemployment charts that distinguish the pre-Barack Obama presidencies from his own. Everyone complains about George Bush. This chart shows what happened to unemployment during his last term.
Let's take a look at the impact when Republican majorities and Democratic majorities have control.
Now let's look at a graph that depicts what happened to unemployment when Barack Obama tried to fool the American public that "We are beginning to turn the corner, the worst is over".
Obama and Kanjorski said they were going to fix America. How did they do?
In today's Standard Speaker Borys Krawczeniuk writes a column about unemployment in Hazleton. Ed Mitchell has been touting a misleading figure out there in an attempt to fool the public about the real issue. Why do I say misleading?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States government maintains this website that clearly shows Pennsylvania unemployment unabated rise since the beginning of the year. At this link on their site county unemployment data is listed for Pennsylvania. There is a very important footnote on that page.
NOTE: Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. The City of Hazleton does not have any industrial parks. You will find them surrounding the city- Hazle Township, West Hazleton, Sugarloaf, Butler Township, and McAdoo. Firms such as Archer Daniels Midland, Hershey, Office Max, Autozone, etc are located in those parks. If they lay off any workers who live in the City of Hazleton the statistic gets charged to Hazleton even though the workers lived outside the city. How Mitchell can blame the Mayor for loss of jobs that weren't within the city limits in the first place and get away with it is beyond me?
Here is a link to the Center For Workforce Information and Analysis website that shows the Metropolitan Statistical Areas and the Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The City of Hazleton is not listed. The residence issue is the reason the data can be skewed when drilling down too deep. Why don't they list the unemployment figures for Nanticoke, Lattimer, Pardeesville, Hollywood, Ashley, Dunmore,etc. It's simple. To do so would create a statistical anomaly.
Its a Democratic state with a Democratic Representative who worked for a Democratic Congressman. It is not hard to figure out why there is a statistic for Hazleton and not one for Nanticoke.
If Borys wants to be responsible to the people who read his articles he needs not to stretch the facts to create a story. He needs to report them for what they are.
The chart at the top of the article explains what is happening all over Northeastern Pennsylvania. Paul Kanjorski, instead of telling us what's wrong tell us what you did about it. Evidently NOTHING.
When Paul Kanjorski attacked Lou Barletta over a false unemployment report regarding Hazleton he didn't realize how soon the shoe would be on the other foot.
Here is the latest press release from the Barletta Campaign Office.
Hazleton, PA – The unemployment rate in Paul Kanjorski’s congressional district is now the highest in the entire state of Pennsylvania, continuing to show that the 26-year incumbent’s failed economic policies are destroying our regional economy and costing area residents thousands of jobs.
Kanjorski’s district has “significantly higher unemployment” than the state and the national average, according to the Scranton Times. In the same article, a professor of economics stated, “Being the worst in the state doesn’t speak well of our economy.” (8/31/10)
It also doesn’t speak well of Kanjorski’s economic policies.
The regional unemployment rate is now the highest in Pennsylvania at 10.4 percent – a number that has seen “a fairly steady ascent from 8.8 percent in July 2009,” according to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (8/31/10). That mirrors Kanjorski’s lock-step votes for the government takeover of health care and the destructive energy tax known as cap and trade.
“The official unemployment data provides irrefutable proof that Kanjorski's actions have severely hurt our region. It's no wonder he is afraid to meet the people of his district face-to-face at public town meetings. Kanjorski and Nancy Pelosi promised us that if they passed the $800 billion stimulus bill, unemployment wouldn’t go above 8 percent. Clearly, that was a lie, and both our unemployment rate and national debt continue to rise.
Kanjorski’s reckless vote to take over our health care system directly cost the jobs of at least 100 Sallie Mae employees in Hanover Township. Many other Kanjorski votes – for cap and trade, to raise taxes and fees 150 times – have cost thousands of other jobs right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Shawn Kelly, spokesman for the campaign of Lou Barletta. “At the end of the day, Kanjorski only cares about one job – his.”.
Yesterday on WILK Steve Corbett read an email sent by Ed Mitchell to him about Lou Barletta. Here is the response to part of the substance of his claims.
Fact 1: Hazleton is not nor can it be bankrupt And it is not broke either- Why? Have Ed Mitchell personally supply me with the bankruptcy filing for Hazleton. It doesn't exist. Wilkes Barre is in financial hardship and so is Scranton. Scranton's been in Act 47 for since 1992. Is Mitchell crowing about Doherty? Even Reading is in financial distress. Heck the country is in financial distress.
Hazleton's property tax millage is currently at 2.38 due to reassessment. Previously the millage was 25 mills with another 5 mills permitted by Luzerne County Court every year for a total of thirty mills per Third Class City Code. Hazleton was at 30 mills for at least 30+ years leaving it cash strapped over time with ever increasing costs.
After reassessment the millage was dropped to 1.4 last year. Hazleton City Council approved an increase to 2.38 this year. Since Third Class City Code permits cities like Hazleton to assess up to 25 mills it has a long way to go before it will ever be bankrupt or broke.
On the contrary unlike the federal government that can keep printing money Hazleton is trying to live within its means. It is reducing spending and laying off personnel. Their audit will prove those facts to be true for this year. They are not running up accumulated debt unlike Maryann Petrilla and theDemocrats of Luzerne County(last report $466 million), Ed Rendell, Todd Eachus and Pennsylvania( $40 billion or a 73% increase since 2002 ), and Barack Obama and Paul Kanjorski($13 Trillion and counting ).
Barletta found alternative solutions to prevent tax hikes before reassessment when Hazleton's tax rate was stalled at 25 mills by the same law for over 30 years. Imagine trying to run a business with the same income for the last 30 years(his tenure the last ten of those) while everything else went up. And he doesn't want to raise taxes although he and council were forced to this year just to keep the city operating.
It is true that property taxes were raised 70% this year but it amounts to $98.00 per $100,000.00 assessment and hadn't been raised for over 30 years. Since the average home in Hazleton is valued at less than $100,000.00 the impact is not as bad as it could be. Hazleton City government was sensitive to the burden it would place on taxpayers. Coupled with that tax increase was pending layoffs that will start next week.
Instead of raising taxes the City has an opportunity to sell the water assets of the HCA which is permitted by Pennsylvania law. Water rates may increase but they are going to increase anyway. There are too many miles of 80 year old water lines in Hazleton to prevent that from occurring. And the fiscal impact of water rates will monetarily be less than the tax consequences.
Fact 2: Citing the report in Hazleton's unemployment is totally inaccurate.- Why? The official from the state who was in charge of those figures stated they were misleading and should not be relied on from a statistical sense. "Sholly said the figure is a little misleading:" It should be no surprise that neither Mitchell nor Kanjorski would want to be honest about that fact.
Hazleton does not have industrial parks located within its boundaries. The Valmont Industrial Park, Humboldt Industrial Park, the McAdoo Industrial Park, and the Butler Industrial Park are all located outside its boundaries. The reason any figure on Hazleton is misleading is due to the residency of the people employed in those parks. Anyone working outside of Hazleton who is laid off would be counted as a residential statistic of Hazleton, not the place where they are employed
( "Data refer to place of residence ") .
That is the reason the government created Local Area Unemployment Statistics. In order for your statistics to be valid the sample must be broad enough to be meaningful, therefore it is better to look at a region or county. Here is a link to a state file that shows unemployment by county on page 12. Look at this chart located on the CanDo web page showing that unemployment in Luzerne County has been steadily rising.
Companies in those parks include ADM, Cargill, Hershey, OfficeMax, Nature's Bounty, Amazon, Quebecor, Autozone, and more. Those are national companies. The reason people are getting laid off is due to the national economy, not lack of sales to local merchants or customers. It is Paul Kanjorski and Barack Obama policies that are responsible for the national trends, not Lou Barletta.
Kanjorski made the claim that the stimulus program would create/save 7,700 jobs in his district when it was passed.
Any unemployment figure reported for Luzerne County or Hazleton for that matter is reflective of the ineffectiveness of the stimulus program to really create jobs. A look at Recovery.gov shows that only 131 jobs were created in the 11th Congressional district for the first quarter of this year. And the cost to create those jobs was over $329 million. What a dismal showing and hardly anywhere near 7,700.
"It's certainly is a very big stimulus bill, a very big stimulus bill, some politicians give you a lot less substance than their political rhetoric" I hear Clara Peller calling out to Paul Kanjorski "Where's The Jobs"?
In a sign that incumbents like Paul Kanjorski face a daunting challenge to retain their seats in Congress a new ABCNews/Wahsington Post poll out more than suggests the frustration Americans have with their elected officials.
A year and a half into his presidency, 51 percent in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll would rather have the Republicans run Congress "to act as a check on Obama's policies," vs. 43 percent who want the Democrats in charge to help support those policies. That's accompanied by a 7-point, one-month drop in approval of Obama's handling of the economy, to a career low.
While Democrats are most at risk, the danger's not theirs alone. Registered voters by 62-26 percent are inclined to look around for someone new for Congress rather than to re-elect their current representative – the broadest anti-incumbency on record in ABC/Post polls since 1989. Backing for incumbents has lost 11 points since February, an unusually steep decline. There are other signs of raging discontent: ABC's Frustration Index remains well in the red zone, at 67 on its scale of 0 to 100, right where it's been all year. It's reached higher just twice, likewise in times of deep economic trouble – in fall 2008, 80; and in 1992, 73.
If the question has been when Obama owns the economy , it looks to be now – not at a happy time, given 9.5 percent unemployment. He'd made slight progress on this key issue, inching ahead from 45 percent approval on the economy in March to 50 percent in June. That's now gone, down 7 points in this poll to 43 percent, with 54 percent disapproving, a new high. And "strong" disapprovers outnumber strong approvers by a record 41 percent vs. 20 percent.
Saying the economy's getting better, moreover, may not help Obama and the Democrats, and indeed could hurt. Just 27 percent in this poll see it improving, not significantly different from 30 percent last month, and surely not on the way up. Claiming the economy was advancing when most Americans didn't see it was the precisely the pothole that swallowed George H.W. Bush in his unsuccessful re-election bid in 1992.
"We are helluva alot better off as a country and as an economy than we have ever been in the history of mankind"- Congressman Paul Kanjorski
In a feeble attempt to recover from headlines regarding Kanjorski requesting campaign contributions from those he regulates Ed Mitchell and Paul Kanjorski tried to deflect the criticism with attacks on Lou Barletta as Mayor of Hazleton in today's Times Leader.
What has obviously become their game plan for the fall Mitchell pointed to the financial problems Hazleton is facing at the moment. Is Hazleton facing financial problems now? Yes. Has Hazleton faced financial problems in the past? Yes. Is it likely Hazleton will face problems in the future? Maybe.
What Mitchell and Kanjorski have their heads stuck in the sand about is the fact that all over his district municipality after municipality are facing fire financial straits. Here are some of the recent tough decisions that elected officials had to make in just a few municipalities and counties in the 11th Congressional District.
Scranton:
Scrantonians would not face a tax increase under a 2010 budget released Friday, but holding that line would be balanced against city job cuts and increased parking meter rates.
"Obviously, we're in the midst of a recession," Mayor Chris Doherty said. "We don't want to increase taxes if we don't have to."
Overall, spending would decrease from $78.6 million in 2009 to $77.8 million under the new plan, so the pain avoided by property owners must be spread elsewhere.
Twenty-seven jobs would be eliminated under the budget, Business Administrator Stu Renda said, including five Department of Public Works jobs, eight vacant Fire Department positions and six positions related to the Single Tax Office.
Parking meter rates, meanwhile, would be increased from 25 cents per half hour to 50 cents, and the initial parking meter fine would increase from $10 to $20.. - Scranton Times, Nov. 14, 2009
WILKES-BARRE
Over the past four and a half years, my administration has made staffing cuts in every department, reduced spending and prioritized our goals to fit within the constraints of the budget. We have decreased the number of employees in administrative positions, while increasing the number of police officers on our streets. We have tightened our belts and done more with less.- Mayor Tom Leighton's 2009 Budget Address
For months, Dunmore borough officials warned layoffs could be looming as a necessary cost-savings measure in the cash-strapped borough.
Those warnings became reality as council laid off both full- and part-time employees and consolidated positions, and combined some duties, which they said should save the borough about $146,000.
"One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was lay off people," council President Timothy Burke said, addressing the layoffs at a special council meeting Monday.
The Department of Public Works lost five employees - two full-time and three part-time, said Paul Nardozzi, DPW liaison and council vice president.- Scranton Times, Jan. 13, 2010
STROUDSBURG
Borough council members blamed rising costs and plummeting revenues for the 3.5-mill property tax increase in the proposed 2010 Stroudsburg budget on Wednesday night. The municipal tax rate will increase from the 2009 level of 35.5 mills to 39 mills next year if the borough council votes to adopt the budget at the next scheduled meeting on Dec. 17
- "Stroudsburg proposes 2010 budget with increased taxes," Pocono Record, Dec. 3, 2009
Luzerne County has raised taxes.
The common denominator is that Paul Kanjorski represents all of these communities. Maybe it is federal actions or inactions that have helped to burden these municipalities.
Shawn Kelly, Communications Coordinator of the Barletta For Congress campaign makes the following assessment:
"Is Kanjorski is out of touch, or he is again stretching the facts to win an election?
"Maybe Kanjorski should take a lesson from Mayor Barletta and other elected officials in his district – unlike Congress, they don't spend money they don't have. When they have to lay off employees, they do so reluctantly; they don't hire more government workers the way Washington does.
"It's time for Kanjorski to stop attacking and start helping the municipalities and citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania."
Back in August, 2003 Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi wrote this press release about the jobless rate which remains on her site.
Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' announcement that 470,000 people abandoned their job searches in July and that 3.2 million private sector jobs have been lost since President Bush took office:
“The fact is that President Bush’s misguided economic policies have failed to create jobs. Since President Bush took office, the country has lost 3.2 million jobs, the worst record since President Hoover. And today we learned that in July nearly half a million people gave up looking for a job.
“Job losses are taking a real toll on the financial security of American families. While Democrats are fighting for opportunity, jobs, and economic security for working families, Republicans continue to focus on helping those who need help the least.
“According to today’s survey, while the national unemployment rate dropped slightly, it still stands at a near record high. In addition, the unemployment rate for African Americans was still over 11 percent in July, and the unemployment rate for Hispanics was 8.2 percent in July.
“It is time for President Bush and the Republicans to get to work for all Americans, not just the elite few.”
In April, the number of unemployed persons was 15.3 million, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9 percent. The rate had been 9.7 percent for the first 3 months of this year.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for whites (9.0 percent) edged up in April, while the rates for adult men (10.1 percent), adult women (8.2 percent), teenagers (25.4 percent),blacks (16.5 percent), and Hispanics (12.5 percent) showed little or no change.
Where is the public outcry from Nancy Pelosi and Paul Kanjorski for THEIR President to take action? Hypocrisy is not the word for Nancy and Paul. Obama's failed policies have failed to create jobs. More information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up over the month, reaching 6.7 million. In April, 45.9 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.
Long term jobless is over double the jobs claimed to have been lost by Bush in 2003 yet the Pelosi/Kanjorski team, and particularly Paul wants to make the claim the Democrats saved the economy from collapse. Please stop, we can't take much more of your saving! Our college graduates will be the next great big default if job creation doesn't occur soon. Maybe that is the real reason Obama took over the federal student loan system.
