Category Archives: Economy

US stated unemployment rate 7.9 percent, Labor force participation rate 63.6 percent, NC unemployment rate up, Berkshire Hathaway buys Greensboro News Record

Posted on February 2, 2013 | 31 comments

US stated unemployment rate 7.9 percent, Labor force participation rate 63.6 percent, NC unemployment rate up, Berkshire Hathaway buys Greensboro News Record

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“Guilford (Large NC County) appears on it’s way to a third consecutive year with annual jobless rates in double digits. Economists say that likely hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.”…Greensboro News Record December 2, 2011

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984”

 

From the US Labor Dept. February 1, 2013.

“Employment Situation Summary”

“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Retail trade, construction, health care, and wholesale trade added jobs over the month.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 12.3 million, was little changed in January. The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent and has been at or near that level since September 2012. (See table A-1.) (See the note and tables B and C for information about annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.3 percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (23.4 percent), whites (7.0 percent), blacks (13.8 percent), and Hispanics (9.7 percent) showed little or no change in January. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.5 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In January, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was about unchanged at 4.7 million and accounted for 38.1 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Both the employment-population ratio (58.6 percent) and the civilian labor force participation rate (63.6 percent) were unchanged in January.”

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

The Orwellian reporting of Obama and economic news is getting worse with no end in sight.

The Greensboro News Record has done a decent job of economic and jobs reporting over the past year.

However,

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway just bought the Greensboro News Record.

“But Kroeger said BH Media likes the News & Record because it is the dominant source of information for the region, and that gives it an edge in attracting advertisers.

Kroeger said it’s important that the print newspaper is affordable and accessible to all readers, even in an economically troubled region.

But plenty of readers want their news by computer, smartphone and iPad. So, BH Media wants to deliver content to those people and earn money in the process.”

http://www.news-record.com/home/latestnews/673320-91/buffett-media-buys-news-

From the Greensboro News Record  January 30, 2013 .

“Update: Jobless rate up slightly in Triad”

“The jobless rate for the Greensboro-High Point metro area was 9.6 percent in December, up from November’s figure of 9.2 percent.

The December rate was lower compared with December 2011, which had a jobless rate of 10.5 percent, according to figures the N.C. Department of Commerce released today.”

http://www.news-record.com/news/business/665883-92/update-jobless-rate-up-slightly

“up slightly”

Is that like slightly pregnant?

Actually, unemployment was up in 97 of 100 counties in NC!

From the Greensboro News Record  February 1, 2013 .

“Greensboro area jobless rate drops, still high”

“No economist likes a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

But December’s rate in the Greensboro/High Point Metro Area is nearly 1 percentage point lower than it was in December 2011, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Commerce.

“That’s a terrible number, but it’s less terrible than a year ago,” said Andrew Brod, senior research fellow at the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNCG.”

http://www.news-record.com/news/crime/latestnewsnewscrime/666278-92/greensboro-area-jobless-rate-drops

“:jobless rate drops”

How many people read that and believed that it was reality?

Factor in the drop in the labor force participation rate in NC and it may not have dropped from a year ago.

George Orwell must be spinning in his grave.

31 Comments

Posted in 1984, Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, George Orwell, Jobs, Lies, media, Ministry of Truth, NC, News, Newspapers, North Carolina, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Orwell, Orwellian, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, Washington DC, white house

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NC unemployment rates increased in 97 of 100 counties, Graham County 18.5 percent, Guilford 9.5, Mecklenburg 9.3, Labor force participation rate down

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 144 comments

NC unemployment rates increased in 97 of 100 counties, Graham County 18.5 percent, Guilford 9.5, Mecklenburg 9.3, Labor force participation rate down

“The United States economy has lost more jobs than it has added since the recovery began over a year ago.”…NY Times Sept. 20, 2010.

“Guilford (Large NC County) appears on it’s way to a third consecutive year with annual jobless rates in double digits. Economists say that likely hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.”…Greensboro News Record December 2, 2011

“We tried our plan—and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.”…Barack Obama

NC unemployment rates increased in 97 of 100 counties.

That is scary enough.

That is only part of the picture.

Since the Democrats took control of congress in 2007, the labor force participation rate in NC has dropped 3.6 percent. Since Obama took the White House it has dropped 1.8 percent. So as bad as these unemployment rates appear, they are actually much higher.

From the NC Department of Commerce January 30, 2013.

“Unemployment rates increased in 97 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in December, decreased in one, and were unchanged in two. Thirteen of the State’s metro areas also experienced rate increases while one metro decreased. The December (not seasonally adjusted) statewide rate was 9.5 percent.

Graham County had the highest unemployment rate at 18.5 percent, while Orange County had the lowest at 5.9 percent. Among the Metro areas, Rocky Mount at 12.5 percent experienced the highest rate, and Durham-Chapel
Hill at 7.2 percent had the lowest.”

“North Carolina’s statewide unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 9.5 percent in December. This was a 0.5 of a percentage-point increase from November’s revised rate of 9.0 percent, and a 0.7 percentage-point decrease over the year.”

“Unemployment rates increased in 13 of the state’s 14 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The Rocky Mount MSA had the highest unemployment rate in December at 12.5 percent. Durham/Chapel Hill reported the month’s lowest unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, which increased 0.3 of a percentage point from the previous month. Asheville and Raleigh/Cary followed at 7.5 percent.”

Click to access NR_December2012_CntyRates_M.pdf

144 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Government, Jobs, NC, News, North Carolina, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, Washington DC, white house

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Federal budget deficit explained in common sense terms in NC, John Hammer Rhino Times, January 24, 2013, Obama and congress increased spending 40 percent

Posted on January 26, 2013 | 31 comments

Federal budget deficit explained in common sense terms in NC, John Hammer Rhino Times, January 24, 2013, Obama and congress increased spending 40 percent

“only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are midpay. Nearly 70 percent are low-paying jobs”…AP, Kitsap Sun January 22, 2013

“We tried our plan—and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.”…Barack Obama

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

Common sense in print in NC.

From John Hammer of the Rhino Times January 24, 2013.

“If you listen to Democrats, and even some Republicans, for the federal government to balance its budget would require draconian cuts that would decimate the Defense Department and put major social welfare programs in bankruptcy. But the truth is that the federal government will take in $2.9 trillion in revenue this fiscal year. If the federal government would simply reduce spending to what it was a mere five years ago it would have a surplus instead of a trillion dollar deficit.

In 2007 the federal government spent $2.7 trillion. That was during the presidency of George Walker Bush and the budget deficit was about $200 billion, because the revenue that year was $2.56 trillion.

What Congress and President Obama have managed to do since then is increase spending astronomically. The projected spending for 2013 is $3.8 trillion. So even though revenue has increased to $2.9 trillion the deficit is still right around a trillion dollars.

It is an unbelievable increase in spending. The problem is not, as Obama continues to say, that the rich aren’t paying their fair share. The problem is that Obama and Congress have increased spending by 40 percent in the past five years. This is during a period of almost no inflation.

Since 2007 the federal government has increased its spending by $1.1 trillion. It is an incredible amount of money and it would be nice to blame it all on Obama, but Obama is a co-conspirator. Spending bills have to originate in the House, which the Republicans have controlled since 2011. Obama in his first term had pretty much free rein in Congress. The Democrats controlled the House and for almost a year had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Spending skyrocketed and in Obama’s first year in office, 2009, the budget deficit increased to $1.4 trillion.

What could only be done in Washington – where reality left the building decades ago – is that the budget deficit has remained over $1 trillion. The reason for the budget deficit in 2009 was the $1 trillion stimulus plan that Congress passed and Obama signed as soon as possible. That was supposed to spike up the spending, but then it was supposed to come back down.

It never has.

But the country ran pretty well in 2007. We were fighting the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, Social Security was being paid, as were Medicare and Medicaid. The federal government was throwing money at local governments, as it does, but evidently to go back to those years would be a tremendous hardship. It’s hard to believe.”

Read more:

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-Columns-c-2013-01-23-214571.112113-under-the-hammer.html

31 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Congress, Defense, Deficit, Democrats, Economy, Government, NC, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, republicans, The Case Against Barack Obama, US economy, US House of Representatives, US Senate, Washington DC, white house

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Democrats blame Republicans for Democrat policy failures, Lack reason and accountability, End justifies the means, Democrat policies destroyed economy jobs family budgets

Posted on January 24, 2013 | 109 comments

Democrats blame Republicans for Democrat policy failures, Lack reason and accountability, End justifies the means, Democrat policies destroyed economy jobs family budgets

“only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are midpay. Nearly 70 percent are low-paying jobs”…AP, Kitsap Sun January 22, 2013

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“A tax increase to a company results in some combination of the following:
Product and service price increases.
Employee and hours cutbacks.
Reduced hiring.”…Citizen Wells

I am not praising Republicans.

Many of the actions and policies of Obama liberal Democrats can be simply explained.

The end justifies the means.

They lack reason and accountability.

From the Mirriam Webster Dictionary.

Reason

2 a (1) : the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways : intelligence (2) : proper exercise of the mind (3) : sanity

Accountability

the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions <public officials lacking accountability>

Yesterday I was informed of the following letter to the editors of the Greensboro Daily News. The author, an older gentleman, is someone that I know. He represents the old guard, those who follow the Democrat Party come what may, and blame Republicans for all that is wrong. Lack of reason and accountability.

“Obama is right to get tough on Republicans”

“Regarding “Obama warns GOP in debt ceiling battle” (news article, Jan. 15) and “Mr. Friendly Obama unveils tough talk” by Dana Milbank (column, Jan. 16):

So, President Barack Obama “warned” the GOP in his recent White House news conference. Applause!

From now on, I hope he will continue to brand Republicans in a way, and to a depth, that FDR did in 1932!

We already know that congressional Republicans cannot win the debt ceiling “battle,” and the only question now is, “how badly will they lose the fight?” The answer is, “How much they will be perceived as harming the American people.”

We also know that congressional Republicans seem determined to harm Americans by turning our nation into a Third World country where the majority of people live in poverty, are poorly educated (if at all), are without quality health care, without Social Security and without taxes — of course! — but with a massive military to protect the wealth of the powerful “2 percenters.” No doubt about it.

Yes, Mr. Milbank, “friendly Obama” recently spoke like Lincoln or TR, or FDR or Truman, or LBJ when he delivered the free, “tough and friendly advice” to the GOP. Again, applause!”

http://www.news-record.com/opinion/623224-94/obama-is-right-to-get#continue

The last time that Republicans controlled the White House and Congress was December 2008.

The Labor Force Participation Rate in December 2008 was 65.8 %.

The Labor Force Participation Rate in December 2012 was 63.6 %.

Add that 2.2% drop in the labor force participation to the unemployment rate!

Reported here yesterday from the AP.

“But 42 months after the Great Recession ended, the U.S. has gained only 3.5 million, or 47 percent, of the 7.5 million jobs that were lost.”

“But only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are midpay. Nearly 70 percent are low-paying jobs;”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/ap-job-facts-january-23-2013-recession-tech-kill-middle-class-jobs-70-percent-of-jobs-added-low-paying-government-policies-biggest-job-killer/

In 2009 when Obama took office, 31.9 million Americans used Food Stamps.

The latest numbers from the USDA reveal that over 47 million Americans now use Food Stamps.

These economic failures from the Democrats have come with record spending and increased taxes for lower income Americans.

It is no wonder why Obama and so many on the left are anti religion.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”…Jesus, John 8:32

109 Comments

Posted in Accountability, Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Democrats, Economy, Government, Insanity, letter, Liberalism, NC, Newspapers, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, republicans, The Case Against Barack Obama, US economy, Washington DC, white house

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AP job facts January 23, 2013, Recession tech kill middle class jobs, 70 percent of jobs added low paying, Government policies biggest job killer

Posted on January 23, 2013 | 47 comments

AP job facts January 23, 2013, Recession tech kill middle class jobs, 70 percent of jobs added low paying, Government policies biggest job killer

“only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are midpay. Nearly 70 percent are low-paying jobs”…AP, Kitsap Sun January 22, 2013

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

With the controversy about the AP producing biased reports about jobs added and unemployment, I did a search this morning:

January 23, 2013 AP jobs

I found the article below. There is truth in the article. There has been a trend for technology to replace jobs. Technology has also helped companies to function after massive layoffs. However, Technology did not cause the “Great Recession.”

From the Kitsap Sun January 22, 2013.

“Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over.

And the situation is even worse than it appears.

Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market. What’s more, these jobs aren’t just being lost to China and other developing countries, and they aren’t just factory work. Increasingly, jobs are disappearing in the service sector, home to two-thirds of all workers.

They’re being obliterated by technology.”

“The numbers startle even labor economists. In the United States, half of the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession paid middle-class wages, ranging from $38,000 to $68,000. But only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are midpay. Nearly 70 percent are low-paying jobs; 29 percent pay well.”

“Over the past 50 years, technology has drastically reduced the number of jobs in manufacturing. Robots and other machines controlled by computer programs work faster and make fewer mistakes than humans. Now, that same efficiency is being unleashed in the service economy, which employs more than two-thirds of the workforce in developed countries. Technology is eliminating jobs in office buildings, retail establishments and other businesses consumers deal with every day.”

“Thanks to technology, companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index reported one-third more profit the past year than they earned the year before the Great Recession. They’ve also expanded their businesses, but total employment, at 21.1 million, has declined by a half-million.”

“In the U.S., the economic recovery that started in June 2009 has been called the third straight “jobless recovery.”

But that’s a misnomer. The jobs came back after the first two.

Most recessions since World War II were followed by a surge in new jobs as consumers started spending again and companies hired to meet the new demand. In the months after recessions ended in 1991 and 2001, there was no familiar snap-back, but all the jobs had returned in less than three years.

But 42 months after the Great Recession ended, the U.S. has gained only 3.5 million, or 47 percent, of the 7.5 million jobs that were lost. The 17 countries that use the euro had 3.5 million fewer jobs last June than in December 2007.

This has truly been a jobless recovery, and the lack of midpay jobs is almost entirely to blame.”
Read more:

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2013/jan/22/ap-impact-recession-tech-kill-middle-class-02/#ixzz2InmaRPFt

While technology may account for some job losses, a big part of the answer lies in Washington, DC.

Diogenes

Looking for honest reporting.

47 Comments

Posted in Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Jobs, Journalism, News, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, US economy, Washington DC, white house

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Unemployment Insurance claims report January 17, 2013, Total claiming benefits in all programs increased 465547, Top 3 increases NY GA NC over 66K

Posted on January 17, 2013 | 45 comments

Unemployment Insurance claims report January 17, 2013, Total claiming benefits in all programs increased 465547, Top 3 increases NY GA NC over 66K

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“We tried our plan—and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.”…Barack Obama

“Truisms are true, hold on to that! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth’s centre. With the feeling that he was speaking to O’Brien, and also that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote:

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984”

 

Talk about creative accounting and seasonal adjustments.

The alleged decrease of  37,000 initial claims from the prior week makes zero reality sense.

From the US Labor Dept. January 17, 2013.

“UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA”

“SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending January 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 335,000, a decrease of 37,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 372,000. The 4-week moving average was 359,250, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 366,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending January 5, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemploymentduring the week ending January 5 was 3,214,000, an increase of 87,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,127,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,195,750, a decrease of 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,201,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 555,708 in the week ending January 12, an increase of 2,360 from the previous week. There were 525,422 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent during the week ending January 5, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,850,441, an increase of 170,067 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.2 percent and the volume was 4,109,127.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending December 29 was 5,821,966, an increase of 465,547 from the previous week. There were 7,826,846 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2011.”

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State Change State Supplied Comment
NY +37,189 Layoffs in the transporation, construction, and educational service industries.
GA +15,354 Layoffs in the manufacturing, administrative and support service, construction, and healthcare industries.
NC +13,606 Layoffs in the textile, business service, construction, electronic, furniture and fixtures, rubber and plastic products, lumber and wood products, transportation equipment, food services, metal, mining, service, healthcare service, engineering, accounting, research, amusement and recreation, general merchandise stores, and apparel and accessory industries.
CA +8,691 Layoffs in the service industry as well as agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
TX +8,669 Layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing industries.
SC +8,020 Layoffs in the textile and manufacturing industries.
AL +7,037 Increase is a result of processing claims from prior week when offices were closed due to the holiday. Majority of increase were in the transportation, textile, manufacturing, and construction industries.
TN +4,397 Layoffs in the administrative and support service, textile, contractors, electrical equipment, and construction industries.
VA +3,289 Layoffs in the manufacturing industry.
FL +2,501 Layoffs in the construction, agriculture, trade, retail and service industries.
CT +2,125 No comment.
MO +1,739 Layoffs in the construction, administrative service, and retail industries.
ME +1,594 Layoffs in the construction, manufacturing, and accommodation and food service industires.
CO +1,378 No comment.
AZ +1,262 No comment.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm#.UPhMYif7LhI

The top 3 increases in NY, GA and NC total over 66,000.

45 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Government, Jobs, NC, New York, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, Washington DC, white house

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Pat McCrory pay raises stupid, Republican McCrory inherited Perdue Obama Democrat mess, Perceptions matter, Citizen Wells to McCrory wake up!

Posted on January 15, 2013 | 55 comments

Pat McCrory pay raises stupid, Republican McCrory inherited Perdue Obama Democrat mess, Perceptions matter, Citizen Wells to McCrory wake up!

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”…Karl Marx

“Guilford (Large NC County) appears on it’s way to a third consecutive year with annual jobless rates in double digits. Economists say that likely hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.”…Greensboro News Record December 2, 2011

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”…Jesus, John 8:32

 

Pat McCrory, the new Republican Governor of NC is a likeable guy. He inherited a huge mess from former Democrat Governor Beverly Perdue, Barack Obama and the Democrats.

McCrory was raised within approx. 15 miles of where I was raised. Though he is younger than I, he must have been surrounded, as I was, by good people who had some damn sense.

Pat McCrory, what the hell were you thinking?

Perceptions matter.

Despite the fact that you inherited this mess, you just gave high pay raises to staff members surrounding you while average North Carolinians are still suffering.

You made a mistake.

Admit it.

Fix it!

From the Raleigh News Observer January 13, 2013.

“Saunders: McCrory takes care of his own”

“If you saw our new governor live or on television banging away on a drum set with a band at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre last week, you already know Ringo has nothing to worry about.

For further evidence that the governor is tone deaf, all you had to do was read the newspaper the next day and see that Gov. Pat, henceforth known as Gov. Pay Raise, McCrory bestowed sizable raises on the people closest to him while sprinkling a pittance upon those outside his inner circle – you know, the ones who do the actual work.

Six-figure-earning Cabinet secretaries in his administration received raises ranging from 5 to 11 percent right off the bat. Tony Tata and Kieran Shanahan, directors of transportation and public safety, respectively, got bumped from $121,807 to $135,000.

Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it, apparently, if you’re close enough to reach out and touch the hem of the governor’s garment.

Regular ol’ state workers got raises, too – their first in four years. Surely Gov. McCrory cut them a nice slice of that state cheddar, one commensurate with their worth, right?

Nope. They received raises – if you can call them that – of 1.2 percent. If the average teacher’s salary in North Carolina is $46,605, that means his or her salary went up $559.26.

Hmm. One hundred years ago, that would’ve been enough to keep ’em rolling in fatback, flour and sorghum from the General Store to see them through spring. Now, though, $559.26 might feed a family of four for a month – as long as two of them don’t eat.

Oh … nevermind

Do you remember that campaign talk from Gov. McCrory about how we’ve all got to learn to tighten our belts and live within our means?

Nevermind. He apparently wasn’t talking about the high-up muckety mucks. “I’m trying to make it at least where they can afford to live while running multi-billion-dollar departments,” he said in an earlier interview with The N&O.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much confidence in the management skills or fiscal acumen of any Cabinet secretary who can’t live off $121,000 a year but who can live off $135,000.

The governor and his supporters will no doubt stress that these selfless public servants – tee hee – could make more money in the private sector. Perhaps some could, although others – judging by recent work histories – would be lucky to find a job wearing a paper hat and nametag and asking “Paper or plastic?””

Read more:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/13/2604805/saunders-gov-pay-showers-the-people.html?storylink=MI_emailed

55 Comments

Posted in Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Democrats, Economy, Employment, Government, NC, News, North Carolina, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, republicans, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment

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Unemployment insurance initial claims up 4000, January 10, 2013, 4 week moving average increased 6750, 18 states increase more than 1000, American Express cutting 5400 jobs

Posted on January 10, 2013 | 14 comments

Unemployment insurance initial claims up 4000, January 10, 2013, 4 week moving average increased 6750, 18 states increase more than 1000, American Express cutting 5400 jobs

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“We tried our plan—and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.”…Barack Obama

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

From the US Labor Department January 10, 2013.

“UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT”

“In the week ending January 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 371,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 367,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 359,000.”

STATES WITH AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 1,000

State Change State Supplied Comment
MI +15,107 Layoffs in the manufacturing industry.
PA +12,483 Layoffs in the transportation, construction, food and beverage manufacturing, and metals industries.
WI +6,748 No comment.
NJ +3,436 Layoffs in the educational service industry.
MO +3,057 Layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing industries.
IA +2,804 Increase is a result of processing claims from prior week when offices were closed due to the holiday.
NC +2,300 Layoffs in the machinery, lumber and wood products, transportation and warehousing, automotive repair, service and parking, rubber and plastic products, petroleum, and textile industries.
OR +2,185 Increase is a result of processing claims from prior week when offices were closed due to the holiday.
MD +2,182 No comment.
CA +2,012 Increase is a result of processing claims from prior week when offices were closed due to the holiday.
AL +1,913 Layoffs in the administrative and support service, healthcare and social assistance, construction, and textile industries.
TN +1,589 Layoffs in the administrative and support service, electronics, and construction industries.
KS +1,387 No comment.
CT +1,276 No comment.
OH +1,240 No comment.
ID +1,219 No comment.
VT +1,103 Layoffs in the manufacturing industry.
MA +1,051 Layoffs in the transportation and warehousing industry.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm#.UO9P4m_7LhI

From CNN Money January 10, 2013.

“American Express to cut 5,400 jobs”

“American Express announced Thursday that it was cutting 5,400 jobs, becoming the latest large financial firm to reduce its headcount.
The company said the largest reductions would come from its travel businesses, which “operate in an industry that is being fundamentally reinvented as a result of the digital revolution.”

“One outcome of this ongoing shift to online is that we can serve a growing customer base with lower staffing levels,” AmEx CEO Kenneth Chenault said in a call with analysts. “Staying ahead of these trends has led us to redesign the model within global business travel and to continue the evolution within cardmember servicing and collections.”

While the cuts will be partially offset by the addition of new positions, American Express said it expects to see its current work force of 63,500 reduced by between 4% and 6% by the end of the year.

“Against the backdrop of an uneven economic recovery, these restructuring initiatives are designed to make American Express more nimble, more efficient and more effective in using our resources to drive growth,” Chenault said in a statement.

The company said the cuts “will be spread proportionally between the U.S. and international markets and will primarily involve positions that do not directly generate revenue.”

Shares fell about 0.7% in after-hours trading.

The news came as American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) pre-announced of its fourth-quarter results. Excluding severance costs associated with the job cuts and other special expenses, net income came in at $1.2 billion, or $1.09 a share, exceeding the prediction of $1.06 a share from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Sales were $8.1 billion, in line with expectations.

Elsewhere in the industry, Morgan Stanley (AACXX) plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs in the coming weeks, a source told CNNMoney this week. Last month, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs.”

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/10/investing/american-express-jobs/

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Government, Jobs, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, US economy, Washington DC, white house

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John Boehner Mitch McConnell Republicans should have walked away from table, Republicans support tax increases, Rhino Times January 3, 2013, Good news from NC

Posted on January 4, 2013 | 83 comments

John Boehner Mitch McConnell Republicans should have walked away from table, Republicans support tax increases, Rhino Times January 3, 2013, Good news from NC

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.”…John F. Kennedy

“A tax increase to a company results in some combination of the following:
Product and service price increases.
Employee and hours cutbacks.
Reduced hiring.”…Citizen Wells

“Nearly every empirical study of taxes and economic growth published in a peer reviewed journal finds that tax increases harm economic growth,”…William McBride, Tax Foundation

Good news from NC.

Obama was defeated in NC in the 2012 election and for the first time since the 1890s, Republicans control both legislative and executive branches.

Good news reporting in NC.

From John Hammer of the Rhino Times January 3, 2013.

“The Republicans blinked and now they are toast. There is an old saying in business: If you aren’t willing to get up and walk away from the negotiating table then you’re just begging.

Obama refused to negotiate and basically said it was OK with him if they went over the fiscal cliff. We’ll never know if he was serious because House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell panicked. Whether or not Obama would have gone over the fiscal cliff is academic at this point because he did what good negotiators do – he convinced his opponents that he was willing to go over the cliff if they didn’t agree to his terms.

The negotiations by McConnell with Vice President Joe Biden got the small concession that taxes would be raised on families with incomes over $450,000. Obama wanted it to be $250,000, but it doesn’t matter because Obama got the Republicans to support tax increases.

And it’s not just a tax increase on those making over $450,000, it’s a tax increase on over 70 percent of Americans. So Obama got the Republicans to vote to raise taxes on most Americans – something they said they wouldn’t do.

Not only did Obama get Republicans to support tax increases, he got them to agree to raise spending. The deal that McConnell and Boehner voted for raises spending by nearly $4 trillion. The deal includes $1 in tax cuts for every $41 in increased taxes.

If the Republicans were going to cave like this, why bother to wait until the last minute?

The huge problem is that this leadership is done. The Democrats now know that they will cave. The Democrats have to wait until the last minute, but in the end this Republican leadership team doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to hang in there.

It’s astounding how badly Obama beat the Republicans. First he got them to agree to this fiscal cliff deal a year ago, which was brilliant. He pushed the showdown out past the election. Obama will never run for anything again, so he really doesn’t have to worry about public opinion. Plus, he does have the media on his side. So no matter what Obama does he knows that he has the full support of the mainstream media and it will work overtime spinning everything in his direction.

However, despite the unquestioning media support, pushing the face-off out past the election gave Obama a huge advantage. The Republicans were no doubt hoping they could beat Obama at the polls in November, but they didn’t come close.

With the fiscal cliff looming and no election to worry about, Obama had a strong hand. The fiscal cliff raised taxes on everyone, something that Obama wants to do, and this way he could do it and blame it on the Republicans. The cuts included by going over the fiscal cliff may have been devastating, but half were to military spending, which Obama also wanted to do, and once again by going over the fiscal cliff he could blame it on the Republicans, which is what the press was doing.

So Obama could sit back with confidence and say, OK, either agree to my terms or I’m willing to jump off that cliff. The Republicans lost any bargaining power they might have had when they admitted to being horrified to go over the cliff. The negotiating tactic that might have worked would have been to agree with Obama that going over the cliff would not be bad and discussing how to deal with the issues that would arise, like a recession.

You’ve got to convince the other guy that you are willing to walk away from the table, and in the negotiations the Republicans convinced Obama that in the end they would cave, and they did.

Obama in the end gave up almost nothing. It doesn’t matter where you put the limit on tax increases on the wealthy because the point is not to raise money. It’s just politics. Obama has been saying that the rich don’t pay their fair share. He doesn’t give facts and figures to back this up; he just says it over and over again until people start believing it. Obama says the rich don’t pay their fair share so he wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

The Republicans have for 20 years opposed raising taxes. The Republican argument is that the problem is not that the government doesn’t have enough money, it is that the government spends too much money. The way to solve the fiscal mess according to Republicans is to reduce spending and reduce taxes. You reduce spending to lower the deficit and you reduce taxes to stimulate the economy.

Even Obama admits that reducing taxes stimulates the economy. What he hasn’t explained is why he wants to raise taxes if reducing taxes stimulates the economy. But Obama got to raise taxes on the wealthy like he wanted, and he got to increase spending by nearly $4 trillion. But he also got to raise taxes on most everybody else and to extend unemployment benefits for another year. Extending unemployment benefits encourages more people not to work, which is not what is best for the economy. But it sure is a great way for the Democrats to buy votes.

It was a win all the way around for Obama. Then he got to get on Air Force One, fly west and wake up in Hawaii. Talk about having a good week. This one is going to be hard for Obama to beat.”

http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-Columns-c-2013-01-02-214374.112113-Under-the-Hammer.html

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Government, NC, News, North Carolina, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, republicans, Rhino Times, The Case Against Barack Obama, US economy, Washington DC, white house

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Obama supporters resemble Eloi of HG Wells “Time Machine”, Ask no questions and be fed, Morlocks represent government, Eloi like Obots and sheep led to slaughter

Posted on December 28, 2012 | 28 comments

Obama supporters resemble Eloi of HG Wells “Time Machine”, Ask no questions and be fed, Morlocks represent government, Eloi like Obots and sheep led to slaughter

“If the party could thrust its hand into the past and say
of this and that event, it never happened–that, surely,
was more terrifying than mere torture and death.”…George Orwell, “1984″

“The question had come into my mind abruptly: were these creatures fools? You may hardly understand how it took me. You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five-year-old children”…HG Wells, “Time Machine”

“We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable.”…George Orwell, “1984″

Two days ago I caught part of 2 shows, Mark Steyn substituting for Rush Limbaugh and part of the movie “Time Machine” by HG Wells

A caller from Washington State began chastising Mark Steyn for being so negative about the economy and Steyn simply replied food stamps usage has skyrocketed. That really does tell the tale. Home prices going up some means very little since they had no where to go but up and the housing market will continue to stagnate as long as the core economy falters.

The unemployment situation is much worse than the stated unemployment rate. Labor Force Participation Rates are at historic lows and if one reads the Labor Dept. reports a clearer picture emerges.

“The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending December 8 was 5,475,708, an increase of 73,279 from the previous week.”

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm#.UN2vzW_7LhJ

From the Guardian December 26, 2012.

“US markets take hit from poor Christmas spending figures”

“Retailers pulled stocks lower Wednesday as US markets reopened following the Christmas holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 49 points to 13,090 as of noon. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell seven to 1,419 and the Nasdaq composite lost 19 to 2,993.

Trading was quiet. European markets were still closed.

Major US retailers fell following a glum report on US holiday sales. Macy’s and Urban Outfitters lost 3%. Sears Holdings fell nearly 5%.

The MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report found that sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods increased just 0.7% in the two months before Christmas compared with the same period last year.

That’s well below the growth of 3 to 4% growth that analysts had expected and the worst performance since 2008, when spending shrank during the Great Recession.

Last year sales climbed 4 to 5% during November and December, according to ShopperTrak.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/26/christmas-spending-figures-markets-down

I read HG Wells’ “Time Machine” many years ago and have seen the movie several times. I was sitting at my desk and turned on the TV to find the movie playing on TCM. The part where the Eloi were being interacted with was playing. In the past I viewed them as a frightening spectre of what could play out in human history. However, this time, especially after hearing the Mark Steyn caller in denial, I was struck by how much the Eloi resembled Obama supporters, Obots. Don’t ask questions and expect to be fed. The movie in this case, more so than the book, provided the stark imagery.

From the “Time Machine” by HG Wells.

Chapter 4

“As they made no effort to communicate with me, but simply stood round me smiling and speaking in soft cooing notes to each other, I began the conversation.”

“For a moment I was staggered, though the import of his gesture was plain enough. The question had come into my mind abruptly: were these creatures fools? You may hardly understand how it took me. You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five-year-old children – asked me, in fact, if I had come from the sun in a thunderstorm! It let loose the judgment I had suspended upon their clothes, their frail light limbs, and fragile features. A flow of disappointment rushed across my mind. For a moment I felt that I had built the Time Machine in vain.”

“However, I felt like a schoolmaster amidst children, and persisted, and presently I had a score of noun substantives at least at my command; and then I got to demonstrative pronouns, and even the verb “to eat.” But it was slow work, and the little people soon tired and wanted to get away from my interrogations, so I determined, rather of necessity, to let them give their lessons in little doses when they felt inclined. And very little doses I found they were before long, for I never met people more indolent or more easily fatigued.”

“Looking round with a sudden thought, from a terrace on which I rested for a while, I realized that there were no small houses to be seen. Apparently the single house, and possibly even the household, had vanished. Here and there among the greenery were palace-like buildings, but the house and the cottage, which form such characteristic features of our own English landscape, had disappeared.

“Communism,” said I to myself.”

Chapter 5
“I wasted some time in futile questionings, conveyed, as well as I was able, to such of the little people as came by. They all failed to understand my gestures; some were simply stolid, some thought it was a jest and laughed at me. I had the hardest task in the world to keep my hands off their pretty laughing faces.”

“Going through the big palace, it seemed to me that the little people avoided me. It may have been my fancy, or it may have had something to do with my hammering at the gates of bronze. Yet I felt tolerably sure of the avoidance. I was careful, however, to show no concern and to abstain from any pursuit of them, and in the course of a day or two things got back to the old footing. I made what progress I could in the language, and in addition I pushed my explorations here and there. Either I missed some subtle point or their language was excessively simple – almost exclusively composed of concrete substantives and verbs. There seemed to be few, if any, abstract terms, or little use of figurative language. Their sentences were usually simple and of two words, and I failed to convey or understand any but the simplest propositions.”
“I must confess that my satisfaction with my first theories of an automatic civilization and a decadent humanity did not long endure. Yet I could think of no other. Let me put my difficulties. The several big palaces I had explored were mere living places, great dining-halls and sleeping apartments. I could find no machinery, no appliances of any kind. Yet these people were clothed in pleasant fabrics that must at times need renewal, and their sandals, though undecorated, were fairly complex specimens of metalwork. Somehow such things must be made. And the little people displayed no vestige of a creative tendency. There were no shops, no workshops, no sign of importations among them. They spent all their time in playing gently, in bathing in the river, in making love in a half-playful fashion, in eating fruit and sleeping. I could not see how things were kept going.”

“The great triumph of Humanity I had dreamed of took a different shape in my mind. It had been no such triumph of moral education and general co-operation as I had imagined. Instead, I saw a real aristocracy, armed with a perfected science and working to a logical conclusion the industrial system of to-day. Its triumph had not been simply a triumph over Nature, but a triumph over Nature and the fellow-man. This, I must warn you, was my theory at the time. I had no convenient cicerone in the pattern of the Utopian books. My explanation may be absolutely wrong. I still think it is the most plausible one. But even on this supposition the balanced civilization that was at last attained must have long since passed its zenith, and was now far fallen into decay. The too-perfect security of the Upper-worlders had led them to a slow movement of degeneration, to a general dwindling in size, strength, and intelligence. That I could see clearly enough already. What had happened to the Under-grounders I did not yet suspect; but from what I had seen of the Morlocks – that, by the by, was the name by which these creatures were called – I could imagine that the modification of the human type was even far more profound than among the “Eloi,” the beautiful race that I already knew.”

http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/timemachine/4/

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Posted in 1984, Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Jobs, News, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Orwell, Orwellian, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment, Washington DC, white house

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