Well, So Much for 'Recovery Summer'

Well, the final jobs numbers before the election in 26 days are in and they are, well, grim. Grim for the country, grim for the jobless, grim for the president, and very, very grim for Democrats leading into the election. Indeed, today’s news brings that John Dingell is showing well behind the challenger in that tax and spend utopia of Michigan; think things aren’t related?

The economy lost (lost!! in this summer of recovery that wasn’t) 95,000 jobs in September. The private sector gained only 64,000 jobs during the month while the public sector gave up 159,000 jobs as the temporary census workers program (that generated much of the well-publicized jobs recovery during the springtime) came to an end and state and local governments also faced the reality of continuing dwindling revenues and didn’t hire the numbers of teachers and assistants for this year’s opening of schools.

Of course, the usual corrections statements came as well, with both July and August giving up more jobs than originally thought! OK, how’s that hope, change, and stimulus working out?

As if one needed any additional confirmation that the country’s leadership is (to quote a great movie title) Without a Clue, President Obama today said: “I think the Republican position doesn’t make much sense, especially since the weakness in public sector employment is a drag on the private sector as well.” Well, Mr. President, I think you have it exactly backwards. The private sector isn’t creating jobs because of the drag the public sector is placing on it. You can’t continue to tax and run up debt and create nothing but economic uncertainty and expect that those who run actual businesses and produce actual goods and services are going to hire people without understanding the cost of doing so. Will. Not. Happen. This is the fruit of that labor.

The unemployment rate (as measured) remained at 9.6%, now the 14^th month in a row, longest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The UNDEREMPLOYMENT rate, that of those unemployed, those too discouraged to continue looking, and those in temporary jobs, remained over 17%. The number of full time workers thrown into temporary jobs has skyrocketed over the past nine months masking the incredible job-unmaking machine these policies have created.