Monday, September 29, 2014

Report: Why Did Clinton Offshore our Jobs?

Ever since Hillary Clinton's husband granted permanent normal trade relations to China, the U.S has lost over 64,000 manufacturing firms and at least 5.8 million manufacturing jobs.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Poll: Why has the Labor Force Declined?

What group of people are primarily responsible for the decline in the U.S. labor force since the beginning of the new century? Is it those who have offshored jobs to factories overseas over the past 15 to 25 years, or is it those who once worked in U.S. factories for the last 30 or 40 years before going on disability or retiring?

Or is it the politician's fault for making bad trade deals for American workers that mostly benefited large corporations; or it because older workers became lazy and wanted to go on the government dole (to take home an income that is less than half of what they had previously earned?)

Or is it because American workers developed poor work habits and shabby characters — and we saw a dramatic increase in lazy people (of all ages and backgrounds) who just preferred to take home less than what a minimum wage job would offer if they didn't have to work at all?

Or is mostly because the job creators (who have been doing more with less by using current technology in an over-saturated workforce with stagnant wages) who have been exploiting a desperate work force by using more "independent contractors", hiring more temp workers, and by creating more part-time jobs with no fringe benefits at all?

Or is it mostly older workers, those who have decided to slither off into early retirements, or maybe because they became obsolete and no longer possessed the skills that are necessary to move boxes, sweep floors, flip burgers, drive a truck, greet a shopper or type on a computer?

Or is it because high school and college graduates now expect too much these days, and want it all right away, without ever having to work their way up the ladder by taking menial low-paying jobs, no matter how much they spent (or are in debt) on a college tuition?

What group of people are primarily responsible for the decline in the U.S. labor force since the beginning of the new century? But before you take my poll, let's first look at the number of retirees, graduates, the unemployed, those not in the labor force, those who want jobs, and the number of disabled workers that we've had since the end of the recession to the present:

The National Center for Education Statistics shows that we've had over 16 million high school graduates from 2009 to 2014 *

During that same exact period of time, the Social Security Administration shows we've had an additional 5.7 million retirees (as many as 1.4 million of whom may have been forced into early retirements because they couldn't find jobs). And we've also an additional 1.4 million disabled workers in payment status for benefits.

* As an aside: From the National Center for Education Statistics:

During the 2014–15 school year, colleges and universities are expected to award:

1.0 million associate’s degrees
1.8 million bachelor's degrees
821,000 master's degrees
177,500 doctor's degrees
3.8 million total degrees

In 2011–12, postsecondary institutions awarded:

1.0 million certificates below associate’s degree
1.0 million associate’s degrees
1.8 million bachelor’s degrees
754,000 master’s degrees
170,100 doctor’s degrees
4.7 million total degrees

Remember: Over the past 5 years, we've only had an additional 1.4 million disabled workers — but during that same exact period of time, we've also had over 11 million additional working-age people who are "not in the labor force" — many, who are most likely "discouraged workers" who gave up looking for non-existent jobs and are no longer counted as "unemployed".

Also, there are currently over 6.3 million working-age Americans not counted in the unemployment rate (and who are "not in the labor force") but also want a job — and many are disabled or retired (but most likely because they're over 50, employers wouldn't hire them.)

And we still have 9.6 million people who are still in the labor force and are still counted as "unemployed" and supposedly still want a job. Some will only get 12 weeks of unemployment benefits, some will get as many as 26 weeks (the maximum now) — depending on which state they live. But most will become "long-term unemployed" after 26 weeks before eventually being classified as "discouraged workers" — and then they will no longer be counted as part of the labor force either.

But yet, over the past 5 years, we've only had an additional 1.4 million disabled workers. So why does the media, economists, the Fed, the CBO, the GAO and the politicians, all keep saying:

"We have a record number of people — millions — going on disability when their unemployment benefits run out because they won't take a minimum wage job (or two jobs). They would rather be on the government dole. It is they and older workers who are driving down the labor force participation rate. It is they who left the labor force."

Even though there aren't even enough jobs for millions of other perfectly healthy "prime-age" young people who are just graduating from school, and who are also NOT in the labor force. Why are disabled workers and older workers getting a bad rap? Are they the ones who mostly contributed to the slack in the labor market? Please take my poll...

Forced Retirements also Drive Declining Labor Force


* Part of this post was excerpted and edited from a post at AOL JOBS: More Than 1 Million Baby Boomers Are Secretly Unemployed (by Claire Gordon).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its tabulation of the unemployment rate every month. But that leaves out one major segment of the population: Those forced into early retirement.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Warren: The Only Real Bullet Hillary Might Dodge

While Mitt Romney may have been the poster boy of those who ran a company that offshored jobs to China, it was Bill Clinton who ran the country that did (resulting in our current trade deficits). Clinton also repealed the Glass-Steagall law that deregulated the banks in 1999 (resulting in the housing bust and Great Recession). And good-ole Uncle Bill also lowered the capital gains tax rate in 1997 for the uber-rich (perpetuating the record high income and wealth inequality that we're experiencing today).

Since Bill Clinton granted permanent normal trade relations to China in 1998 and signed the NAFTA trade agreement in 1993, the labor force participation rate began its long decline (starting in April of 2000). And so, it's not a coincidence (or a great mystery as to why) that from the beginning of 2001 to the end of 2012 the U.S. has lost over 64,000 manufacturing firms — and millions of jobs — to offshoring. (And Obama isn't off the hook either, advocating for new trade deals that could hurt us even more, such as the TPP trade agreement).

Now American voters are poised to elect Bill Clinton's wife as our next President in 2016 to carry on the Clinton dynasty — and putting Bill back in the White House again. But of course, Hillary's backers have already said that she is NOT AT ALL like her husband. Oh really?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Rutgers Study: Unemployment Worse than Previously Reported

* Editor's Note: Below in this post are some highlights I excerpted (with some bullet points and notes) from a recent 54-page report by the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University in a study they did about long-term unemployment since the onset of the Great Recession. It appears that economic conditions for a broad swath of Americans are much worse than the media, economists and government officials have been reporting — most likely in their attempts to lift "consumer confidence" during a weak economic recovery — maybe to help generate more consumer spending and economic activity — to create more consumer demand in an economy fraught with "secular stagnation".

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Population Decline would Provide Enough Jobs

Despite the arguments being made over the past 5 years, that older workers make up a great part of the decline in the labor force (which has been in a long decline since 2000), this post shows that it's mostly prime-age workers and "non-starters" (those attempting to enter the work force for the very first time) that make up the greatest part of "discouraged workers" and others who are "not in the labor force" — and that it's mostly because of a lack of jobs, and nothing more.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

6.3 Million Unemployed not Counted in "Jobs Recovery"

For almost every month from September 2009 to April 2010, the U.S. has had over 15 million people counted as "unemployed". Today the government reports only 9.6 million (and says the economy is in a slow recovery) — but that doesn't include another 6.3 million unemployed working-aged Americans who are no longer counted as "unemployed", but also want a job — because they stopped looking for work and are no longer considered a part of the labor force — and so, are not counted among the unemployed.

Add those 6.3 million people and there are still 15.9 million people in the U.S. who are out of work — more than was ever previously reported in 2009/2010 as unemployed. The CES survey that's conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been incrementally sweeping “discouraged workers” under the carpet every month (for years) — and have relegated these unfortunate souls to the “not in the labor force” heap.)

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Older Workers, Retirees, Disabled, Boomers and the Declining Labor Force

* Editor's Note: The first 3 articles below discusses the unemployment rate and our lack of job creation, because it's related to the declining labor force. And the 4th article refers to the participation rate, which is followed up by some quotes I extracted from a new Fed study (along with my notes) on the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR).