2 Steaks on the 4th of July....

 

 

"If the economy was a car, the check 'engine light' would be flashing red." 

It was a great Fourth of July! To celebrate our Independence Day, as we do every year, I bought a couple of steaks to BBQ. When I got home, my wife noticed the steak for me was a top cut ribeye steak.  The other steak I bought for her was a bottom round which I got on sale for less than $3. The shelf life had expired and it looked a bit green. However, after I cooked it, she would never notice.

When my wife questioned me on the differences between the two pieces of meat, I immediately told her they were both the same. When she asked me to explain, I told her this - since they both said "steak" somewhere on the packaging, therefore they were both the same. With that explanation, I fully expected her to just eat her steak and that would be the end of discussion.

Earlier this week the May jobs report was released. Needless to say, the press was (as Rush calls it) orgasmic. Jobs, jobs and more jobs. More that anyone had hoped for! However, as has often been counseled, one must read between the lines. You know - the story behind the story. The press won't do it. They want nothing more than SOME good news on ANYTHING to bolster our historic President. So lets peel back the onion a bit.

Were there almost 300k of new jobs created? Yes, 288,000 to be exact. That part is true. However, the vast majority (again), almost all of them, were part time. In fact, we lost 523,000 full time jobs while adding 799,000 part time jobs! Getting back to the steak story, just like not all steak is the same, not all jobs are the same. As we continue to shed good paying, full time, well benefited jobs, and replace them with part time, we become a poorer nation.

The White House is also gloating about the U3 unemployment rate dipping to 6.1%. As has been talked about many times before, this is Common Core math at its finest. The primary reason the U3 unemployment keeps dropping is the workforce participation keeps dropping. More and more are just throwing up their hands and giving up. 2.4 million adults have left the workforce this past year. Many are playing the benefit game of trying to find government assistance rather than work. Tom Colburn reported in 2010 that one out of every nineteen adults in this country are on some kind of Social Security disability. I don't have the exact number for what it is in 2014, only that I know that number has grown worse.

So what is the real story? The U6 unemployment number is still over 12%. If there was a way to factor in the difference between jobs lost and jobs gained (in quality and pay), the number would be much higher. Certain sectors of the workforce are in tatters. Only 47.7% of all adults in this country are now working full time. Teenage unemployment is now at a staggering 21%. The unemployment rate for blacks is almost twice what it is for whites. This is not a tide which is lifting all boats, it is a tidal wave sinking all boats. One economic writer said "If the economy was a car, the check 'engine light' would be flashing red."

So as we roll (or should I say "limp") into July, here is a snapshot of our economy. The only good news is our lap dog media has not lost their way. They have been, and continue to be, sycophants for this Administration.