The economics of it

© The Ephrata Review, Wednesday, 12 July 2006, Vol. 128, No. 35, page A5

Editor,
Ephrata Review,

On July 7, in Chicago, George W. Bush proudly reported that America created 150,000 new jobs in June. Bush also stated that the unemployment rate was 4.6%.

According to the July 7 news release by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States created 121,000 jobs in June. The DOL, BLS also reported that there were 7,000,000 unemployed Americans in June.

It’s great that there are jobs being created in the United States.

However, there are still 7,000,000 Americans who want jobs and cannot find jobs. Bush and other politicians never seem to present this statistic.

Politicians love to tell you about the number of jobs created, not the total number unemployed.

Anyone who has taken an entry-level college economics class knows that “Full Employment” is achieved when the unemployment rate falls below 4.00%. Full employment is when everyone who wants a job, can find a job.

This also helps to reduce the total number of underemployed Americans, increases wages for all Americans, and causes employers to offer benefits in an effort to attract new workers.

The Federal Reserve Board (The Fed) has increased interest rates 13 straight times in an effort to slow down the economy. Slowing down the economy will cause the unemployment rate to increase. This is one of the techniques The Fed uses to control wage inflation.

So, one hand we have the President talking about the number of jobs being created in America and on the other hand we have “The Fed” increasing interest rates to slow the economy and job growth. This means we have a President providing lip service in an effort to keep Republicans in control of the government and The Fed’s doing everything they can to keep the unemployment rate above 4%.

Source:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Nikola (Nick) Drobac
Stevens, PA 17578-0041

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ALSO IN:
Letter to the Editor - What about the unemployed?
12 July 2006

On Friday, in Chicago, George W. Bush proudly reported that American companies created 150,000 new jobs in June. Bush also stated that the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.

According to a July 7 news release by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States created 121,000 jobs in June. The BLS also reported that there were 7 million unemployed Americans in June.

It's great that there are 121,000 jobs being created in the United States. However, there are still 7 million Americans who want jobs and cannot find jobs. Bush and other politicians never seem to present this statistic. Politicians love to tell you about the number of jobs created, not the total number unemployed.

Anyone who has taken an entry-level college economics class knows that full employment is achieved when the unemployment rate falls below 4 percent.

Full employment is when everyone who wants a job can find a job. This also helps to reduce the total number of underemployed Americans, increases wages for all Americans and causes employers to offer benefits in an effort to attract new workers.

The Federal Reserve Board has increased interest rates 13 straight times in an effort to slow down the economy.

Slowing down the economy will cause the unemployment rate to increase. This is one of the techniques the Fed uses to control inflation.

So, on one hand we have the president talking about the number of jobs being created in America, and on the other hand we have the Fed increasing interest rates to slow the economy and job growth.

This means we have a president providing lip service in an effort to keep Republicans in control of the government and the Fed is doing everything it can to keep the unemployment rate above 4 percent.

Nikola (Nick) Drobac
Aliquippa, PA

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006

http://www.timesonline.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16910796&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=8

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REBUTTAL TO ME LETTER:

Letter to the Editor - Buy American
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006, 18 July 2006

To the writer ("What about the unemployed?," Wednesday) who is so concerned about our unemployment rate, all he has to do is look to see how many products he buys that are made overseas, and then he can answer his own question.

Whenever possible I buy American-made goods, especially my automobiles. There is a misconception about the quality of American-made products, yet if there is this misconception, then it's our fault. For the past several years I've been getting recall notices from the government, and guess what? Just about every item being recalled is foreign-made.

American cars get a bad rap. None of the GM cars I currently own have ever had a recall notice. We have landed several foreign industries in our state (Alabama), and our governor is currently out of the country, drumming up more investments for our state. Offering tax incentives to new companies also helps, which our state and local communities are doing.

Sitting around complaining about jobs doesn't create them.

By the way, this administration's tax cuts have created a lot of new jobs this year. By making it easier to invest capital, instead of redistributing it, you create jobs. My question to the writer is what's sitting in your driveway?

James Lucci
Montgomery, Ala.

Editor's Note: The writer is a former Beaver Falls resident

http://www.timesonline.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16934160&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=8

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Letter to the Editor - Figures don't lie; liars figure

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006, 23 July 2006

I thought I understood facts and figures, then I read Nikola (Nick) Drobac's letter ("What about the unemployed?" July 12).

He pointed out that Bush reported American companies created 150,000 new jobs in June, but that the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that the United States created 121,000 jobs in June. Combined that equals 271,000 new jobs.

Those figures are tremendous, but misleading. Drobac further pointed out that the BLS also reported that there were 7 million unemployed Americans in June - and there were - but Mr. Drobac left out some pertinent facts.

He did not show the BLS breakdown of those unemployment figures. He failed to acknowledge that millions are always on unemployment roles, because they are the lame, the halt, the blind and otherwise physically incapacitated or mentally challenged, and then some people who absolutely refuse to work.

Would you believe that Nick?

Paragraph four is the real reason for this letter: "Anyone who has taken an entry-level college economics class knows that full employment is achieved when the unemployment rate falls below 4 percent."

I would like to have a copy of that textbook.

I was taught (in Economics 101) that even during the height of World War II, when all able bodied men, women and children on farms were asked to work for the war effort, that the unemployment rate never got below 4.8 percent (please see exact figures below). Today it is 4.6. Bush is doing something correctly.

The rest of his letter is all nonsense about the economy, inflation, etc. Several of his statements contradicted each other, which goes to prove, figures don't lie, but liars figure.

Peter Homitz
Monaca

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006

http://www.timesonline.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16957242&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478569&rfi=8

BELLOW FROM:
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/cps/prev_yrs.htm

Annual average unemployment rate, civilian labor force 16 years and over (percent)

Year --- % Annual average unemployment rate
1948 --- 3.8% - H. S. Truman
1949 --- 5.9% - H. S. Truman
1950 --- 5.3% - H. S. Truman
1951 --- 3.3% - H. S. Truman
1952 --- 3.0% - H. S. Truman
1953 --- 2.9% - D. D. Eisenhower
1954 --- 5.5% - D. D. Eisenhower - notice, unemployment rate went up
1955 --- 4.4% - D. D. Eisenhower
1956 --- 4.1% - D. D. Eisenhower
1957 --- 4.3% - D. D. Eisenhower
1958 --- 6.8% - D. D. Eisenhower
1959 --- 5.5% - D. D. Eisenhower
1960 --- 5.5% - D. D. Eisenhower
1961 --- 6.7% - J. F. Kennedy
1962 --- 5.5% - J. F. Kennedy - notice, unemployment rate went down
1963 --- 5.7% - J. F. Kennedy
1964 --- 5.2% - L. B. Johnson
1965 --- 4.5% - L. B. Johnson
1966 --- 3.8% - L. B. Johnson
1967 --- 3.8% - L. B. Johnson
1968 --- 3.6% - L. B. Johnson
1969 --- 3.5% - R. M Nixon
1970 --- 4.9% - R. M Nixon - notice, unemployment rate went up
1971 --- 5.9% - R. M Nixon
1972 --- 5.6% - R. M Nixon
1973 --- 4.9% - R. M Nixon
1974 --- 5.6% - R. M Nixon
1975 --- 8.5% - G. Ford
1976 --- 7.7% - G. Ford
1977 --- 7.1% - J. Carter
1978 --- 6.1% - J. Carter
1979 --- 5.8% - J. Carter
1980 --- 7.1% - J. Carter
1981 --- 7.6% - R. W. Reagan years -
1982 --- 9.7% - R. W. Reagan - wow, 9.7%
1983 --- 9.6% - R. W. Reagan - wow, 9.6%
1984 --- 7.5% - R. W. Reagan
1985 --- 7.2% - R. W. Reagan
1986 --- 7.0% - R. W. Reagan
1987 --- 6.2% - R. W. Reagan
1988 --- 5.5% - R. W. Reagan - another Republican dummy
1989 --- 5.3% - H. W. Bush
1990 --- 5.6% - H. W. Bush
1991 --- 6.8% - H. W. Bush
1992 --- 7.5% - H. W. Bush
1993 --- 6.9% - W. J. Clinton
1994 --- 6.1% - W. J. Clinton - notice, unemployment rate went down
1995 --- 5.6% - W. J. Clinton
1996 --- 5.4% - W. J. Clinton
1997 --- 4.9% - W. J. Clinton
1998 --- 4.5% - W. J. Clinton
1999 --- 4.2% - W. J. Clinton
2000 --- 4.0% - W. J. Clinton
2001 --- 4.7% - G. W. Bush - notice, unemployment rate went up
2002 --- 5.8% - G. W. Bush
2003 --- 6.0% - G. W. Bush
2004 --- 5.5% - G. W. Bush
2005 --- 5.1% - G. W. Bush - worst president in U. S. A. history.

ABOVE FROM:
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/cps/prev_yrs.htm

Last Modified Date: June 23, 2006

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