More economic recovery:

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12648347

 

The US unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.9% in February, down from 9% the month before.

It is the third month in a row that the jobless rate has fallen, with February's figure marking a near two-year low.

Employers added 192,000 jobs last month, the US Labor Department said, above market expectations.

Paul O'Neill, former US Treasury Secretary, described the data as "very positive".

A Labor Department statement said that most job gains were in manufacturing, construction, business services and transport.

State and local government slashed 30,000 jobs, the most since November as budget cuts continue to bite.

The data showed that the jobless rate for adult men was 8.7%, for adult women 8%, and for teenagers 23.9%.

The unemployment rate has come down from 9.8% in November.

____________________

I'll be the first to admit that this is not what the Obama Administration predicted or really wanted when they wanted unemployment to stay where it was when they were inaugurated. However looking at this, the unemployment figures appear to be showing more, and more effective, growth since the Administration's stimulus package has gone into effect. It makes me curious in fact whether or not a larger stimulus package would have had more effect. What do you guys think?

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

How much of that could be affected by anything the Administration does and how much of it could not?

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I don't think much of it can. A lot of those jobs were artificial constructs of our housing-bubble economy, and the time and energy invested in developing those skills probably ended up going to waste.

If they were STEM jobs it would be easier, but that's a longer-term investment. It's why I worry about all the education cuts going on, particularly here in Texas - the costs are invisible for another 15-20 years.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

One problem is that in capitalist economies these bubbles recur over and over again and every damned time people are dumb enough to forget they eventually will burst. Unless people get smarter in the next two generations this problem will keep biting people hard and they'll be again surprised by it over and over again.

[nevermind6794.livejournal.com]

I was talking to a friend about something similar last night: whether people deserve to lose that money/job/investment, and whether government should step in. I was going to write a post about it soon.

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Honestly not much, but this part of the fatal conceit of government. They believe that their actions have far more control over the private sector than it really does.

Even in the most restrictive dictatorships there level of control and influence over the actions of private individuals is massively overstated.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Only in some of them. Occasionally one of them comes along that really *does* get all the control over private individuals it can wish. Then shit gets dangerous.

[harry-beast.livejournal.com]

It could be affected if the stimulus were focused on the most appropriate industries or projects, designed to create certain types of jobs and intended to create lasting economic value.
One example would be upgrades to rail infrastructure. Upgrades to the rail network of the United States would create short term jobs as track is repaired, upgraded and expanded, as well as ongoing employment gains within the railroads and related industries across the country. In addition, by improving the transportation infrastructure, it would lower costs of transportation, stimulating industrial development, and would pave the way for expanded commuter rail or possibly even some form of high speed rail. Job creation would occur across the supply chain, e.g. locomotive and railcar production and maintenance. Railway lines last for decades, if not centuries, so this would be a lasting strategic benefit to the coutry. And, to top it off, shifting freight onto the railway and off of highways would reduce congestion, pollution and the costs of road maintenance.
This presupposes that the government has a coherent and effective long term strategy for the rail industry (or any other industry), and that the focus of the strategy is not lost during the horsetrading necessary to get the bill passed. So ... hmmm. Maybe not.