The November Employment Report -- Update

Earlier today, I wrote about the disconnect between the pieces of the November employment report.  I pointed out that there is no way that America created jobs and unemployment fell by more while wages sank.  Now that there's been more time to look at the numbers, we may have an explanation.

Here are the two statistics that matter:  in the last three months full-time jobs lost are -99,000 while part-time jobs added are +638,000.  That means that we are having an explosion of part time work and a significant loss of full time work.  That mix would explain why average wages are falling.

Maybe a better way to put it all is that things are not doing well.  Thank God, Obama is going soon.

Here We Go

NY senator Kirsten Gillibrand has begun her campaign for president in 2020, or that's, at least, what the New York Post is reporting.  It's a rather sickening prospect.

First of all, Donald Trump hasn't even been sworn into office yet, and Gillibrand is already lining up support for the next election.  Doesn't America deserve a few years off from the endless campaign?  I think we do.

Second, the idea that an airhead like Gillibrand thinks she could be president tells you just how bare the bench is for Democrats.  This is a woman who has spent her time in the senate as mostly an aide to the other New York senator Chuck Schumer.  She has had not impact and is unlikely to have any in the next four years.  The Democrats could clearly do better if they picked someone at random from their voter rolls across the nation.
 

The November Employment Report

We got another of the monthly employment reports today.  As has been the case in recent years, it either doesn't tell us anything or it tells us too much.  Let me explain.  There were plenty of jobs supposedly created; the unemployment rate went way down by much more than the number of jobs created would indicate likely; and the average wages for American workers fell.  None of these three things go with the other.  If we get 170,000 jobs, then we ought to have a corresponding impact on the unemployment rate; we didn't.  If unemployment drops a lot, then there ought to be a rise in wages as it gets harder to find good employees; there wasn't.  What we really know is that at most one of these three things is likely to be accurate, and it well may be that none are accurate.

A few years back, there was a scandal when workers in some offices doing the surveys on which these figures are based were found to be making up data that was subsequently used in the results.  Is that going on again?  Is the whole system so flawed that it needs to be overhauled?  It sure seems like that is the case here.

 

That Was No Magic Wand; It Was Hard Work

Not all that long ago, president Obama was asked about Donald Trump's claim that he would keep the jobs of the Carrier employees in Indiana rather than watching them move to Mexico.  Obama mocked Trump's claim and said he would need a magic wand to accomplish it.  Today, Trump is announcing the details how nearly all of those jobs have been saved.

It's worth watching this short excerpt of Obama showing just how clueless and the Democrats really are when it comes to saving or creating jobs.

 

Another Great Trump Pick -- James Mattis for Secretary of Defense

The Washington Post is reporting that Donald Trump has chosen retired general James Mattis to be secretary of defense.  It is a truly outstanding selection.  Mattis was a no nonsense military commander who was known for his concern for his troops.  It will be a great thing to have someone atop the department who cares about the troops, their welfare and their success instead of someone whose goal is social engineering.  The nation's defense is too important to have SecDef worrying about whether or not transgendered people can serve on the front lines rather than worrying about how to keep all of those on the front lines of our defense safe and secure.  Mattis is also known for his blunt language and strong opinions.  The new president will do well to have a voice from a SecDef unafraid to speak out. 

There will need to be a law passed by Congress to allow Mattis to serve since he has not been retired from the military for the obligatory seven years.  There should not be any problem getting passage or that provision, however, unless the Democrats decide to try to obstruct this appointment.  That would be a mistake, however; Mattis is just too good for the country to let politics get in the way.

AP Goes On With Non-Stop Trump Criticism; This Time For Saving Jobs In Indiana

By now, most people have heard that a deal was struck with Carrier to keep its plant in Indianapolis open, thereby saving about 1000 jobs for American workers that had been slated to move to Mexico.  Donald Trump and his team were directly involved with the company in making that deal.  Indeed, stopping the impending move by Carrier to Mexico and similar moves by others was one of the recurrent themes of Trump's campaign, so this is a big victory.  Trump is going to hold an event later today at which the details of the deal will be disclosed.

So how does the AP report this story today?  First, they say that Trump "claims" to have saved jobs at Carrier.  Why is it just a claim?  The AP says that details of the deal are "sketchy".  That's no surprise; the details are to be announced later today.  Then the AP criticizes what is known of the deal.  Carrier was moving 1400 jobs to Mexico, but so far only 1100 jobs are being retained in Indiana.  That means Trump lost 300 jobs and the AP says it makes him a failure.

Think about that for a moment.  Carrier announces a move to Mexico and the federal government under Obama does nothing.  All those jobs are going.  AP is fine with that.  Then, even before taking office, Trump gets Carrier to keep over 1000 jobs in Indiana and AP says he failed.  How could anyone take such a bizarre position?

Time For Andrew Cuomo To Worry

In a truly great move, Donald Trump is keeping the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara in office after the transition to the Trump Administration.  This is scary news for Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York.  In the last few years, Bharara got convictions of the Democrat Speaker of the House and the Republican Senate Majority Leader in Albany.  He has also indicted some of Cuomo's top lieutenants and that case is likely moving towards a conviction.  With Bharara staying on the job, those lieutenants may soon make deals to flip on Cuomo.  New York's governor may soon be New York's latest convict.

The corruption in Albany has been of mythic proportions.  New York has operated as if ethics and laws do not matter at all.  What would be a scandal in most other states is just normal operating procedure in Albany.  Bharara undertook to drain the swamp in Albany, and he has made remarkable progress.  The only big target left is Cuomo himself.  My guess is that Cuomo just upped his prescription for tranquilizers.