Another 529,000 (Jobs) Bite The Dust
Another 529,000 Americans lost jobs in April, making it another brutal month on the employment front. A total of 5.7 million Americans have now lost their jobs in the current 16-month recession, most of them within the last six months.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also upped job loss estimates for February and March, adding roughly 60,000 lost jobs to the two-month total of 1.3 million. Combined with a record 741,000 jobs lost in January, the three-month total for the first quarter of 2009 is over 2 million jobs … gone.
The U.S. unemployment rate now stands at 8.9% – its highest mark in 26 years.
Any good news?
Well, we “only” lost 529,000 jobs last month.
Sad, huh?
But hey, don’t worry, your government is going to pour billions more dollars into its worthless, wasteful, woefully-inefficient bureaucracies.
That oughta do it!
Comments
By Sanford MIA on May 8th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
It’s funny you should bring this up, since your former boss doesn’t have a stellar record, if he has a record at all, on job creation and employing the people of South Carolina. We have the 2nd highest unemployment rate in America, meanwhile Sanford is in Virginia hobnobbing with the rich and powerful.
Get a grip Will, and get a real job… you’ll be out of this one, when he is out of the Governor’s Mansion unable to tell his legislative minions from Beaufort, Greenville and Spartanburg what water to tote.
By fitsnews on May 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
“Sanford MIA,”
We bring it up every time there are new numbers – either nationally or in SC.
And Sanford doesn’t run SC, so how is he responsible for that?
The General Assembly is in charge of this state – just ask them.
Oh wait, unemployment? Oh right, that’s not their fault.
They only control the tax code, the fee structure, the tort climate, the workers’ comp laws, the school system … hell, everything.
Get an effin’ brain, dude.
-FITS
By bigman on May 8th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
The funny thing is that there are plenty of jobs out there. I know of several companies trying to hire people and no one is calling. ONe guy went to the unemployment agency and gave them # jobs for construction and only got 3 calls in a month. People are living off of unemployment and are waiting on Obama to start paying their bills for them. The unemployment rate for college educated people is only 4.1%, the rest is unskilled labor and several of them (not all of them) are happy living off the gov’t.
By Sanford MIA on May 8th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
You know, collectively, they are all dumbasses. However, if the Governor would actually try to work with this crowd, they might have been able to reach a compromise on something over the past seven years.
When I was younger, and my mom wanted me to go to church, but I would have rather watched the Brad Scott show, did it hurt me to go to church? No. And in the long run, I gained more by going to church than watching his fatass make up excuses for losing the night before.
So maybe, if the Governor would go along with some of their ideas, while giving them advice (cordially, not from the bully pulpit) then he might have a record to run for the White House on in 2012. Instead, he has a paper thing record that won’t get him out of Iowa. Might as well call him the Sam Brownback or Tom Vilsack of 2012. Pull your head out of your ass your worthless clown.
By Cruvic on May 8th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Are there any websites in the US tracking all these job losses and the companies making the cuts? I would be very interested in getting in touch with anyone that has information on such cuts.
By Gillon on May 8th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Isn’t the Dept of Commerce, whose primary job is supposed to be attracting industry and jobs to SC, under the control of the Governor? Seems like it did pretty well under every governor except this one.
By marvin on May 8th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Sanford MIA: Are you saying the legislature would have cut spending, restructured government, given across-the-board tax relief to ALL businesses instead of a few favorites, privatized the state ports system, cut out all the socialist “economic development” spending and competitive grants, reformed workers’ comp, implemented full tort reform AND reformed education if only Sanford had asked nicely and gone along with a couple of their idea? Seriously? You have got to be kidding.
Gillon: Seems like “did pretty well” in your book means “we wrote a bunch of checks to a couple of big companies, plus gave them breaks on taxes that we passed along to other businesses.” And how has that worked for us, dude? Not so well. Commerce Department is not in charge of “creating jobs.” Government is not in charge of creating jobs. The private sector is in charge of creating jobs. A commerce department can pitch a company on the benefits of our state, but we don’t have any. Our schools are the worst in the nation, our state government is a banana republic run by a bunch of corrupt rednecks, and we kill businesses on fees and permits, much more than other states do.
Plus we pour eleventy kabillion dollars into a bunch of bogus “research” jobs. Check out Innovista, Gillon.
We are in a socialist spiral, and our unemployment numbers reflect that. We are losing jobs because we are taking money from businesses to fund a big, bloated government. That is why everything in our state is going to hell. Period.
By For real on May 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
You are correct Gillon
By James the Foot Soldier on May 8th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Gillon…..until NAFTA hit and all those companies in Northern climes discovered they could pay Mexican workers $1.25 an hour and they’d be happy campers rather than pay a South Carolinian $10.00 per hour and get a shitty attitude and an even shitier effort.
By Gillon on May 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Marvin, If your contentions are all true, and they are obviously made from a right-wing conservative Republican viewpoint, why is it that the people of SC keep electing those same people to office year after year? SC has a 27-19 Republican majority in the State Senate; a 71-53 Republican majority in the SC House of Reps.; a Republican Governor and Lt. Governor; eight of nine Republican constitutional offices: both U.S. Senators; and four of six Congressmen. And don’t give me the lame excuse that “well, they are RINOs.”
They were chosen in Republican primaries and in most cases, elected in gerrymandered Republican districts in the general election. You, and your like alone, are to blame for the situation that this state finds itself in.
By marvin on May 9th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
My “like?” What is that, Gillon? I support the free market. I believe the private sector can create jobs better than the government can. I believe small business owners should not be taxed-fee-fined-permited to death so we can pay for a multi-million dollars hydrogen fueling station that will never create jobs except for a couple rich, out-of-state professors and some lobbyists. I do not believe we should spend those people’s money — or anyone else’s — to write checks to big companies who will end up more dependent upon an ever-growing government that cannot possibly afford to support them.
That’s being a Republican, Gillon. Now, as to why the people keep electing them — you have a fair point there. I believe it is largely because they have never known what happens in the Statehouse. They can’t see the budget anymore than most rank-and-file legislators can. No transparency = no accountability. But I think voters are starting to catch on, Gillon. Some of them lost last year. More of them will lose next year if they aren’t careful. They threw them out in DC, and they’ll do it here eventually.
My kind is not in charge of the government right now. If we were, there would be real competition in the marketplace, no “economic development” from government and thus more actual jobs. I think you are probably a Democrat, Gillon. And fair enough. Your party stands for government solutions, and it is getting them. But to be honest with you, I’m not sure your party leaders are any more faithful to philosophy than Republicans. Do Democrats in the Statehouse stand for lower income, blue collar workers anymore, or do they stand for themselves and their friends? You should ask what any of them have done for real workers in this state. I’d be curious to see what you think that is.
By Gillon on May 9th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Marvin, Thanks for your thoughts. From what you have written above I think that we can agree on a few things. To wit: We need more competent, intelligent, and empathetic people in positions of power in this state, and less self-absorbed, self-serving and inflexible ones–from the governor on down and on both sides of the legislative aisles. What we need is less rigid ideology, less partisanship, and more pragmatism, fairness, and social conscience. The reason we keep getting what we keep getting seems to be a general indifference and ignorance on the part of the voting public. John C. Calhoun wrote many years ago regarding the problem of how in a democratic society a minority can protect itself against the tyranny of the minority. He was of course referring mainly to the South in its relations with the North and the nation as a whole There is still that problem today. Only now it revolves around the problem in this state of how a thoughtful, conscientious, and knowledgeable voting minority can solve the problems engendered by the electoral successes wrought by a largely ignorant, politically unsophisticated, emotion-driven, and naive majority. I don’t have an answer. Maybe you do.
By Statesman on May 9th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Marv and Gillion,
The House went to Hell in ‘94 and the Senate followed suit in 2000. Prior to those dates Republicans and Democrats actually worked together to try and solve issues. The Lesislative and Executive branches even worked together for the common good.
By For real on May 9th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I agree with both Marvin and Gillon, but the old saying is you get what you pay for. The Reps and Senators get paid 10k a year + per diem. Unless you live w/in an hour, are retired, or wealthy, then you narrow down a whole bunch of people. The pay needs to be better to attract more quality candidates, so that the time they spend, has some offset on their business or profession.
By marvin on May 10th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Gillon, I do agree with you that we need better leaders. Absolutely. Ones who are in their roles for the right reasons, and that’s tough to come by. And I don’t have an answer for how we get those, especially when so few people in general are willing to make sacrifices to truly serve the public. Most people at the Statehouse, and many of those who work for them, are self-serving and none too bright. True on both sides of the aisle.
As to rigid ideology, that depends: I don’t actually believe politicians should compromise on their true principles. Sure, we can all agree to some give-and-take, but that isn’t what is meant by “compromise” these days at the Statehouse. What that means today is “I’ll vote for your special project, you vote for mine, and no one will be criticizing anyone else because we are all in the mud together.” That attitude is what got us into this mess. Too much pragmatism leads to a distant attitude toward the real world and people in it, and robs public servants of their passion to genuinely make the state a better place. I am not saying we want leaders who don’t use their intellect and reason to reach conclusions. Just the opposite — our elected officials should make decisions after an honest, vigorous public debate based on facts, research and a full knowledge of the subject. But their decisions have to come from a place of principle, not “well, yeah, we all know it would be the right thing to do to cut spending on things we don’t need, but that won’t fly in the politicial world….” Too much of that has led to the mess we are in.
The electorate could change things, Gillon. You are right. But to what degree in a state that is completely run by the General Assembly, which controls every single thing in South Carolina? There’s no balance of power, and thus corruption is a cake walk. I think that implementing a fully open government that is truly governed by three distinct branches would give our state a fighting chance. I hope that is something we can agree on.
By marvin on May 10th, 2009 at 10:43 am
“For Real,” you’ve hit on an interesting point. I understand the argument for that, but I can’t agree with it. I don’t think being in the legislature should be a career. If you really pull back and look at it, that’s the problem we have in there now. Too many of them rely on the legislature for their bread and butter. And we all know we’re not just talking about their paychecks from the state.
But, you are right….it keeps some people out of the running, including, I suspect, most of us who comment on this blog. I couldn’t keep food on the table for a family, pay for kids’ college, etc. if I became a legislator. So, what’s the answer? I don’t think it’s financial incentive. Man, if you think we have folks running for the wrong reasons NOW, imagine what we’d end up with if we made a true career out of it. No one could afford to ever lose their seat, right? They’d do pretty much anything to move up the leadership chain — I mean more than they do now. Think if your paycheck really were on the line if you displeased the leadership.
Better solution? Shorten the session! Those guys do not need to be there half the year, or even every year. We have a two-year session. Let’s cut that in half, and let them meet every other year. If we truly restructured government so the executive branch controlled the agencies and ran government, we wouldn’t need those guys here! They do it in other states like Texas (which has a lot more people than we do. If they can do it, we can do it.). You’d give more people a chance that way. Three months, every other year is reasonable and I suspect many more “average joes” could run if we did that.
Restructure government, shorten the session. Big reforms? Sure. But we need to start thinking a lot bigger than we have in the past, and stop saying “yeah, that’s the right thing to do but we’ll never get it done, so let’s do something halfway instead.”
I’m in if the rest of you are! Regardless of political party, we’d all come out ahead if we came together and supported those kinds of changes.
By liz on May 11th, 2009 at 6:58 am
*I am tracking job losses and companies going out of business.*
So far, FMR, Fidelity Management and Research, LLC is the offender,.
FMR owned or held significant interests in the following:
Enron, Countrywide Mortgages, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Circuit City, GM, Chrysler, AIG.
FMR also has beneficial ownership statements on file for the following banks who are going to require capital: Bank of America, American Express, Wells Fargo, Citi,GMAC, Bank of New York Melon, US Bancorp, Suntrust, Regions, KeyCorp, Morgan Stanley and Fifth Third.
FMR also is holding the Social Security Medicare Trust Fund. There are politicans in South Carolina who approved of this.
FMR also owns Unum Provident who owns Colonial, who holds HOW MANY disability income insurance plans?????
By liz on May 11th, 2009 at 6:59 am
There’s more…
FMR also owns Humana, Universal American who does Part D Medicare business and multiple drug manufacturers. They also own the drug suppliers.
They own Discover, Macy’s , Humana, the list is endless.
TOO BIG TO FAIL>
By Liberty For Me on May 11th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
More job loss??? No way, the economy is on the way up and the recovery is near.Havent you heard??.Stop with all these lies…