As regular readers have perhaps observed, this column occasionally features comments on the economy with emphasis on unemployment; jobs that along with investment in construction projects and manufacturing are bases for economic well-being and growth. Government should participate in the economy mostly in the field of regulation and reasonable taxation. Over-regulation tends to dampen economic growth and investment by government is usually on the wrong bets at the wrong time with crony capitalists.
Although President Obama is perpetually boasting about the flourishing jobs situation and the health of the economy, his comments are taken from fluff devoid of facts. For example, the labor force participation rate is 62.8% meaning that 94 million able workers are not working or seeking work.
The conundrum that never seems to change is the disparity between races and ethnicity. For example although the overall unemployment rate for all civilian workers was 5%, the unemployment rate for Blacks was 8.8% and for Asians was 3.8%. Hispanic unemployment stands at 6.1%. Why is the rate of unemployment among Blacks double that of White workers (4.3%) and well over double the rate of unemployed Asians? Is the answer cultural? Our all-wise government should sort out the reasons and come up with solutions.
March retail sales were down .3% following declines in January and February. Informed sources forecast GDP increases of less than 1% for 2016. The 4th Qtr. 2015 featured growth of 1.4%. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is the rough equivalent of a state and has recently missed most of a $422 million debt payment and is on course to miss an $800 million payment on general-obligation debt on July 1. The U.S. Treasury Department recently declined to backfill the financial needs of the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund representing 400,000 members and 1,500 companies. The fund currently has $35 billion in liabilities and $16.8 billion in assets.
There is back-up for this shortfall by the union; it is called the Pension Guaranty Corporation. This is a government agency that also has a deficit amounting to $52.3 billion that has grown from $8 billion in 2013. One of the reasons for the shortage of assets is that the union planned on increases of 7.5% annually on their invested funds. These government and private industry debts will be on the tax bills of hard working, middle class citizens that struggle to subsidize student loan debt while keeping their own offspring in college.
The Illinois unfunded pension liability debt has grown at the rate of almost $7 billion each year since 2009 to arrive at an unfunded debt amount of $111 billion in 2016. Has anyone stumbled onto the philosophy that we taxpayers are being treated as funding sources to pay for the misadventures of indifferent government officials in cahoots with union opportunists and corporate exploiters?
Our President smiles about the flourishing economy while his administration complains and threatens states about the gender bathroom debate that supersedes terrorism, the national debt, weather control and the ongoing childish presidential campaigns. The final decision regarding public bathroom privileges will certainly be the legacy issue of this president. This will be as historic as voting rights for women passed on June 4, 1919 and ratified by the states in 2020 becoming the 19th Amendment and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, freeing slaves. For those who aren’t aware of the legislative history of women’s suffrage, Senate Democrats of the period filibustered against the passage of women’s voting rights.
The national debt at more than $19 trillion is exploding faster than Fourth of July fireworks with this year’s budget deficit over $1/2 trillion. Manufacturing jobs have declined to 12.4 million currently from 19.6 million in year 2000. The actual unemployed workers number more than 15 million, however the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployed at slightly more than half that number. Almost 1/5th of our workers are employed part time. About half our 323 million citizens receive government benefits, approximately 44 million of us have no health insurance, roughly 47 million citizens live in poverty and more than 44 million of our fellow citizens receive food stamps. And our resident President tells us all is well. Socialism is pervasive.
Dick Baynton
