Democrats are reacting to today’s jobs report with an optimism that’s also notably guarded. (Despite the 0.3 percent drop in unemployment, House Speaker Nancy
Democrats are reacting to today’s jobs report with an optimism that’s also notably guarded. (Despite the 0.3 percent drop in unemployment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for example, described the news tepidly as “a welcome step in the right direction.”)
Turns out, there’s probably good reason for the caution. Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Economy.com, warned today that the nation’s unemployment rate — 9.7 percent in January — will likely jump back near 11 percent later this year. “We expect it to go back up,” he told TWI, adding that his group estimates that it will take almost five years (the end of 2014) before the figure gets down to 5.5 percent.
It’s not because the nation’s employers are readying a purge. Rather, Faucher explained, the news of recovery will likely stir those who’d stopped looking for jobs to relaunch their search, returning themselves to the pool of unemployed folks that the Labor Department uses to crunch its numbers. Practically, then, the jobs crisis won’t be getting worse, though officially the unemployment rate will increase.
The Democrats, it seems, are cautious enough to recognize that voters likely won’t recognize that distinction in November.
$1.3 trillion in federal spending unaccounted for, report finds
Despite calls for independent bodies to keep government accountable, the Sunlight Foundation’s most recent Clearspending report has found the federal
$1.89 billion given to states to fight HIV
The federal government Monday announced more than $1.89 billion in funding to states to fight the HIV epidemic with access to care and with more cash for the failing AIDS Drug Assistance Program. According to an HHS press release , $813 million of that money will go directly to the ADAP programming. An additional $8,386,340 will be issued as a supplement to 36 states and territories currently facing a litany of unmet needs and access issues.
1 Brigade and 1 Battalion
ISTANBUL – It’s 10 p.m. in the lowest level of the Istanbul airport. In 20 minutes I’ll be allowed to board my plane to Kabul, bringing me to the
1. Brian Schweitzer
As governor of Montana, Schweitzer doesn’t represent one of the most highly populated, high-profile electoral states in the country. But this
#1 in Conspiracy Theories
Andrew Young’s tell-all biography of John Edwards, hitting shelves next week, is surging in one Amazon.com category in particular. #1 in Conspiracy
$1 Million for Toomey
Pat Toomey, the former Club for Growth president and leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 2010 Senate race, has announced a $1 million haul in the
$1 Trillion for Fannie and Freddie?
That is the worst-case scenario, according to Egan-Jones Ratings Co., quoted in a Bloomberg article making the rounds. The agency says that if home prices
$1.3 Million for Brown
The GOP’s candidate in the Massachusetts special election raised more than one million dollars -- double the goal -- in a 24-hour moneybomb on the Ron Paul
Ten Loopholes That Can’t Make It Into FinReg
Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, wrote a blog post that lists the loopholes lobbyists most want inserted into Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.)
Bachmann uncomfortable over earmarks ban
Republicans appear to have boxed themselves into a corner with their portrayal of earmarks as wasteful spending, as many of them have backed a moratorium on
Troubled mine holds hope for U.S. rare earth industry
China currently controls 97 percent of the world’s rare earth production. The Mountain Pass Mine could change that -- if it can overcome serious environmental concerns.