Although OldSouth is certainly not a Democrat, he does not think that they all sport horns, cloven feet, and are irredeemable infidels rightly doomed to a warm Perdition. (A few notable ones, yes, but that's for another time.)
He reads Robert Reich regularly, because Reich provides balance, has an academic's demeanor, and has reasoned views, even if they are sometimes wrong. Reich is also not mean-spirited, which helps, and he's not afraid of disagreeing with the HopeAndChange crowd, which really helps.
With his economist's training, he thinks numbers (like words) have meaning.
And Reich's views are beginning to coincide with AngryMan Denninger. They both urge everyone to Do The Math, because simple math in historical context generally sheds the light of truth. 2+2 always equals 4, regardless of how one votes. It is one of God's gifts to His creation, imho.
In his most recent post, Reich does the math. It is not cheering, especially if one is a Democrat Member of Congress who voted for all the TARP, stimulus, health care, etc. Unemployment statistics, lately at 10%, mask the ugly reality that an increasing proportion of the work force is simply dropping off the governmental radar. Which means they'll drop off the income tax radar as well, sooner or later.
Here's an an excerpt, and I'll highlight a few phrases:
The most painful political truth for Democrats is the nation won’t possibly be out of this jobs hole by the presidential election of 2012, even if the recovery is vigorous. Do the math. In order to get out of the hole, we’d need an average monthly increase of 400,000 jobs between now and then. But even at the peak of the 1990s jobs boom, the highest we ever got was 280,000 jobs a month. At the peak of the last recovery, in 2005, we got no higher than 212,000 jobs a month. Bottom line: Obama will be going into an election year with a higher total level of unemployment than before the Great Recession. He will have to argue that, were it not for his policies, things would be even worse. Counter-factuals like this do not sit well on bumper stickers.
Almost 40 percent of the jobless have been without work for over six months. That’s a record. People who have been out of the labor force for more than six months have a particularly hard time getting back in. Many never do.
What worries me most about all this is the trend line. If we were coming out of a recession with any potential strength in the job market, we’d at least see growth in the length of the average workweek. But there’s no sign of any growth. The average workweek held steady in December at 33.2 hours. Employers aren’t even giving their own workers more hours.
This is what Denninger is saying. Just slide over to 'The Market Ticker' to your right, and begin to sample his work. It is enlightening.
A convergence of opinion is beginning to take shape, which is really good news. The realities are now undeniable, and the Obama White House cannot effectively tar-and-feather anyone who disagrees with them, as the Clintons did. (And Bush isn't around to blame anymore.) Robert Reich served on the HopeAndChange transition team, and teaches at Berkley, for mercy's sake. He doesn't live his mom's basement, either...
Now, Reich thinks the Feds should be spending a LOT more money(e.g. printing even more), which OldSouth thinks is a terrible idea. But we're making progress, with everyone recognizing the nature of the problem and speaking in a more civil tone. Was it Dr. Johnson who opined about the prospect of being hanged?
If you're looking in on us from overseas, remember us in your prayers. This is going to take a long time to fix, and there is pain ahead.
