Thursday, May 31, 2012

Our Economy: The Baby Ruth in the Swimming Pool


Sorry for the overabundance of scatological references but, in case you have not yet rad the news, there are these little turdlets floating around in the Obamanomic punchbowl:

(1) Weekly first-time jobless claims rose 10,000 from an upwardly-adjusted previous week's 373,000 to 383,000.

(2) The ADP May jobs report was put at 133,000 -- up from a downwardly revised 113,000 April report. This number ostensibly represents the private sector jobs created during a month from the folks who provide paycheck software services.

(3) The 1Q 2012 GDP rate was revised downward from 2.2% to 1.9% which is significantly less than the 3% 4Q 2011 rate.

Dunno about you all, but it sure looks like the economy is clamping on the binders. It's technically not a recession but this economy is definitely on life-support. There's this analysis from Ed Morriseey over at Hot Air:
What happens when profits fall? Jobs don’t get created, and business doesn’t expand. Don’t expect a significant boost in job creation this summer, in other words, or perhaps even the fall. Looks like we’re in for another Stagnant Spring and Wreckovery Summer once again.
..it'll be more than that, Ed. Looming just after the election is another debt ceiling fight and gauging by Preezy's Fight or Flight preferences for the last dust-up (and especially if he loses), he'll be playing at least two rounds of golf per day. After that there's the Taxmageddon thing that -- one can be certain -- the lame duck Congress and gummint will want to address in the 20 days or so left in their work year.

Oh yes, and then there's the question of wither ObamaCare (or the unrejected remnants thereof) in 2013. Bottom line: not a screaming amount of certainty in that picture.

So here's the exit question: as a business, given all this, how much hiring will you be doing over the next four or five months?

Naw, mate, the employment, spending, and economic numbers are gonna stink up the barn from now until JugEarz is gone. Hopefully and changefully, that will be on November 6th.

-30-

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