Friday, August 19, 2005

De'Klining Economy

Last week in his newsletter John Kline bragged about how great the economy is under his leadership....This week I found some facts he seemed to 'overlook'. When will John Kline stop following the disinformation provide by the Bush Administration and start speaking the truth?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment report states that since the last economic peak in March 2001, the only group whose employment rates have grown are the least-educated workers - those who failed to complete high school - which are up by 2.7 percentage points. This compares to the overall rate, which is still down by 1.5 points.

High school graduates employed remains down by 1.5 points, those with some college but no degree is down 2.9 points, and those with college degrees is down 1.8 point.

What this means is we are bursting at the seams with unemployed computer engineers and well-educated professionals who are now displaced by outsourcing and H-1B visas. During Bush's entire first term, there was a net loss of American private sector jobs. Today there are 760,000 fewer private sector jobs in the US economy than when Bush was first inaugurated in January 2001

Manufacturing is also losing ground… even though July's losses were slight (employment in the sector was only down 4,000, but production-worker employment was off by 10,000, suggesting larger losses among blue-collar workers). It is widely recognized that manufacturing is in the midst of a long-term structural decline as opposed to a strictly cyclical slump. The increase in the magnitude of job loss in the sector is quite dramatic and, given the importance of the sector to both living standards and innovation, our government should be fighting the war of lost jobs instead of the war in Iraq.

The loss of higher end US jobs to India and China is having a real impact on our security unlike the weapons of mass delusion. The only jobs that Kline and the Bush administration have created has been for domestic services. In other words, do you want ketchup with those fries? working poor jobs!

Until recent years, American companies employed Americans to produce the goods that Americans consumed. Employment supported sales, and sales supported employment. No more. The shortsighted policy of the current administration (that would be Bush with John Kline!) in moving US jobs abroad are destroying the American markets and destroying Americas financial security.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported on August 5 that jobseekers are competing for fewer employment opportunities compared to last year. Job vacancies in the state were down by 9.9 percent in second quarter 2005 from one year ago. This means that there were 5.0 job vacancies for every 10 unemployed people. So not only do you have only lower end jobs with openings, you also have to compete with more over experienced applicants.

Additionally only 14% of Minnesota firms expect to increase their employment levels in the next six months. That’s a marked decline in the numbers projected in prior years. If people are feeling vulnerable to global economic conditions and a sense that they lack clout in commanding a highter wage, it’s because that’s exactly what has happened in todays labor market.

A study released this month by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) focuses on "unprecedented" declines in the workforce in the wake of the 2001 recession that continues even now. Job growth in this economic recovery has been substantially slower than previous recoveries. Including a budget deficit of $308 billion during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2005.

John Kline doesn’t present all the facts on the current economy because it not good news. All the facts speak for themselves, America and it’s job market is deklining under Kline.

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