July 6 – Both political parties are clueless about unemployment – BASF to cut 3700 jobs – Oracle to cut 1,000 jobs in Europe – Caraco slashes 350

Mike: The holiday weekend is behind us and a full week of unemployment news begins.

This morning I was browsing the news and came across these little stories that got my head a shakin’.

“We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package,” Biden said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The truth of the matter was, no one anticipated, no one expected that that recovery package would in fact be in a position at this point of having distributed the bulk of the money.”

via Biden Acknowledges Administration ‘Misread’ The Economy | 44 | washingtonpost.com.

My first reaction is that both parties, starting at the top, are absolutely clueless about the extent of joblessness, it’s causes and cures. I’m not here to say that I have all the answers, but when I see our so-called leaders bickering, sniping and pointing fingers instead of properly reviewing the unemployment problem and taking focused action, I think that we are headed for a worsening unemployment situation. At least Biden tells it like it is, instead of hiding behind the clouds of lies, deception, and false hope.

The Republicans, who were in charge of the economy for most of the past decade, have Boehner complaining about the stimulus although the Republicans diminished the size of the stimulus by cutting back Obama’s initial plan and demanding billions in tax breaks. The initial recommendation was for a $1 trillion stimulus that was reduced to $789 billion, which included over $200 billion in Republican demanded tax breaks. Those tax breaks aren’t job creators and aren’t likely to be of any value until next year at the earliest. Sure, those tax breaks included an small income tax cut, which averages $13 a week. That $13 has been eaten up just in  higher gas prices, so there was no stimulative affect to that tax break. How about an imcome tax holiday for six months or eliminating the income tax on unemployment benefits? No, that’s too easy and it doesn’t play to their base. The Republicans have failed the economy for the past ten years, so they have little to complain about.

The Democrats, for their part, are just as clueless, as can be observed by Biden’s “We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package”. While their stimulus package was touted for its job creation, much is geared to long-range projects like high speed rail, green jobs, etc. While there may be some value to those goals, jobs won’t be created quickly or in sufficient numbers to make much of a difference in the unemployment rate. Infrastructure funding will be helpful in the long-term, but how many people are going to get road work jobs? Do you think the laid-off nurse, teacher, auto worker, and textile worker are going to jump on a backhoe, crane or cement truck and build roads? Not likely. I have read that many road repair projects were eliminated by states and municipalities due to budget constraints, so the road funding from the stimulus is in many cases just picking up those cancelled projects, so road work companies aren’t going to add hundreds of thousands to their payrolls.

With unemployment increasing, along with foreclosures and bankruptcies, people are going to be cutting back on spending and trying to save what they can for upcoming rainy days, and in many cases survival. Neither the Republicans nor Democrats did what was necessary and give each and every household sufficient money to stimulate the economy. In fact neither party proposed eliminating the income tax on unemployment benefits, while at the same time they turned their heads when Goldman Sachs presented their executives with record bonuses, which were accomplished with help from taxpayer funded bailouts. Fair? No. But the parties we have to chose from are both in the pockets of the big financial firms and they could care less about the struggles of the worker, since they get their campaign funds from the big dogs. Both parties claim to be the party of the little guy, but are in fact agents of the rich and powerful.

I don’t know how the Obama administration and their financial wizards misread the economy, when smart, talented and observant people like those at the following sites were generally quite aware of the stimulus shortfalls:

• http://market-ticker.denninger.net/,
• http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/,
• http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/,
• http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/
• http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

Dr. Robert McHugh (www.technicalindicatorindex.com) states the following in his weekly letter to subscribers:

I completely agree with McHugh’s take on the matter and I if our clueless leaders don’t get a handle on this growing problem, they will only prolong the pain. Write your representatives today and demand that they change course and funnel funds to you and not just the corrupt corporations: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt. Without your pressure, the parties (we need more than two, by the way, but that’s a different post) will continue to take your money and give it to those same financial frauds that deserve it least.

– “We’ll definitely see the end of this recession this summer,” ECRI managing director Lakshman Achuthan said Wednesday. “As unique and unprecedented as this recession has been, the transition to recovery is showing up in a textbook way in the leading indicator charts.”

via ‘We’ll definitely see the end of this recession this summer’ – pressofAtlanticCity.com : Business.

On June 1 we pointed to three clear markers that signified the beginning of US economic recovery. As we enter July more and more economists are also reflecting on the signs that the US economy as a whole is returning to growth.

via Citizen Economists » More Economists Point to Recovery Signs.

-U.S. manufacturing shrank at the slowest rate in 10 months in June, an industry group said, adding to a raft of data Wednesday suggesting the recession is bottoming out.

via Investors.com – Manufacturing Data Support Optimism Recession Is Ending .

Thanks for listening and onto today’s news………………

– Larger layoff announcements and important economic reports:

Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors/News
General Economic News
Government Layoff News
US and some Canada Layoff News
International Layoff News
Hiring News and News You Can Use

– Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News –

– But last week, Mr. Jobs returned to work on a part-time basis, precisely when he said he would. Experts with only a general knowledge of his treatment suggest his prognosis is good.

– General Economic News –

– WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The service sectors of the U.S. economy contracted at a slower pace in June, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday. The ISM nonmanufacturing index rose to 47.0% from 44.0% in May. The decline was better than expected. Economists were looking the index to rise to 46.0%.

– JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — With its IOUs and plans to close state offices three days a month, California gets all the attention as lawmakers fight to write a budget set off balance by a $26.3 billion deficit.

– Government Layoff News –

– With states facing a $121 billion shortfall in the next fiscal year, a growing number of them have turned to squeezing their workforce for savings, and effects are being felt, both great and small.

– SACRAMENTO—Sacramento firefighters have agreed to freeze their salaries for two and a half years, averting layoffs for at least a year.

– US and some Canada Layoff News –

-The company, which said it would cut 350 jobs, added that JPMorgan Chase Bank has informed the company that its $10 million line of credit was not available to be drawn down upon until the regulatory matter was resolved.

– SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Meridian Automotive Systems is idling a central Indiana factory, putting 295 people out of work.

– International Layoff News –

– FRANKFURT, July 6 (Reuters) – BASF (BASF.DE) plans to cut 3,700 jobs as part of the integration of Swiss rival Ciba and may sell or close as many as 23 of Ciba’s 55 sites, it said on Monday.

– Hiring News and News You Can Use–

– – STEP 1. Categorize your spending: You can’t budget if you don’t know how you’re spending your money. Pull together bank and credit card statements from the last three months, said Barbara McMahon, a financial adviser in Kansas City, Mo. Lump the line items into broad categories, such as food, housing, debt repayment, savings and entertainment.

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