Now We're Cooking With Butter... does that count as a part time job?

"The 114,000 jobs created would have been a good number... but for 1962, not 2012. The U.S. economy needs 2-3 times that number every month to close the jobs gap."

"Digging beneath the veneer, the quality of these so-called Household jobs is called into question, seeing as part-time work for 'economic reasons' dominated with a 582K run-up in September. And upon closer inspection of the actual amount of slack in the labor market, the more inclusive U6 unemployment rate that does a much better job at capturing underemployment remain stubbornly stuck at 14.7%." 

Soo-Do Nim asks: could the recent change in what qualifies as "federal work activity" be linked to the sudden addition last month of 500k part time "home jobs"?

In 2005, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office reported that several states listed as part of their definition of a “federal work activity” under TANF the following:

1. Bed rest

2. Personal care activities

3. Massage

4. Exercise

5. Journaling

6. Motivational reading

7. Smoking cessation

8. Weight loss promotion

9. Participating in parent teacher meetings

10. Helping a friend or relative with household tasks and errands. 

I wonder if standing in a Union protest rally or pro-Obama rally for $10 an hour also qualifies as... a new part time job too? Or clicking thru on a "work from home" link? Practicing bass guitar?

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/10/the-sickly-stagnant-september-jobs-report/

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/10/economist-unemployment-drop-implausible-a-statistical-quirk/

http://www.businessinsider.com/david-rosenberg-on-obama-jobs-report-2012-10

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/obama-to-clinton-welfare-reform-drop-dead/2012/07/14/gJQAM49XkW_blog.html

Creative Writing Under Obama

It has been a great season for creative writers in the political realm. Today's US NEWS Headline:
Why a Rising Unemployment Rate is Good News is a good example of how Democrats have been tap dancing for over a year now explaining to us why spending is necessary. Why unemployment would've been worse, and how it's Bush's fault anyway. Imagine where we'd be without Barack. In the story In Search of an Adjective we visited a little bit of how creative these writers can get, as they seek to label, somehow, the enormity of electing a white person into the Presidency. Or, wait a minute. Is he black? Who decides that? Is there some magic skin ratio formula used to decide who gets the affirmative action goodies? (h/t Steve Sailer)

But it has been a season for creative liberal writers, and for thinking on your feet among liberal guests on cable. The best strategy seems to be to mention that a Republican seemed to agree, therefore... "Well, Lindsey Graham yada yada, therefore how can you say that?"

Is it fair to say that these creative writing jobs are saved jobs? Although isn't the term du jour preserved? Good to know that the Daily Show wrote some stand up material for BHO's performance at the Correspondent's dinner, but one has to wonder if they're not also writing his speeches, because they are a joke! Obama's speeches as of late sound much more J. Stewartesque than they do presidential. Bash the Republicans, Fox, Palin, Wall Street, BP, coal miners, banks... pretty much anyone that lives in the world of factual information. And how about Gibbs misquoting FOX repeatedly re: the oil spill? "They said we did it on purpose. Yes they did. Yes they did." No, but they may have said you put it in your ignore pile until it was too late. They may have said that, and when I say they, I mean the former FEMA Director,  Michael Brown. Any story on that will inevitably digress over to Katrina bashing. Another creative strategy of avoidance.

By the way, I started writing this story BEFORE Rush Limbaugh brought it up, and before I realized Obama was actually using these 9.9% unemployment figures to celebrate. But it's good to know I was in the right zone. Let we wrap by saying how disappointed I'd be if the unemployment rate had dipped to 6%, or any similar Bush-era number. How can you build an historic crisis agenda around numbers like that? No, 9.9% is a really good number, and heightens my creative juices.