Big Job Losses
The news from the BLS this morning is not good:
Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) in November, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. November's drop in payroll employment followed declines of 403,000 in September and 320,000 in October, as revised. Job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors in November.
That's 1.26 million jobs lost in three months. Looking at some of the alternative measures of labor utilization, we find that U-6 (Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers) rose from 11.8 to 12.5 percent between November and December and is now nearly 1.5 times its level (8.4 percent) a year ago.
You can read a good summary from the BLS Commissioner here.

No bottom in site
any historical context for when this might end?
Think 1930's
Last week Obama called it a "crisis of historic proportions".
Read Black Swan
Nassim Taleb got it right. See his interview with Charlie Rose:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9713
Death of Capitalism
What if I asked you, "How could I make you angry?
You might wonder," Why would I ask such a question"? or, "Why would I want to know such a thing"?
Well it appears that Bernanke, Paulson, and liberals in congress are intentionally trying to anger, most all normal persons with an ounce of common sense.
What am I talking about? Well, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the government has no intention whatsoever of ever repaying any of the sums they are inventing; sums created out of thin air; sums designed to remedy the ills of the private sector; (and, oh yes, sums our government is trying to pan off on us taxpayers as taxpayer-obligation). Deficit, it appears, can be as be as big as the planet itself;
Obligation? Well, why not let's obligate our progeny?
Why should the practices of Congress, Bernake, and Paulson, be a source of anger or antagonism? Because those of us who are in the business of living within our means; because those of us who have been reconciling our checkbooks, paying our obligations on time and without fail; those of us who are parents, who are bringing up our children to keep their egos within a measure of reason; All of us; we are all able to discern what is within our grasp, and what is absolutely out of reach. Where in the constitituion is it written that our elected officials have the right to live on the other side of reality? These persons are neither protecting nor are they defending the Constitutuion of the United States.
If taxpayers are not sharing in the profits of Banks, if taxpayers are not sharing in the profits of of Insurance Companies; and if taxpayers are not sharing in the profits of Big Three automakers, why should we taxpayers be funding the losses of these self-same private sector enterprises? It would seem that there is something in the US Constitution to prohibit such injustice.
Why is our Congress and our Executive Branch continually blind-sided from one crisis after another? Are these leaders, lawmakers, congressmen, senators, cabinet heads all "Asleep-at-the-Switch"? Are they not paying attention? Are they really as ignorant as they appear to be? Are they really that inept as to the state of the nation? The answer is no. There is more to it than that. There is a much bigger agenda.
Why should we cry for the banks when our leaders threaten us with financial Armageddon and a systemic failure of global credit? I thought I was an American. Where in the constitution is it written that I own any allegiance to the globe? If corporations have become global, let corporations fail globally. Who said to farm out corporate labor to the globe? Again, the face of corporate greed.
The idea that banks were somehow forced to give away their 'liquid' assets is simply not credible. This idea is a lie propagated by the Socialists. Banks are banks for God sakes! Banking is a business as old as the hills. Banks are not charity, after all. Banks in fact charge interest and are not as stupid as Congress not to require borrowers to supply tangible assets and collateral. This is nothing new. This is the essence of banking. And our government would have us believe they have the power to compel banks to part with their liquid assets? This would be bank robbery, and of course bank robbery is not constitutional.
The reason why the government is propagating such a lie is to increase socialistic power and take away liberty. In America, we are allowed to own private property. Private property exists for the benefit of its owner. Private property does not exist for the benefit of the government. Do taxpayers share in the profits earned by insurance companies? Why then should taxpayers fund any losses incurred by these greedy and inept corporate insurance executives and their underlings? Insurance companies exist as for-profit entities and it is not the obligation of the taxpayer cause these entities to succeed or fail. Let unsuccessful insurance companies go broke. Let the more competent insurance companies serve the public. Competent insurance companies start with the hiring of competent actuaries.
Is the government really being 'blind-sided' by one crisis after another? It is more credible to believe that the government, rather, is intentionally turning a 'blind-eye' to every and all relevant and legitimate business of government, in order that the crisis will, in fact, arise.
Why would the Congress want a crisis? It is only by the emergence of a crisis that the government can declare a state of emergency, and in so doing, seize more power, and take away liberty. Our legislators are not really as ignorant as they are pretending to be. Our Congresspersons are simply pretending to be ignorant of the relevant issues in order to secure the power of the socialist state and further the interests of Socialism.
What is the solution? Since our lawmakers cannot be trusted to use tax revenues to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, what we need is a taxpayer bailout. Possibly, with the exception of state sales tax, we, the taxpayers, need a tax holiday. One such tax holiday would be one whereby taxpayers would pay no more federal tax until the Government (House of Representative Appropriations Committee), could credibly prove it has the resource to pay (within that current tax year) for the budget it proposes. This needed tax bailout would need to continue on indefinitely, until such time as government accountants could prove beyond a reasonable doubt they can balance their checkbook. In so doing, we, the taxpayers would be rewarding a successful congress. We, the taxpayers would be keeping private enterprise private. And we, the taxpayers, would be keeping private property private; i.e. our private property from falling into the greedy hands of the socialists.
RE: Big Job Losses
Unemployment rates all over the country are on the rise. Many companies are cutting a huge number of their workers just to keep their business afloat. For this reason, many Americans are forced to tighten their belts just to meet their needs. Others are saving money to avoid needing a payday loan. That sounds like a GOOD thing, right? Well, the truth is, this excellent habit is actually bad for a shrinking economy. Saving money by putting it away or spending less on clothes and other things won’t make the recession better. It won’t necessarily make it worse, either. It will just make it longer. If only Americans had developed thrifty habits and saved their money earlier, then we wouldn’t be so deep in the throes of a financial crisis right now. Ah, well, live and learn. At least for now you can get a payday loan if you need it.