Jobs Crisis: 'Ongoing Train Wreck'
State Jobs Numbers Show Sluggish Growth (EPI): "July 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics state employment data ... echoes the national employment data for July, with continued but very slow employment growth and an economic recovery so weak that it will take several years to return to pre-recession employment rates. ... In the midst of this ongoing economic train-wreck, national and state policymakers need to redouble their efforts to create good jobs that put working families on a sound path to economic security."
Long-term unemployment is a weak link in a fragile recovery (Time): "The labor market remains a brutal place for the 4.2 million long-term unemployed, whom the Labor Department defines as workers who have been out of work for six months or more. ... The decline in the unemployment rate has overstated the strength of the recovery — and the economy has simply not grown fast enough to convince enough employers to hire someone who hasn’t held a job in six months or more."
"Jobs polarization" examined by Josh Lehner at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (via Economists' View): "Yes, the U.S. economy is adding a large number of low-paying jobs, however we are also seeing relatively strong growth at the top end of the employment scale as well. We are missing the growth in jobs at the middle of the income distribution. ... This, by definition, is job polarization. ... These middle-wage occupations fell much further during the Great Recession and are growing much slower coming out, if at all."
Even libertarian Megan McArdle thinks ending extended unemployment benefits is a bad idea (Bloomberg). "n the depths of the Great Recession, extending benefits was good policy. Our only mistake was not making them longer, and more generous. ... Unemployment benefits were a cheap way to keep people attached to the labor force, however marginally, rather than the welfare system. While they may have nominally raised the unemployment rate, there’s a very decent chance that they actually lowered the number of people who detached themselves from the labor force."
Living Wage, Worker Rights Campaigns Accelerate
Fast Food Workers Super-Size Their Walkout (Truthdig): "Fast-food workers demanding a livable wage of $15 an hour are pushing for a nationwide walkout on August 29, leading, fittingly enough, into Labor Day Weekend. ... The targets are the biggest and best-known chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and KFC, among others. ... These fast-food workers are not teenagers trying to pick up some pocket cash or set aside cash for college. Most are adults mired among the ranks of the working poor."
Venture capitalist among those who support a $15-an-hour wage (Christian Science Monitor): "Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer said there's no time to waste. What the nation needs is money in the hands of regular consumers. 'A higher minimum wage is a very simple and elegant solution to the death spiral of falling demand that is the signature feature of our economy,' he said."
T-Mobile U.S. Workers Unite for Respect (AFL-CIO Blog): "With a new website—TMobileWorkersUnited.org—workers at T-Mobile US are connecting with each other to build strength in their drive for workplace justice and respect. ... For the past several years, T-Mobile workers say they have faced an extensive anti-union campaign by the company that last year closed seven call centers in the United States and shipped more than 3,300 jobs overseas."
Obama Emphasizes Wall Street Reform
Obama urges renewed push for Wall Street overhaul: (AP via Yahoo News): "Obama prodded the nation's top financial regulators on Monday to act swiftly and finish writing rules designed to prevent a recurrence of the 2008 financial crisis that helped precipitate a damaging recession from which the country is still recovering. Obama met privately with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and seven other independent agency heads to emphasize his desire for comprehensive new rules as the five-year anniversary of the nation's financial near-meltdown approaches."
The Hill quotes a White House spokesman: There were no major regulatory developments to be announced in conjunction with the meeting. Rather, he said the president would urge regulators to hold firm against Wall Street efforts to dilute the new restrictions. Earnest noted big banks "wield significant influence over the political process."
Breakfast Sides
Residents, retirees, and union members filed objections to Detroit bankruptcy (AP via Christian Science Monitor): "The AFSCME, the AFL-CIO and city retirees claim in their objection that Michigan's emergency manager law — which gives Orr his authority — impairs vested pension rights violating the state constitution. They also claim Orr did not negotiate in good faith with city creditors and that he has not yet proved Detroit is insolvent."
A majority of undergraduates are receiving some form of student aid (Politico): "For the first time, a majority of undergraduates are receiving some kind of federal financial aid — 57 percent. A higher proportion than ever are taking out loans. But while the federal government gave out more grants for low-income students, colleges continued using their own money on grants for students from wealthier families. That’s a trend that concerns some who argue that colleges should do more to help students of limited means. ... The data release comes days before President Barack Obama starts a bus tour to talk about holding down college costs."
Right-wing think tank flops while trying to scare young people away from Obamacare (Daily Kos): "Conservative pundits, think tanks and bloggers are cheering a new analysis which claims to show "Why the 'Young Invincibles' Won't Participate in the ObamaCare Exchanges." ... Unfortunately for them, [David] Hogberg is telling only half of the story. While he lays out the costs for young adults obtaining health insurance in 2014, he predictably leaves out the benefits if they actually get sick. As it turns out, the numbers show that millions of Young Invincibles have already gained insurance thanks to the ACA. Just as important, surveys show how worried they are about going without."
House Democratic leader sees potential for sequester deal (Roll Call): "Two rules that have guided Speaker John A. Boehner’s leadership of the House could go by the wayside this fall when Congress takes up a debt ceiling increase, Rep. Chris Van Hollen predicted Monday. ... the “Boehner rule” — which mandates dollar-for-dollar spending cuts for every dollar raised in the debt ceiling — [is] “unworkable, policy-wise and politically” ... And the “Hastert rule,” calling for majority of the majority support for legislation, could be broken as well."
