Weak Jobs Report Rattles Nation
Only 74K net new jobs, as labor force shrinks, reports NYT: "Economists said that weather exaggerated the weakness in the report. But they also cautioned that other indicators, like average hourly earnings and the labor participation rate, were hardly encouraging ... [Economist Julia] Coronado said she was troubled by how many prime-age workers were dropping out. Among workers aged 45 to 54, the participation rate dropped 0.4 percentage point to 79.2 percent, the lowest since 1988."
Previous optimism premature, notes Dean Baker: "Blacks disproportionately left the labor market, with the labor force participation rate for African Americans dropping by 0.3 percentage points to 60.2 percent, the lowest rate since December of 1977. The rate for African American men fell 0.7 percentage points to 65.6 percent, the lowest on record. The data on the establishment side was not any brighter with the survey reporting an increase of just 74,000 jobs. Some of this weakness was due to unusually slow growth in health care and restaurant employment. This is likely an anomaly that will be reversed in future months. However, there was also a decline in the index of average weekly hours. This suggests that the economy may be weaker than some of the more recent optimistic accounts indicated."
Pace of hiring holding us back, notes EPI's Heidi Shierholz: "At the average growth rate of the last three months—172,000 jobs per month—it will take nearly six more years for the labor market to regain pre-recession labor market conditions."
Partisan Divide Widens In Jobless Aid Debate
New Dem bill to extend jobless aid for 10 months set for Monday vote, but lacks any GOP support. W. Post: "After Reid spoke, [GOP Sen. Rob] Portman criticized the plan for not including his proposal to save money by barring the jobless from claiming benefits from the federal disability insurance program and the unemployment program ... He said that Reid had not involved him in the negotiations and that he would try to work over the weekend to reach a different deal with Democrats ... Regardless of the outcome Monday, House Republicans signaled skepticism because most of the budget savings come from what they consider a gimmick. Reid’s plan would draw $17 billion in savings by extending for one additional year portions of the mandatory spending cuts, known as sequestration. That would represent a cut to funds for Medicare providers, but it would not be implemented until 2024."
Reid blocks all GOP amendments. NYT: "The six Republicans who voted to take up the unemployment bill on Tuesday expected at least to be allowed votes on their amendments to shape the legislation. Instead, Mr. Reid dismissed all Republican proposals as unacceptable and then proposed his own new unemployment deal ... Reid said in an interview that Republicans refused to agree to any reasonable limit on amendments despite his overtures. 'So we get nothing done, which is their goal anyway,' Mr. Reid said."
Republicans suddenly playing defense on poverty issues, notes Paul Krugman: "Republicans are still opposed to extended benefits, despite high long-term unemployment. But they have, revealingly, changed their arguments. Suddenly, it’s not about forcing those lazy bums to find jobs; it’s about fiscal responsibility. And nobody believes a word of it. Meanwhile, progressives are on offense. They have decided that inequality is a winning political issue. They see war-on-poverty programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and the earned-income tax credit as success stories, initiatives that have helped Americans in need — especially during the slump since 2007 — and should be expanded."
President announces first five "promise zones": "On Thursday, he announced the first five: San Antonio, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma ... White House officials said the Promise Zones initiative would not provide new money, rather it would be aimed at providing the local governments and agencies 'aid in cutting through red tape to get access to existing resources.'"
Fast-Track Trade Bill Introduced
Uphill battle expected. NYT: "Now that the Obama administration is negotiating three trade accords — the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 nations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with 28 European countries and a global services pact with about 50 nations — the White House is eager for the authority ... Soon after the announcement, Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, met with reporters and said he would introduce a rival measure giving Congress more say over the final terms of any agreements ... Separately, 151 Democrats have signed a letter signaling opposition, and some Republicans have also spoken against fast-track authority."
"New Fast-Track Bill Means Higher Trade Deficits and Lost Jobs" says OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "Previous trade agreements have enabled the giant multinational corporations to move jobs and factories out of the country, saving on labor and environmental protection costs. This has caused American wages to drop and inequality to rise to terrible levels."
Breakfast Sides
Top Republican pushes legalization, but not citizenship, for House immigration bill. Politico: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) says he sees 'no reason' why current undocumented immigrants shouldn’t gain legal status as long as Congress enacts tougher border-security and enforcement measures ... Goodlatte outlined three pillars of an overhaul – ensuring border enforcement, fixing the legal immigration system and determining a legal status for immigrants already in the country illegally. He stressed that interior enforcement was a major point of focus for Republicans..."
Judge Jed Rakoff criticizes lack of banker prosecutions in NY Review of Books: "...the Department of Justice has never taken the position that all the top executives involved in the events leading up to the financial crisis were innocent; rather it has offered one or another excuse for not criminally prosecuting them—excuses that, on inspection, appear unconvincing. So, you might ask, what’s really going on here? I don’t claim to have any inside information about the real reasons why no such prosecutions have been brought, but I take the liberty of offering some speculations..."
