I have not written as much about the economic analysis coming from the official institutions of government because, well, quite frankly, none of it has made sense for several months. In this era of great pretending, I am reminded of the official catchphrase which began in 2021, “managing the transition.”
When you contemplate that “managing the transition” can also equate to controlling public opinion, and when you overlap the dynamic of large U.S. institutions manipulating information in order to control that opinion, then suddenly the trust in the data evaporates. When the reality of the economic situation you can measure, gauge, and sense on Main Street is increasingly detached from the government data about what’s happening on Main Street, things get weird.
EXAMPLE TODAY – Bureau of Labor and Statistics: “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.9 percent.” That’s the topline as announced.
Then you drop to the adjustments on the same report: “The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 62,000, from +227,000 to +165,000, and the change for September was revised down by 39,000, from +336,000 to +297,000. With these revisions, employment in August and September combined is 101,000 lower than previously reported.”
September and October are generally significant upticks in labor, as the process for holiday preparation (shipping, transport, etc.) are underway. However, that historic pattern is no longer applicable. We see consumer trends in a downward direction, general uneasiness of the economic situation is relayed by businesses and consumers who are the key to reality, and yet the official reporting reflects something entirely different. Thus, you must ask yourself if this is part of the aforementioned “managing the transition.”
Additionally, staying with the bigger (non-pretending) picture, the U.S. government intentionally imports 7.5 million illegal aliens. Where are they in the data of employment conditions? Is there a metric that can evaluate the impact of a non-skilled labor influx that takes place simultaneous to a negative economic reality of inflation and diminished wages felt by those traditionally measured.
When you look carefully at the data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Dept of Labor (DoL) and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), what you come away with is the data-driven impression of something that you cannot actually see in the reality of the economic world around you. Quite simply, none of it makes sense.
If you begin talking about the disconnect, you enter a sphere of sounding like a conspiracy theorist. Would the official institutions of economic analysis actually manipulate data as an outcome of the larger goal to “manage the transition”? For me the answer is an emphatic, yes. However, how do you quantify that disconnect when the people with a vested interest in hiding any conflict are the same people who control the release of the data?
It is a reality that 75% of the American people feel their economic situation has worsened and continues to be worse. Many people are increasingly incapable of staying ahead of increases in cost of living. Govt institutions say inflation has come under control, yet the prices continue skyrocketing and everyone can feel it. Financial insecurity is the new normal amid a growing population, while the managers of the transition say, ‘all is well.’
The only thing that brings a person back from the world of crazy speak, is a review of actual ground reports on Main Street from people who are living their daily lives and trying to cope with the costs of maintaining that standard. Almost everyone expresses having more difficulty keeping their financial head above water. Yet the data released by government paints a different picture. The distance between reality and ‘official data’ has never been wider than it is today.
Fewer goods are being manufactured. Fewer goods are being shipped. Fewer sales are taking place. In a naturally contracting cycle this would mean less jobs. However, the data shows job growth.
♦Health care added 58,000 jobs in October, in line with the average monthly gain of 53,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care services (+32,000), hospitals (+18,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+8,000).
♦Employment in government increased by 51,000 in October and has returned to its pre-pandemic February 2020 level. Monthly job growth in government had averaged 50,000 in the prior 12 months. In October, employment continued to trend up in local government (+38,000).
♦Social assistance added 19,000 jobs in October, compared with the average monthly gain of 23,000 over the prior 12 months.
♦In October, construction employment continued to trend up (+23,000), about in line with the average monthly gain of 18,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in specialty trade contractors (+14,000) and construction of buildings (+6,000).
♦Employment in manufacturing decreased by 35,000 in October, reflecting a decline of 33,000 in motor vehicles and parts that was largely due to strike activity.
♦In October, employment in leisure and hospitality changed little (+19,000). The industry had added an average of 52,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
♦Employment in professional and business services was little changed in October (+15,000) and has shown little net change since May. Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month (+7,000) but is 229,000 below its peak in March 2022.
♦In October, employment in transportation and warehousing was little changed (-12,000) and has shown little net change over the year. Over the month, warehousing and storage lost 11,000 jobs, while air transportation added 4,000 jobs.
♦Information employment changed little in October (-9,000). Employment in motion picture and sound recording continued to trend down (-5,000); the industry has lost 44,000 jobs since May, at least partially reflecting the impact of an ongoing labor dispute.
What do you see happening in/around your area? How are the employment conditions nearest you?
In my area (Wellesley Massachusetts) businesses have been looking to fill jobs. Everywhere there are “help wanted” signs It seems no one can hire people who are intelligent and have good job skills, so lots of businesses are functioning with fewer people. The hospitals have fewer doctors so every procedure takes longer to schedule than it used to. I have no idea where the doctors all went.
I also see more people panhandling for money outside the big box stores in the nearby town of Framingham than I ever have before. I used to see panhandling in NYC all the time in the 1970’s (pre-Giuliani days), but Framingham is a town that has well to do families as well as poor working families, many of whom speak either Spanish or Portuguese.
I agree with Sundance, this is a time of economic uncertainty. With the national debt ballooning, and the Biden government spending billions all the time, there is a sense that all our leaders have lost their collective minds and we Americans are going to be left with the bill.
I do see many homes with remodeling going on. I see few “for sale” signs on houses.
It feels like people are treading water, hoping to stay afloat for as long as possible.
There is a total disconnect between the government (all branches and especially the bureaucracy) and the people.
It is strange that nobody really knows who is running the government anymore.
Conspiracy folks say Obama runs the admin but we know that is crazy talk 😉😜
Yup we all know its his husband, Big Mike.
Valerie Jarrett is Obama’s handler and the brains of the trio.
I work at a family owned sawmill. Every morning is drama, who’s going to show up?
Incompetence doesn’t come into play here, the biggest hurdle is entitlement. Ten minutes before start time somebody said, see who’s here? All the old people.
The youngsters act like they’re on vacation…
I’ve tried leading by example, they look at you like you’re speaking a foreign language. I’ve tried yelling, they act like I’m being mean to them. Now I ignore them. They know something is wrong but honestly, they just don’t see it.
Glad I’m old.
boy oh boy. you are so right about leading by example and yelling. funny if it werent so sad. also, the glad part about being old!
Same is happening in the IBEW outside line construction. I’m noticing that the older companies are keeping their older hands longer than usual. On the other hand lots of complaints and dragging from the younger generations. It’s just odd to see how people just don’t want to work anymore. There is no enthusiasm to work for what you want to achieve in life.
Excuse my language, but I quit working when my employers started F*cking me over all the time….. I mean the Govt’ F*cking you over via taxes is one thing, but trying to juggle your employers doing it too, just doesn’t work. They don’t mind getting rid of you, whenever it’s convenient for them as well. So I went out and made my own money… piss on them.
We now have the participation
trophy generation in the workplace.
All they have to do is show up.
Then wait for their paycheck.
Doesn’t mean they have to
actually do anything….just show
up. 💁Paycheck is the participation
trophy.
We had accrued leave. They are the
…earn it-burn it generation.
Then when an emergency came up
and they had no leave…they would
be begging people to donate their
leave time.
Seemed to be the same people
every time.🤬
Other coworkers got wise and
finally just started saying-NO.
The earn it-burn it kids …
learned it…the hard way😁
Yup…my favorite name for them…
Participation trophy kids/generation
🙃🙂🙃🤢
And coming right behind them is what I call the Grand Theft Auto Generation that would rather steal what someone else has and settle arguments with guns.
A lot of them are in government
“A Clockwork Orange” has become our reality?
They are the “soft men created by easy times”?
The only remedy is the hard times that creates strong men?
Kenyan generation
Fire them. Or is your company so desperate for workers that they won’t fire the no-shows?
Bingo. We’ve gone through several people in the last year, each sorrier than the last. I just told the boss my days are numbered, not because of my age but because I’m really sick of being a baby sitter. He laughed, and then got a sad look on his face.
Younger generations with nothing are having a difficult time. It’s not as easy as just saying they are entitled, or don’t want to work. We have a Regime that is trying its best to bankrupt us all via many avenues….. namely Inflation and excessive taxes right now. There is no escaping this Beast that Biden has unleashed. Many people think ohhh I’ll just work more, well that doesn’t really work either.
It’s not just Biden. Did Paul Ryan repeal Obamacare when the GOP controlled Congress and the presidency? We all paid less for healthcare before that garbage law was passed. How about the GOP not approving bills to ship tax dollars overseas or to our bloated wasteful military? It never happens. IMO pretty much all of DC and it’s 3 letter agencies suck and deserve to be sh*t canned.
The Kenyan started the mess
The government schools are worthless at teaching basic skills.
They are nothing but indoctrination centers, for the Woke New World.
Most school districts have a tiny percentage of students proficient in reading, math, and science.
Way to many have zero!
It is so bad now, they just graduate kids with no education.
If you can’t read or add…You can’t have a productive job?
constantly on their phones too
Many decades in road building and paving.
You got that right!
They hang onto us older guys a lot longer, because the young ones cant tow the line. Its always an issue, that the younger guys, actually show up to work. We do 12 to 16 hour days, 5 or 6 days a week.
Its hard dang work! Yeah, it is, and it seems to me, they cant handle it like us older guys can. There are occasionally exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, we are always shorthanded.
The pay is good. Hours are long. When that last lift of asphalt goes on and we paint it all up, you feel accomplished. These young fellas just dont seem to care. Always yelling at them to get off the stupid phones and pay attention, before they get killed!
When I raise my voice, they look like they are going to cry, and Im the bad guy? Im trying to make sure they dont get crushed/hit/backed into. You name it!
The worst for me is that they asked me to train some of the better prospects, and give them 3 plus decades of knowledge, before I pull the plug, and they expect me to do that without a raise?
Much like you, its all about just showing up, and it seems there is a severe shortage of potential hires that are smart, attentive, and willing to learn. The work is there, the jobs are certainly there, the skill and attention spans aren’t. You dont take a dummy and put them in 30 plus or bigger ton machines. Lots of big companies are in the same boat.
The delays cost money, so everyone pays for the lack of good workers. It all adds up.
( I kid you not, just last week, at a job just up the road from where I am working, well, a guy was sitting on the shitter, and got killed, a water truck backed into it, and crushed the kid. He was on the phone, didn’t hear the truck so close. That hit home for the boys on our site, this week, seems they are all paying a lot more attention. Sad that it took that, but this is where the workforce is. It is what it is. )
Can’t imagine what Army basic training is like compared to 1967!! These kids would be crying a river.
This is a national trend.
What do you expect from a couple of generations that have been coddled since the day they were born?
I’m currently in williamstown town.
My wife scheduled our yearly physicals and the soonest we could get in to see a doctor is Feb.
yep my primary can’t see me (virtually) for my annual until Dec…saw her backup cause I needed antibiotics…backup doesn’t get that I know my body after all these years and I know when I need antibiotics and when I need anti inflammatories to loosen things up.
A lot of businesses will say they’re hiring to make it look good but not many are. Ask people who are job hunting.
I experienced that many times in software engineering, so, I think it is true in the fields requiring degrees. But, in the trades and restaurants and shops, there simply are not enough young people who aren’t on drugs and shop up and are willing to learn. I see lots of them in shops not paying attention, on their phones, etc.
Ed Dowd says 30% of the work force is either dead or disabled from the jabs. He says another 30% of the work force will fall into that category in the next 2 years. Almost ALL doctors, nurses and their staffs were jabbed twice and many have had one or more boosters. If Ed’s numbers reflect reality, a 60% drop in functional workforce in our health care will bring the whole system to its knees. I expect only ER and high dollar surgeries will be supported going forward and many will dump medicare patients, which I am.
One question, why has the gold price per ounce hovered around $1900?
Logic would say it should be much much higher.
Locally in my rural area, everyone definitely has a sense of foreboding, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Spit.
They keep finding more gold reserves in places that nobody ever looked before.
Buyers are “Waiting” in New Orleans now as well. A car dealer friend of mine told me a few days ago that sales are from slow to next to none at all Dealers in the city now.
War clouds and fear of Economic collapse will do that.
Precious metal prices have been and are manipulated downward in the extreme via “paper metal.”
Here’s one of many articles on the subject:
https://intelligent-partnership.com/paper-gold-volumes-vs-physical-gold-volumes/
prime interest rates, bond rates and gold spot prices have been out of whack for a long time.
The price of gold is controlled by a few banks for the governments of the US and UK with the purchase and sales of futures contracts.
Because the price is manipulated by JP Morgan and the other banks that own the Federal Reserve. They can’t afford to let anyone abandon the dollar so they keep a lid on the price of precious metals by manipulating the futures markets. Two traders at JP Morgan were found guilty of manipulating the gold prices and got a slap on the wrist. It’s just another cog in the criminal enterprise running the country.
I think that shoe dropped Oct 7. I had strong feelings of dread prior. Now, I am in take a breather mode but keep on prepping.
The gold price is monkey hammered anytime it shows signs of life by the exchange stabilization fund. That and the games they play on Comex, with failure to deliver resolved in dollars, keeps the price down. If they decide to let devaluation of US$ reach its ugly end, this manipulation in the markets and in the Comex will fail.
Gold is an insurance policy taken out against the possible default of the currency. The US$ default is in progress as we speak. Think of it as something to bribe the lackeys the powers that be hire to keep you from doing what you need to survive. The bribe can go for an exit from the country or taxes to keep a house or possibly travel between states. Junk silver and desirable consumables (think sins) are better for trade for needed goods once the dollar fails.
Last week it was announced the Michelin plant in the town north of us is downsizing its tire production, 1400 people who will be without jobs.
That’s devastating, not only to the employees and their families, but to the entire community. They’re THE major employer in this area.
I don’t know the overall viability of Michelin in general, but my radar immediately began pinging.
FTA: “Michelin North America said Thursday it is winding down tire production at its factory in xxxx, the city’s largest employer, eliminating 1,400 jobs plus a number of contractors.
Tire production should end by the end of 2025 or sooner, but rubber-mixing operations, which supply other factories, are expected to continue, the company said. Tire production will shift to other plants in North America.
No one in Ardmore saw this coming, said Bill Murphy, president and CEO of the Ardmore Development Authority.
“We were stunned this morning to learn the news of Michelin’s plan to begin winding down tire production at the Ardmore facility over the next two years,” he said “We are still processing this news and are considering what options might be available as we look ahead. This plant has been an anchor not only in Ardmore but throughout southern Oklahoma’s economy, providing hundreds of well-paying jobs for more than 50 years.”
Murphy added, “Michelin is an outstanding company and corporate citizen that we respect. We value our relationship with Michelin and are committed to working closely with the longtime business. Lastly, we remain steadfast in supporting the dedicated employees of this plant during this transition.”
“Tire production will shift to other plants in North America.”
Mexico is considered North America
Very astute
North American Union, businesses operate under this but not on the news
even Saltines are made there and they’re not less they cost more – has to be the quietly agreed upon North Amer Union. 🙁
Why do large employers lay off employees in November or thereabouts? I was laid off from a job one week before Thanksgiving. <sarc>Thanks a lot!</sarc>
They save paying out the Holiday bonuses?
Saves on holiday leave. General Dynamics used to do it every holiday season right before Christmas in San Diego.
the government is counterfeiting trillions every year. if you are first in line to get your hands on some of the loot, before the price increases hit, you do well. fixed imcome and those at other end of spectrum, not so much. buisiness that consistently does well is tooled to suck up counterfeit near the source.
You are describing part of the Cantillion Effect. Named for an historical economist, Richard Cantillion.
I’ve included a couple of links for those that want to read further into this figure and his contributions to economic theory.
https://mises.org/library/biography-richard-cantillon-1680-1734
https://mises.org/wire/cantillon-effects-why-inflation-helps-some-and-hurts-others
Of course the Mises people are brilliant economists. Ah, the Austrian school. Still my favorite.
Beepee: Same here, but the Austrian School is largely ignored by the academic and government “economists,” because the Austrian School makes too much common sense and does not require lots of fancy theories and equations.
Don’t disagree, but the real problem with the Austrian School of economics is that it doesn’t allow for unlimited government spending. No one in an institution dependent upon government funding wants that.
As a taxpayer, however, I’m all for the Austrian School
Let me simplify that for you. The Austrian School was THE economics in the USA colleges prior to 1971 and with my professor into 1972+. However, that school and the gold standard do not support theft by congress, corporations, etc.
They aren’t just counterfeiting, they are robbing us….. This new money we have to compete with…. trillions going to illegals and other Democrat donors…. which I repeat we have to compete with. Inflation goes through the roof and then many lose their assets, well guess who is buying?
Yes, our replacements and they did not have the jabs. So, as those who were required to take them for work become ill and die, work requirements will drop and things will fall apart because the new hires will not speak English and they will not be trained.
And congress just gave themselves a $34,000 annual raise.
They should have their salaries garnished for complete dereliction of duty. They’re totally complicit in the pain we’re feeling.
Joe: “Bidenomics is The American Dream!”
Today,… this has to be the most Desperate Admin in Presidential history in the USA. Their internal poll #s must be more than devastating now.
Knock yourself out, Used Car Hawker, Biden,…. keep trying to sell us your ‘Cherry’ Ford Pintos.
g’Bye Denomics!
Oh, where to begin..well, we’re on the Seacoast of NH, right over the MA border.
Help wanted signs are everywhere. I’ve mentioned before that my hubby is 77, and works 4 days a week 3-9PM, bagging groceries. He’s diabetic and was recently hospitalized with CHF. His prescription meds are $1450 for 3 month supplies. One med alone is $488😳
Our insurances, taxes, utilities and grocery bills have all gone up. A LOT.
I’ll add that we are updating/renovating our home. After 28 years here…we figured it’ll be easier for my daughter to sell when the time comes if we lost the “old Grammy decor”. And we can enjoy it until then😁
Anyway…A new kitchen, new quartz counters, refinished hardwood floors, new gutters, all walls and trim repainted and 3 of the 4 bathrooms all new everything. Some new furniture (3 living rooms, kitchen set, office). Yeah, it’s a really big house. Paid for. We took out a small mortgage for the repairs/upgrades. Have funds set aside for new roof and heating systems (it has 2- we put on an addition to have my mom live with us) and for “unexpected”
Where am I going with this.
5 different companies for the work that was done, and 2 furniture stores for delivery. And 2 service calls for the furniture.
Every single employee/worker/delivery/service person was umm…well, non-English speaking. Except for the foreman/boss of each crew. All of them. It was really striking.
the kitchen crew were Portuguese. I used Google translate to converse with the non-English speaking on my iPad.
The floor guys are from Ukraine (been here 10 years)
The others were Spanish speaking. All of them. All young, too. 20-35.
They worked their a**es off! But it was quite striking that none spoke English.
My local city just had a crew of what appeared to be Illegal’s working on a city job….. I didn’t see a white person in the 20-30 man crew. It was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that from the CITY government? What Bidet has unleashed on this country, we’ll never recover from. Why weren’t these jobs given to locals out of work? It baffles my mind.
I’m having work done at my new place too- and it was virtually impossible to get the local companies to give me the time of day. I’ve done a lot of research and the only general contractor was Hispanic but speaks English well. But all of his men only Spanish. I’m lucky, I can speak spanish well. But their work has been really sub-par, which I normally don’t encounter.
I’m in NC and I see they are finally slowing down on the new housing developments, I figure most of the skilled labor is there, once they finish those off (prices are actually cooling down finally due to interest rates), I might encounter skilled labor again.
All of those job reports are completely fudged, they are lowered months later. I left the New england area and basically things are really bad the closer you get to NYC. The infrastructure is literally falling apart on every level- hospitals missing basic support staff, grocery stores with less rock on shelves, stores with less sales people and less goods- all because of the cost of energy, gas, labor and commercial leases. It is completely crazy.
Yeah I have 2 nephews both in their forties still living at home w mommy and daddy. No aspiration, no drive, no ambition. Both are physically fit so that’s not an excuse. Something seems to have happened to the males in that generation. They’re some of the laziest people I’ve ever seen.
Low testosterone levels due to estrogenic plastics and other things in the environment.
I live a few hours from you in SW Maine. I needed a new laptop so went to Best Buy in Portland, ME. Nice guy in the electronics dept was very helpful but clearly was the only knowledgeable staff in the dept. He was non-white, probably in his early 30s and had a foreign accent. He complained about his younger co-workers who were unreliable and prone to not show up for their shift. He said he was a Dad, was married, had young children to support so he needed this job. I was blessed to have him help me in my purchase and thanked him repeatedly for his excellent service. Folks like him are a real gem to find…I hope he is or becomes a legal citizen as he has the right values.
I’m sorry to hear your golden years are a challenge but know you’re not alone and probably doing better than many of us in that stage of life. I know I’ll have to move sometime in the next 5 or maybe 10 years, depending on my health, and I dread that decision. Blessings.
A gripe of mine is the reporting of businesses and Fake Business Press. GAAP reporting is the only thing that counts. The only way they report now is nonGAAP which is funny money. Sales and Profits have to be measured Year over Year to have meaning. Sales and Profits are now reported as compared to Analyst’s estimates. The only way to find the truth is dig, dig, and dig. Or just beiieve your lying eyes.
During Trump’s presidency, economic indicators were continually revised upward. With Joe, it’s all downward.
Didn’t we go through the same “downward revisioning” during the pre Trump 8 years with Obama? Do I see a trend? Let me cogitate on that a bit.
It’s already here. It just ain’t showed up yet.
Much less where it’s headed.
Buckle up!
Work is literally disappearing….. it’s the Obama years all over again. Stagnant malaise, no money, bankruptcies all over, people not being able to pay for their own food…. only that part is even worse now.
Jimmy Carter years were a precursor.
“Managing the transition” is the same as MAObama and his toadies talking about “managing the decline of America.”
Under MAObama, America had no right to be the best nation on the planet and had to be forced into decline: the problem was how to “manage the decline” so that people would not notice…or would agree that being #37 instead of #1 would be just fine!
So far, we are somewhere around #17.
In Political Corruption, however, we are probably still #1 !
Well, #2 if you count Ukraine.
NE GA here.
Our daughter works, from home, as a lead sales/marketing agent for 2 manufacturers in the building industry and is very busy managing sales and staff almost 24 hrs./day, 7 days/week.
In addition she raises chickens and sells eggs, which also takes up much of her time and she also makes candles and sells them also.
Honestly, she is one of the few who wants to put forth the effort to invest and save for retirement and is reaching her goals.
Many in this area, are hard workers and at the same time, trying to locate someone or small business to help with landscaping maintenance, even though it is advertised, is very difficult to find. It’s much easier to ride a lawn mower and drive in circles or a few straight lines, call it a day and hold out your hand for a cash payment.
I don’t know how these smaller contractors stay in business because from our experience over the last decade, it’s “fly by the seat of your pants” and pray you can find, (after 2-4 tries), a reputable contractor of any “specialty”.
Many people work in local government offices, including the schools, some churches, some small businesses. We do have a few divisions of the University of GA here , local newspaper, and Purina factory, a few other small factories, grocery stores, Belk’s, hair stylists, nail salons, etc. and we live in a “Dry County”; so there is that also.
Agriculture, chickens and eggs are predominant in this area.
But what is evident is that many do NOT want to work and if they don’t have to work; they don’t. But they like the “cash” payment when they do work.
That’s the culture here.
I think everyone wants to work, if the govt’ would quit Screwing everyone then we wouldn’t have any problems with productivity and people working.
The people’s money in 401-ks is being used to support political interests totally against their personal best interests.
touching up outdoor deck with B. Moore arbor coat paint, been 5 yrs the stuff is Excellent – but a new gallon was $68 whereas 5 yrs ago it $48 a gal. i don’t blame them.
i just got laid off.
My old employer just laid off ~20% of the workforce. First large layoffs in almost 10 years.
Sorry, Ibid. That’s an awful feeling, and scary.
In my experience, better things usually come, though.
I hope you hit the ground running and your new employer is thrilled to find somebody who wants to work.
Attitude is everything. Be choosy! Be the best!
Land surveyor here.
Municipal and civil work is keeping me busy. Individual activity, dividing parcels for housing starts, is very slow.
Local restaurants are slow. Prices up means fewer tables to serve. Lunch at a national franchise saps a $20 bill. I’ve been packing lunch for the first time in years.
Those in my industry are using technology (robotic instruments and GPS) to eliminate the employee; but that means no interns are being trained. The outlook is bleak.
I happened upon a pundit on tv saying that “Consumer spending is up!” And, consumers are also willing to go into debt for the things they want!”
He didn’t provide details about the “things” consumers are willing to go into debt for…. perhaps eggs, milk, meat?
Must have been CNN. I must have been interrupted while channel surfing.
Forgot to mention that I paid $7.29 per gallon near Santa Barbara about 3 weeks ago. It’s down in the $6.29 range in my town now. I am blessed that I am not hurt by this. But I know many who are.
In the Twin Cities. Houses in my neighborhood have been selling within days of being put on the market, and at high prices.
Last month the sales tax in the metro area went up another percent, so some areas have a 9.025% sales tax. The suburb with the Mall of America is trying for an additional one-half percent increase, and will be at that level also, if it passes. The opposition has gotten themselves organized enough to print up and distribute yard signs.
Schools are trying to pass large property tax increases that include automatic annual inflation adjustments.
The stores seem rather empty, but there are some Help Wanted signs. A lot of people have switched to shopping online.
I do quite a bit of online shopping for home maintenance items and parts. I can get what I want delivered to my house in a few days without having to call 7 different places only to be told they have to order it…and I would have to come in to their store to pick it up.
It is a toss-up who fakes their economic statistics more, the USA or the CCP.
BTW the site ZeroHedge has done a bunch of analysis on US economic stats. Just about every major release since 2021 comes out as overly optimistic, gets all the media hype, and then quietly a few months later it gets revised downward. Under Trump, almost every month’s data was later revised upward. Under Biden the opposite, every release is later revised downward.
Faked economic data. Faked border-crosser data. Faked Covid data. Faked climate data. Faked gun-violence data. Faked crime data. Faked hate crime data. Faked Afghan withdrawal data. Faked EPA data in Palestine Ohio. Faked spy-balloon data.
Is there anything they have not lied about?
What do they say that’s true?
Nuttin’ Honey!
I paid $14.00 for a frozen pizza at the grocery store today. FOURTEEN DOLLARS
I was adding up my receipt amount in my head, in the car on the way home and couldn’t figure out how I got to that total.
Absurd.
“What do you see happening in/around your area? How are the employment conditions nearest you?”
My wife and I started looking for houses about a year and a half ago in southern Wisconsin. For over a year, it was tough to find and buy any house that was on the market for more than a week. One of the last places we looked at before buying the place we are in had three cash offers above the $850k list price within 3 days of being listed.
We looked at another place on Wednesday since it is much closer to my son and his family. Acreage, small house but liveable. It might be overpriced, but not by much compared to what the market had been.
It’s been on the market around 70 days now. No movement. It had one other showing before us since being listed last August. Price has been dropped about $40k. A mortgage rate of 8.129% and estimated $4800+ per month cost is ridiculous.
As for jobs, it is surprising how many job openings are available. There were about the same number in the spring, then it eased somewhat, and now the number seems to be back up. Many places seem to be short-staffed, and those that do show up really seem to resent having a job.
There are plenty of help wanted signs around here, too (edges of Birmingham AL’s metro). Mostly retail jobs. There are a few signs posted by employment agencies, too. I want to say that any manufacturing job wanted listings have mostly been filled. Yes, there is a good bit of manufacturing locally, mostly capital goods though. Those are leading indicators. When economic times get hard, capital goods drop off first and come back first if and when there is a recovery. What are the trucking/railroad freight indices doing?
Trucking is destroyed. Hundreds of carriers and brokerage offices are bankrupt or simply closing. That’s what I did; 33 years in the industry and lost many of our solid accounts to large brokerage offices that under cut our contract rates by 30-40%, while at the same time our costs exploded after COVID. I threw in the towel in May 2023. We weren’t bankrupt, but would have been by spring 2024.
Maersk Shipping lines just announced a 10,000 head layoff this morning. All freight is weak.
This comment reminded me of what I’ve noticed but not paid attention to. Several times a week I drive the road past the rail terminal in St. Paul where the containers offload to the trucks.
A few years ago that road was packed with trucks, all the time, day or night. It was always a traffic snarl by the driveway from the terminal. The trucks were always bottlenecking the ramps onto and off of Snelling as the newbie drivers didn’t know how to drive.
Lately there are no trucks. It’s seldom that there is even one truck visible on the road or in the driveway. Whereas it was routine 2 years ago to see a line of trucks waiting to turn into the yard, and another line of trucks waiting to get out, now there are none.
The economy has crashed, the goods are not being sold. There is no product moving around other than bare essentials. Nobody is buying extra.
That’s what’s worrisome. I can say that locally trucking hasn’t been hit that hard; but rail freight traffic isn’t anywhere near what it was when PDJT was in office, even with covid.
We are in Coastal South Carolina.
Homes in our area are selling quickly at list prices. There seem to be many cash buyers from colder climates.
I understand auto sales for October were dismal at many dealers. EV vehicles are not selling, there is an over supply.
Help wanted signs are everywhere. One local Kroger is cutting employee hours from full time to part time. Does this mean the employees are not eligible for health insurance? The company advertised for more workers.
Homeowners insurance rates are higher, for waterfront properties some insurance has almost tripled.
Hospitals and rehab facilities need nurses and staff.
Health insurance rates are higher. Some chain pharmacies have shortened hours because not enough people are willing to work.
Spotted another male, this one older and bearded carrying a man bag. Another youngish white male with a man bag in another grocery store. This is not a typical look. What’s up?
When I wake up in the middle of the night I hear total silence. No trucks rolling by on I 80 interstate. I 80 is the main east west artery for many hundreds of miles around. It is the only major highway around.
When the economy is good. You can hear trucks rolling by going both directions all hours of the night. Now silence, with an occasional truck passing by.
Last times the Interstate was quiet like this was during the Lockdown. Before that, the height of the “Great Recession”
I have noticed a drop in train traffic also. Less goods being transported is a sure sign the economy is tanking.
Locally the economy is good but our main driver of local economy is mining and ranching. Our economy has proven over the many years, to be pretty recession proof.
Just got our new company health insurance rates for 2024 from a major carrier: 14.75% premium increase for employees in the PPO plan. 12.5% increase for the the “money saving” HMO plan.
Yup. Inflation is really cooling.
All gov numbers are BS. Just like 2020 was “The most honest election in Earth’s history,” (ROTF!) spoken like true Soviet propagandists.
The ticker guy (Karl Denninger) saw through the job report- the horizon is very gloomy indeed!!
In the last forty-five days – two jobs canceled, one postponed not yet cleared to start and one slow paying.
People can’t get good help but are unwilling to pay a decent wage to the ones that do show up and work.
Quite a bit of construction still but few white workers.
The thing I notice most is the increased rate of speed of the separation taking place between the have and the have nots.
You can see people dropping further behind while others seem to have unlimited money although some of them are starting to tighten their belts.
There is no doubt the data and news of it is being and has been manipulated in attempts to push things in the directions they wish. It’s become so obvious that often on the same day two different tales are told. At the moment the desire is to try to force the Fed to hold or lower rates and push the market higher (it’s an election year coming up after all).
Here is an example of data manipulation – the first banner story that was prominently pushed in the financial sectors says job growth is lower than expected, causing the market to rise.
“Stocks jumped on Friday as investors weighed a cooling in jobs growth that could reinforce hopes that the Federal Reserve is done with its rate-hiking campaign.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%, or 160 points while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.6%.
The US economy added 150,000 jobs in October, undershooting the 180,000 reading expected. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9%.
The health of the labor market is a key input for Fed policymakers, and the signs of a slowing economy should support the case for the central bank to hold off from another rate hike this year.”
In a different, but buried, article was this tidbit:
“According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning, employment in manufacturing decreased by 35,000 in October, reflecting a decline of 33,000 jobs in motor vehicles and parts “that was largely due to strike activity.” This was the first time the autos’ strike impact had showed up in the monthly jobs report.”
Add the 33,000 jobs related to “strike activity” to the job numbers and they would have been slightly higher than projected. Then there is the effect of the strikes in the “entertainment” industry. Who do the unions’ management support historically?
My personal observations on the regional jobs front is multifaceted – highly skilled job market continues booming, factories and plants continue either downsizing or closing, and Obo’s hordes are flooding the manual labor and building sectors.
Food, household items, and clothing prices all continue their rise unabated. Housing and rent also continue their rise, although at a lower rate.
There is no amount of news or data manipulation that is going to stop the coming day of reckoning for “Bidenomics.” Personal savings nationwide hasn’t been this low since ’07. Credit card debt has climbed to over $1T. Government debt servicing is one of the largest consumers of tax dollars now – and it will only get worse as the debt rolls over.
Non-Sense or as the daily news calls themselves nowadays – news that makes sense = a real nuisance, just what they are.
The numbers are simply made up. They have no connection to reality whatsoever. When your whole political system is based on a fraud – the idea that Joseph Biden is the duly elected President of the United States – everything else that your government says is almost certainly a lie.
Look at the CDC and the FDA. They haven’t told a truthful thing, a truthful statistic, a truthful number about anything relating to Covid or the Covid vaccines. Lives are at stake with regard to unsafe and dangerous drugs and vaccines. Do you think, if the federal government would lie about the safety of vaccines, that they wouldn’t lie about labor statistics?
Everything, absolutely without a meaningful exception, coming out of the government of the United States today is a lie.
Here in Southern Colorado, housing starts are nearly at a standstill. Gas prices are still high, but are decreasing a little. That is the good news.
At the grocery store there are still shortages in supply of products like dairy and meat but the prices for everything is still increasing or volumes in the packaging are decreasing, even though we now shop for the lowest priced item on the shelf.
Gas bills continue to rise for no explainable reason. Electric bills are increasing. Water bills have become so confusing that we don’t know if the taxes are being raised or the supply is becoming more erratic, despite a good year for rain and snowfall totals. Electric bills go up and the meters don’t even need to be read because all meters are now outfitted with transponders which give the public utility supplier an instantaneous update on consumption habits of customers, paving the way for future price hikes based on nebulous causes.
Cars are in very short supply and prices continue to go up, even though purchases are way down.
Medical care and pharmaceutical products continue to rise and quality of care continues to worsen, at least according to anyone who has recently been caught in the doctor mill. There is a hideous shortage of medical specialists, although there seems to be plenty of office staff personnel.
I have no more contact with the cost of education but funding for schools continues to increase our monthly tax burden.
Fast food joints and restaurants are continuing to try to operate without enough workers and the ones they hire are mostly people who don’t give a damn about having a job, but who all want a paycheck anyway, and I think this is a residual of the Government’s COVID-19 plandemic policies. Illegals will take jobs for nearly nothing since our taxes are maintaining their lifestyles putting undo pressure everywhere that unskilled young people need to work.
All in all, I would say there has been no improvement in the health of our economy since the disasters that Obama’s sock puppet put in place nearly three years ago.
You forgot to note that the (1) household survey showed a drop of 300,000, which leaves us with a 450,000 discrepancy, and (2) that the vast majority of the non-governmental job increases were additional part time jobs undertaken by people trying to keep their heads above water. These lying POS’s have continued with Obama’s policy of inflating jobs every month and then adjusting them downwards 2 or 3 months later. Hang them high.
the fake numbers are to sooth global investors. the US “credit rating” is taking an ass kicking so they fake the numbers to conceal the insolvency of the treasury and the USG to service it’s debt. It also give free reign to “approved” fraud from some of the largest retailers and banks.
ironically, sam brinkman fried is soon to be sentenced for stealing billions…
Q: is a nation state spends money without limit to the point of economic national security black flags, who brings them to court for criminal acts?
asking for friends.
God Bless America
The non-pretending version: The regime is cooking the books!
Sundance
Today, George Ure’s “Urban Survival” blog published this table, along with the other data you report here:
Take a look at the last two months entries..
?strip=all&lossy=1&ssl=1
Those last two entries show the total employed in the US dropped about 350,000 people.
So, Where are these 150,000 new employed coming from?
SE TN in suburbia. Housing market is relatively strong. Prices high. Inventory very low. But recently, I’m starting to see prices being dropped —some houses are staying on market for 60 days or more which hasn’t happened before. We have attracted a lot of people from other states, coming in and paying cash for high dollar homes. Acreage is crazy expensive now too.
Just coming off trick or treat where my suburban hot spot neighborhood had over 1000 trick or treaters. There were as many adults/teenagers and children trick or treating. Majority of people were dressed up in horror costumes, even little kids. Lots of demon ghoul masks. Very few kids in cute costumes.
Ready to find a house further outside the city that isn’t a hotspot for a future mob.
Thanks for the explanation of the crazy Sundance. I was confused Friday morning when the Nasdaq was up almost 1-1/2 percent on news that October’s job growth was worse than expected. The explanation given was people thought this meant the Fed wouldn’t raise rates. Huh?
I hadn’t been to my local Lowe’s hardware store for a while and was in last Saturday. I was surprised that most of the staff was white people in their 70s and 80s. It was nice to be helped by competent pleasant people who were grateful to have a job, but I wondered if they were working because inflation was eating into their social security fixed income.
Most people in the leftist Seattle area are oblivious to what’s going on economically, societally, legally, etc. One leftist retired friend is making ends meet between monthly income and outgo by running up credit cards. He seems fine with this. Everyone keeps living like the party will never end.
We’re currently building a home in a new community just south of St. Augustine, Fl. There are approxomately 17-homes under current construction in the addition. Having walked by all of them on a daily basis, I can tell you there is not a word of English being spoken on any of those construction sites.
The masons, carpenters, roofers, electricians, and plumbers are all hispanic, and I can only wonder what the labor savings must be for the builder (A California based company with 6B in annual revenue).
Being a Florida native who lived most of his life further south in the state, I’ve seen this coming over the years, but it seems the wholesale loss of the trades to “immigration” is now complete, at least in Fl. Anyone that tells you they are just coming to do the work Americans won’t do, is blowing smoke.
In the East Valley area of Phoenix there are “Help Wanted” signs everywhere. The influx of people moving here from CA, OR, WA, has created many jobs in the service sector and in other areas of our economy as well. Even with all of openings there are people working a corner for a handout and those who do so appear to be illegals, and restaurants having manpower issues.
Employment conditions in the Twin Cities area remains high for manufacturing thanks to Trump dropping the corporate tax rate from the highest in the world(39%) to 21%. I design and manufacture highly profitable durable goods and business is good even after enormous price increases.
Work is plentifully available as there are fewer people willing to work.
https://twitter.com/TFTC21/status/1720472870575587591/photo/1
I live in McKinney TX and they are building residential and commercial buildings out the wazoo. All these blue state immigrants flooding in. Hopefully they leaving their F’ed up politics behind!! If it were up to me, I’d be buildings wall around d Texas!!
I ask all of you on here to please feel free to comment on this question I have.
A few people that I’ve met state that under the Trump admin. He kept rates artificially low while racking up the debt and shutting the country down?
Please any of you have counter arguments to this claim I would love to hear them.
Okay, I cannot help you Patrick, because I never witnessed any of that when President Trump was in office.
I don’t know how a president can affect interest rates at all.
I know what our investments (what little we have) looked like and they were almost twice as high under the Trump Administration.
Everybody hurts under this installed fraudulent regime; some are just too blinded so they cannot see but eventually they will FEEL the PAIN.
Thanks for your reply.
I’ve seen this argument from people but they forget that Congress spends the money, the president signs the bills.
“The People of the Revolution are enjoying record harvests of wheat, comrade!
These is no famine, merely a lack of food!”
@Sundance I think you mean FEWER jobs.
When this game of musical chairs ends we will see a depression that makes the last one look like a church picnic.