February Jobs Report Mostly Positive, But Long Term Problems Remain

A somewhat good jobs report for February, but still no sign that the jobs recession is ending any time soon.

unemployment-job-search

Going into today’s release of the February Jobs Report, analysts were expecting to see about 160,000 new jobs created and an unemployment rate of 7.9%, as it turned out we ended up with one of the better reports we’ve seen in awhile:

Bolstered by a healthier private sector, the United States economy gained 236,000 jobs in February, well above what had been expected, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, its lowest level since December 2008.

The gains were broad-based, the Labor Department said Friday, with sectors ranging from manufacturing to business services turning in healthy results. Construction was especially strong, adding 48,000 jobs, a sign that the recovery in the housing market is beginning to translate into new jobs.

Public-sector employment continued to shrink, however, as the number of government employees nationwide fell by 10,000.

While many economists were encouraged by the report, some noted that the size of the labor force contracted by 130,000. Some of that was because of retirements, but some was also a result of discouraged workers giving up the search for jobs.

As a result, the labor participation rate sank to 63.5 percent, a low for the current economic cycle.

At the current rate of job creation, unemployment could actually crack the 7 percent level by the end of the year. However, economists expect the budget cuts now under way in Washington to contribute significant headwinds in the months ahead. The so-called sequester went into effect March 1.

“We think we’ll see some slowdown in April and May because of the sequester,” said Michelle Meyer, senior United States economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We’re going to see federal job cuts and the spring is going to be a soft patch for the labor market.”

She estimated that the unemployment rate would stabilize at about 7.5 percent later this year.

The unemployment fell from 7.9 percent in January. Economists had been expecting the economy to add 165,000 jobs in February, with no movement in the rate.

After peaking at 10 percent in October 2009, the unemployment rate fell steadily for three years but has been stuck at just below 8 percent since last September.

As the report shows,there were gains across nearly all jobs sectors, with substantial gains in the construction industry:

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 in February, with job gains in professional and business services, construction, and health
care. In the prior 3 months, employment had risen by an average of 195,000 per month. (See table B-1.)

Professional and business services added 73,000 jobs in February; employment in the industry had changed little (+16,000) in January. In February,
employment in administrative and support services, which includes employment services and services to buildings, rose by 44,000. Accounting and
bookkeeping services added 11,000 jobs, and growth continued in computer systems design and in management and technical consulting services.

In February, employment in construction increased by 48,000. Since September, construction employment has risen by 151,000. In February, job growth
occurred in specialty trade contractors, with this gain about equally split between residential (+17,000) and nonresidential specialty trade contractors
(+15,000). Nonresidential building construction also added jobs (+6,000).

The health care industry continued to add jobs in February (+32,000). Within health care, there was a job gain of 14,000 in ambulatory health care services, which includes doctors’ offices and outpatient care centers. Employment also increased over the month in nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000) and hospitals (+9,000).

Employment in the information industry increased over the month (+20,000), lifted by a large job gain in the motion picture and sound recording industry.

Employment continued to trend up in retail trade in February (+24,000). Retail trade has added 252,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Employment also
continued to trend up over the month in food services and drinking places and in wholesale trade. Employment in other major industries showed little change over the month.

There are a few caveats to the report. First, January’s new jobs numbers were revised downward from 157,000 to 119,000 while December’s numbers were revised upward from 196,000 to 219,000. Second, as noted above, there is the issue of the labor force participation rate, which declined once again in February and is likely responsible at least in part for the .2% drop in the unemployment rate. Indeed, if the labor force participation rate were the same as it was a year ago, the unemployment rate would be 8.3%. If the rate were the same as it was in January 2009, the unemployment rate would be 10.8%. In those kinds of environments, the job creation numbers we’ve been seeing would be having far less of an impact on the unemployment rate, and while there’s nothing to sneeze at in 236,000 new jobs, it certainly isn’t something that’s going to get us back from the recession any time  soon. If we assume, for example, that the roughly 190,000 new jobs created on average over the past three months were to be sustained, it would still take us more than eight years to return the labor market to where it was In other words, we’re dealing with a declining labor force that is making what are still mostly weak job numbers appear far better than they actually are.

Calculated Risk gives us an idea of just how slow the labor market recovery has been with what has been called “The Scariest Chart Ever”:

employrecfeb2013

 

In other words, we are still in the middle of the worst jobs recession since World War II, and there’s little sign that it’s going to end any time soon.

 

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    In other words, we are still in the middle of the worst jobs recession since World War II, and there’s little sign that it’s going to end any time soon.

    Wha’? Looking at that chart, if the red line continues at its current slope, 0.0% is reached in a little more than a year. Considering we’re in Month 60 of this employment recession, I’m willing to call that “soon.”

  2. We are developing a bifurcated society. Those who work a job and a half, and those who don’t work at all.

  3. michael reynolds says:

    @Gold Star for Robot Boy:

    Also, just to look at, it seems we’re moving at about the same rate as the 2001 recession, and not much worse than the 1990 recession. So, par for the course in modern recessions?

  4. Dave Schuler says:

    Good news. Now all we need to do is repeat those results every month over the period of the next five or ten years.

  5. Rafer Janders says:

    In other words, we are still in the middle of the worst jobs recession since World War II, and there’s little sign that it’s going to end any time soon.

    My solution, in three simple words: World. War. III.

  6. michael reynolds says:

    @Rafer Janders:

    I think we owe it to our troops to stage this war in a location with good food, beautiful women and temperate weather. The Greatest Generation fought in France, Italy and Japan. Korea had some minimal charm, and Vietnam had some as well, but since then it’s been one unpleasant dump after another.

    I don’t think we need another war in a place with hummus, burka-clad women and 110 degree heat. I think we’re going to have to go to war with Australia. The weather’s pretty good, the women are beautiful and they have a few good restaurants. Bonus: beaches!

  7. john personna says:

    This is certifiably good news. A surprise to the upside is always good.

    Now, have you permanently flipped to the long term view, or do you only use it now to mitigate against good news? 😉

  8. Drew says:

    WTF??? I thought the world was ending. Sequesters you know. Grandma has to eat dog food, can’t afford medicine, gets thrown in the snow, gets turned into dog food. Children die, or can’t go to school. Police laid off. Riots in the street I tell you. No one can fly to Mexican beaches……..

    (In best NJ accent) The horrah!!!!! The horrah!!!!!!

    How about we cut the budget by 20% and nobody noticed??

  9. michael reynolds says:

    @Drew:

    It may surprise you to learn that time only travels in one direction. Thus, things in the past (February jobs numbers) cannot be caused by events which had not yet occurred (the sequester.)

  10. john personna says:

    (That’s funny. I fast-typed “certainly” and my computer upgraded it to “certifiably” in spell check. I would not normally use that word.)

  11. john personna says:

    @Drew:

    So, why exactly did you give up on thoughtful posts?

    Too hard?

  12. Barry says:

    @Gold Star for Robot Boy: “Wha’? Looking at that chart, if the red line continues at its current slope, 0.0% is reached in a little more than a year.”

    First, more like two years than one. Second, throw in a 1%/year growth in the labor force.

  13. JKB says:

    We’re saved. Just just a bit less that 4 more years under Obama and this economy will turn around.

  14. Rob in CT says:

    Hey, at least this time Drew wasn’t going on about blowjobs.

    I agree with the “good news, still a mess” framing. Also, obviously we all know these numbers are subject to revision later.

  15. john personna says:

    @JKB:

    What was the expected recovery time for a “worst crash since the Great Depression?”

    Conservatives who whined that it should have been an immediate bounce-back were pretty dim, weren’t they?

    Given the destruction, I’d say 10 years is not surprising.

  16. gVOR08 says:

    @michael reynolds: Grenada was nice.

  17. anjin-san says:

    @ michael reynolds

    Drew is a demigod. For him, time travels in any direction he tells it to.

  18. Tsar Nicholas says:

    What’s amazing about today’s report is that as the national liberal Democrat media literally celebrates the headline payroll growth and unemployment rate figures (but, FYI, the total labor force actually shrank by 130,000 and long-term unemployment increased by 89,000) the left not only completely will be unaware of the following stats they’d not be able even to grasp the obvious politico-economic ironies:

    6.8%: unemployment rate for whites
    9.6%: unemployment rate for Hispanics
    13.8%: unemployment rate for blacks

    5.8%: unemployment rate, age 55-plus
    7.8%: unemployment rate, ages 25-34
    13.1%: unemployment rate, ages 20-24
    23.0%: unemployment rate, ages 18-19

    It’s regressive dystopia. Yay!! Man alive, the left is loopy and ignorant.

    In any case, Club Fed determined years ago (2009, to be specific) that it was going to mortgage our future with profligacy to blow bubbles and thereby to create an illusion of prosperity. And today at least you have to give Bernanke & Co. some credit, especially in a Machiavellian sense. But the reality is that underneath the facade things are rotten to the core and the Fed’s puffery ultimately won’t end well. At that point the hangover will make the proverbial and illusory keg party seem altogether not worth it.

  19. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    Glenn Reynolds had an interesting observation about the jobless numbers…

    So, basically, the more likely you are to have voted for Obama, the more likely you are to still be unemployed:

    WHITES: 6.8%…
    BLACKS: 13.8%…
    HISPANICS: 9.6%…
    TEENAGERS: 25.1%…

  20. john personna says:

    @Jenos Idanian #13:

    Nothing wrong with enlightened self-interest.

  21. Lynn says:

    “I think we owe it to our troops to stage this war in a location with good food, beautiful women and temperate weather.”

    Let’s make that beautiful people, shall we? Equal opportunity and all that, you know.

  22. Rafer Janders says:

    @michael reynolds:

    I think we owe it to our troops to stage this war in a location with good food, beautiful women and temperate weather.

    Now that women can serve in combat, how about some beautiful men too?

    Watch it, Brazil: we’re coming for you.

  23. john personna says:

    @Lynn:

    Cary Grant in “I was a male war bride.”

  24. michael reynolds says:

    The conservative rule of thumb for good economic news under Obama is as follows:

    Bad news = Worse news.

    Good news = Bad news.

    Great news = Media lies.

    The Second Coming of Christ, Moses, Mohammed, the Buddha and Charles Darwin all united in universal peace = Hitler.

  25. C. Clavin says:

    WTF…
    Another jobs post from Mataconis where he whines about weak growth but fails to mention the impact of a shrinking public sector.
    Are you just incompetent???
    30 months where the number of Government jobs is lower than the same month of the year previous.
    For some reason that doesn’t warrant a mention.
    James…can you not afford good help????
    You want growth? Stop laying off tens of thousands of cops and teachers every month. And hire them at the same rate that Reagan and Bush 43 did. Then you would see growth and UE in a much better place.

  26. Lynda says:

    @Jenos Idanian #13:

    So, basically, the more likely you are to have voted for Obama, the more likely you are to still be unemployed:

    Funny how you and Tsar never mention the Asian American unemployment rate, 6.1% as of Feb 2013, when splitting Americans into racial groups.
    http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm

    Yet Asian Americans voted for Obama 76 – 23 Romney, a higher percentage than Hispanic Americans.

  27. michael reynolds says:

    @Lynda:

    You expect those two to see anything but race?

    How about women vs. men? How’s the straight vs. gay break-out?

  28. michael reynolds says:

    @C. Clavin:

    Those aren’t real jobs or real people who shop for real groceries and buy real homes. Those are “government workers.” You know, like firemen, FBI agents, SEAL team six, and thus not worth counting.

  29. anjin-san says:

    @ JKB

    We’re saved. Just just a bit less that 4 more years under Obama and this economy will turn around

    I don’t know about you, but my investments have performed very, very well under Obama after taking a pasting under Bush.

  30. Lynda says:

    @michael reynolds:

    You expect those two to see anything but race?

    I keep hoping but then I am an eternal optimist!

  31. C. Clavin says:

    Actually Tsar and Metamoroon are onto something.
    If Romney had been elected Republicans would be back to what they always do when in power…spending money hand over fist. Cops and teachers would get hired. Growth would increase.
    Instead Republicans are intentionally holding back the economy. Treasonous.

  32. grumpy realist says:

    Well, if companies stopped dithering like Lucille and actually hired people, we’d have less of a problem.

    Read the readers’ comments to the article. It makes you wonder how these companies stay in business, period.

  33. C. Clavin says:

    The silver lining is that when Mataconises wet dream of shrinking Government ends and these cops and teachers and firefighters start getting hired again…growth should accelerate sharply.
    Of course Republicans want to cut even more discretionary spending…so that may never happen. Republicans may be successful in holding growth back for decades.

  34. Ben Wolf says:

    @Gold Star for Robot Boy:

    Wha’? Looking at that chart, if the red line continues at its current slope, 0.0% is reached in a little more than a year. Considering we’re in Month 60 of this employment recession, I’m willing to call that “soon.”

    The chart isn’t a reading of total unemployment, it shows job losses by percentage fom peak month. In other words if the peak month had an unemployment rate of 4.2% and the chart showed a loss of three percentage points, that means a headline unemployment rate of 7.2%. The reason it isn’t going to hit a job loss figure of 0% in a year is because our population has increased by around ten million since the beginning of the recession and the chart doesn’t reflect that growth.

    Also keep in mind a person is counted as employed if they work one hour a week, so the numbers are worse than they appear on the surface. Many millions can only find part-time work, and salaries and wages have declined by about 5% since the recession began.

  35. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @michael reynolds:

    I think we’re going to have to go to war with Australia.

    NO no no…. way to hot in the outback. I say Greece.

  36. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @JKB:

    Just just a bit less that 4 more years under Obama and this economy will turn around.

    Only if the GOP can win in ’16 and tank the economy like they did the last time.

  37. michael reynolds says:

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Okay, Greece. But not in summer — very hot.

  38. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @michael reynolds: How about a war in Israel? Ever seen those pictorials of the women of the IDF?

    Hot women + guns = …

    I’ll be in my bunk.

  39. Moosebreath says:

    @C. Clavin:

    “Are you just incompetent???
    30 months where the number of Government jobs is lower than the same month of the year previous.
    For some reason that doesn’t warrant a mention”

    Cliffy, Doug is a Randian Utopian. That means that it is a religious belief on his part that cutting government payrolls is an unalloyed good thing, and cannot possibly be holding the economy back.

  40. An Interested Party says:

    6.8%: unemployment rate for whites
    9.6%: unemployment rate for Hispanics
    13.8%: unemployment rate for blacks

    5.8%: unemployment rate, age 55-plus
    7.8%: unemployment rate, ages 25-34
    13.1%: unemployment rate, ages 20-24
    23.0%: unemployment rate, ages 18-19

    That’s very amusing coming from you, of all people…you have already established that you really don’t give a damn about minorities and that you actively hate young people, so by citing these stats over and over again, you are doing nothing more than showcasing concern trolling at its worst…

    In any case, Club Fed determined years ago (2009, to be specific) that it was going to mortgage our future with profligacy to blow bubbles and thereby to create an illusion of prosperity.

    Umm, the federal government decided long ago, way back in the 1980s, when St. Ronnie was president, that it was going to mortgage our future….

  41. C. Clavin says:

    @ Moose….
    I wonder what he’ll think when the sequester costs…what…400-500k jobs in the next year?
    All because Republicans want to preserve the tax loopholes of a small club of rich folk.
    Is that the utopia all these maroons dream of???

  42. C. Clavin says:

    @ Moose…
    It’s also massively hypocritical for Doug to pine for smaller Government…then whine about the weak growth it engenders.
    He should be writing posts about attaining Libertarian nirvana.

  43. ernieyeball says:

    @Jenos Idanian #13: I’ll be in my bunk.

    Do us all a favor and stay there!

  44. anjin-san says:

    Hot women + guns

    Like you would know what to do with either one…

  45. Moosebreath says:

    @C. Clavin:

    “Is that the utopia all these maroons dream of???”

    No, they are convinced it won’t happen, and mere events cannot disprove their convictions. that’s why I referred to it as a religious belief.

    @C. Clavin:

    “It’s also massively hypocritical for Doug to pine for smaller Government…then whine about the weak growth it engenders.”

    In their minds there is no connection. We have weak growth because of Obama’s policies, not because of the cutbacks in government jobs.

  46. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @anjin-san: Like you would know what to do with either one…

    Let’s see… the guns: follow the NRA’s extremely good safety advice: 1) Assume it’s loaded; 2) keep my finger off the trigger unless I’m ready to fire it; 3) don’t point it at anything I’m not willing to destroy.

    And my own #4: Don’t do ANYTHING Joe Biden suggests. That’s a rule that applies in so many areas, though…

    As far as the hot women: drive myself broke and into an early grave… and enjoy the hell out of the trip.

  47. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @Moosebreath: We have weak growth because of Obama’s policies, not because of the cutbacks in government jobs.

    I’m going to ignore the snottiness of the first part of your comment, and actually take sincerely that last part.

    Here’s part of the reason why: when people like me think of “government jobs,” we don’t immediately think of police, firefighters, teachers, and the like. We think of the miserable SOB down at the DMV. We think of the PITA inspectors. We think about the Third Deputy Assistant Administrator For Counting Widgets. We think of the paper-pushers at the local SAU and all the administrators in colleges who outnumber actual faculty. We think about the old joke about the Agriculture Department administrator found sobbing at his desk because “his farmer died.” We think about IRS agents. We think about having to hire lawyers and accountants and tax preparers to fill out all the paperwork required by the government, which has legions of paper-pushers to read over each of those forms and make damned certain we’ve gotten those reams of forms filled out just so to meet their often absurd rules.

    We have no problem with the government providing essential services. We just have a far higher standard for what qualifies as “essential.”

    Here’s a good rule of thumb: in any area where corporations have to have “compliance officers,” that’s a hell of a strong indicator that the rules that they’re trying to comply with are worth looking at very carefully, with a rather jaundiced eye.

    And here’s another element: a “government job” is, to many of us, often synonymous with a job that is done more expensively and less efficiently than if done by the private sector. Plus, government jobs come with a lot more benefits and privileges than a lot of private sector jobs. There may be an element of envy involved, but for most of us it’s that we have in mind that for that job, we are the employer — and those great jobs are being paid for out of our pockets. We are the ones paying those salaries and benefits, and we would like to get the most for our money as we can.

    In the private sector, an employee should be provide more value to the company than they cost. That’s a fact of business. In the public sector, that is nowhere near as easy to determine — and a lot of the most visible aspects don’t compare well. See the aforementioned DMV stereotypes. (In my own state, I’ve always had fine experiences with my DMV, but that is the stereotype — see the Simpsons (Marge’s sisters) and Married… With Children (Bud).)

    Now, I said that I was going to assume you were sincere in your statement, and would appreciate a sincere response. And if you don’t appreciate it, I hope at least some of the people still reading this thread might.

  48. anjin-san says:

    As far as the hot women: drive myself broke and into an early grave…

    Actually, a plain woman can do this to you just as easily. And you can have a wonderful relationship with a hot woman that does not induce bankruptcy or premature death. In fact, a guy who is married to a good woman, be she beauty or not, is likely to be more successful and live longer.

    But its hardly surprising that you are exposed quickly when you start talking about women.

  49. anjin-san says:

    We think of the miserable SOB down at the DMV

    I renewed my registration on the CA DMV site a few weeks ago. It took five minutes. Ten days later my new registration and stickers arrived in the mail.

    But I guess this experience with the DMV in THE HELL THAT IS CALIFORNIA does not fit well with the Galt’s Gulch fantasy.

    miserable SOB

    You might want to be careful before before tossing that stone. I will go out on a limb and say that ever single person in here, with 5 or 6 possible exceptions, considers YOU to be a miserable SOB.

  50. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @anjin-san: You seem in need of a little education. There’s this thing called “banter.” It’s when people talk about a not-serious subject and treat it in a not-serious manner. Success is not in speaking literal truth, but in provoking reactions from the others. Laughter, groans, and declarations of agreement are positives. That’s what the “we should consider only waging war in countries with hot people” diversion was all about.

    Here’s another subject — a specific class of people. They are known as “party-poopers,” “prats,” “pissers in the punchbowl,” and several other terms that do not necessarily start with the letter “p.” These are the ones who decide that certain forms of frivolity should not be tolerated, or that certain people should not participate in the frivolity, and take it upon themselves to enforce their will.

    They are a subset of the genus assholus, and you are a superb exemplar.

    Here’s a chain saw. I apologize for the rust; I didn’t take as good care of it as I should. Now go fornicate yourself with it.

  51. swbarnes2 says:

    @Jenos Idanian #13:

    We think of the PITA inspectors.

    Right. Because you prefer your cortisone shots to come with extra meningitis, just like the New England Compounding Center makes them, sans regulation?

    Here’s part of the reason why: when people like me think of “government jobs,” we don’t immediately think of police, firefighters, teachers, and the like.

    So what you are saying is that you and people like you engaged in doublethink- you know that firefighters are government workers, but you can also make yourself forget that when it suits your emotional and rhetorical purposes?

    So you are basically admitting to being unapologetically dishonest? You know that no one here ever believed otherwise.

  52. anjin-san says:

    There’s this thing called “banter.

    Dude, I worked in bars and nightclubs for 25 years. Some of them were world class joints. I know all about banter, I’ve done it with the high, the low, and the in-between. Some of the most famous people in the world, and homeless guys when they could scratch a few bucks together for a drink. I’m good at it.

    You, sadly, are not. You are a bore, and worse, you are not even aware of it.

    Oh, and Back in the day I took home more hot women than you have even fantasized about. Don’t try to one up me – you don’t have the game for it.

  53. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @anjin-san: I’ll put up with a lot from people, sir, but here you cross the line:

    Oh, and Back in the day I took home more hot women than you have even fantasized about.

    My imagination is sorely wroth at your remarks, sir, and I challenge you to the field of honor.

    My second will be in touch with yours.

    On a slightly (only slightly) more serious note — overcompensating much? That’s a hell of a lot of bragging, especially when it was prompted by my self-deprecating remarks. Just why do you feel you have to counter my putting myself down with boasting of your own amorous conquests? And isn’t that a bit crass, to not only objectify women, but to see it as something you should hold with pride?

    And finally… dude, when it comes to insulting me, you totally suck in comparison to what I routinely do myself. Go and watch the “dart scene” from Steve Martin’s “Roxanne.” I’m C. D. Bales, you’re the doofus in the bar.

  54. KariQ says:

    @anjin-san:

    I renewed my registration on the CA DMV site a few weeks ago. It took five minutes. Ten days later my new registration and stickers arrived in the mail.

    But I guess this experience with the DMV in THE HELL THAT IS CALIFORNIA does not fit well with the Galt’s Gulch fantasy.

    I’ll ditto this. Some of the best service I’ve ever gotten has been from the DMV. Far better than what I’ve gotten used to dealing with from most private companies.

  55. anjin-san says:

    That’s a hell of a lot of bragging

    Not really. it’s just what happened. If I started dropping names that would be bragging.

    Run along skippy, like I said, you are a bore. (speaking of overcompensating, C.D. Bales? You sound more like one of the coked-up hopheads).

  56. C. Clavin says:

    The one in which Jenos clearly explains that his (and Dougs) ideological BS is driven by not by facts…but by gross generalizations, imaginary people, and jokes with no basis in reality.

    “…Here’s part of the reason why: when people like me think of “government jobs,” we don’t immediately think of police, firefighters, teachers, and the like. We think of the miserable SOB down at the DMV. We think of the PITA inspectors. We think about the Third Deputy Assistant Administrator For Counting Widgets. We think of the paper-pushers at the local SAU and all the administrators in colleges who outnumber actual faculty. We think about the old joke about the Agriculture Department administrator found sobbing at his desk because “his farmer died.” We think about IRS agents. We think about having to hire lawyers and accountants and tax preparers to fill out all the paperwork required by the government, which has legions of paper-pushers to read over each of those forms and make damned certain we’ve gotten those reams of forms filled out just so to meet their often absurd rules…”

  57. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    @C. Clavin: OK, how about some very timely examples? How are things on Staten Island lately? And how well did the LAPD handle their rogue officer? I think they ended up hurting three innocent civilians before Dorner killed himself.

    Yeah, them government employees are just to darned infallible, ain’t they?

  58. C. Clavin says:

    WTF does the rogue LA cop and Staten Island have to do with being down 1.5M public sector jobs since the Bush Contraction…while Republican Presidents always grow government to get out of recessions???
    Are you saying we needed to lay off all those cops and teachers because of the rogue cop and Superstorm Sandy…which happened after the layoffs?
    Are you suggesting we privatize cops and Staten Island? What’d does that mean?
    Do you have any idea what you mean? What you want?
    We are shrinking Government and growth is slow. Is that what you want?
    It must be.
    So what’s your problem?

  59. anjin-san says:

    WTF does the rogue LA cop and Staten Island have to do with being down 1.5M public sector jobs since the Bush Contraction

    Nothing at all, unless you are very confused.

  60. Moosebreath says:

    @C. Clavin:

    “The one in which Jenos clearly explains that his (and Dougs) ideological BS is driven by not by facts…but by gross generalizations, imaginary people, and jokes with no basis in reality.”

    You have it exactly right. The response complaining about do-nothing government employees makes no sense when you consider the remark he is responding to, which said, “We have weak growth because of Obama’s policies, not because of the cutbacks in government jobs”. Now if his worldview were correct, then cutting governmental jobs would make the economy soar. Instead, over the Obama Administration, when we had the stimulus to keep government jobs from disappearing, the economy grew far faster than in the period afterwards when we’ve cut government jobs.

    Finally, the most charitable way to view Jenos’s screed against regulation and bureaucrats is that he is simply ignorant of history. We had a lengthy period in our country’s history (roughly 1870-1930) with few regulations on the marketplace. And the market responded by selling tainted meat as fresh, with selling stuff that killed you and claiming it cured you, by having the average mineworker have a 2 year life expectancy from when he started employment, and pretending that 80 hour workweeks were agreed to by an arms-length bargain. Every law and regulation he grumbles about was put in place because the market failed to protect the public for decades and government intervention was deemed necessary by our elected representatives. So when I read people arguing that the market would handle everything just fine if left to itself, I always wonder if they are ignorant, or they just think I am.

  61. wr says:

    @Jenos Idanian #13: “And here’s another element: a “government job” is, to many of us, often synonymous with a job that is done more expensively and less efficiently than if done by the private sector.”

    Yes. This is because you have no first hand connection to the actual world, and have learned everything you think you know about it from reading right wing screeds.

    Also, because you are stupid.

    To wit: You state you have always had good experiences at the DMV. But instead of believing in what you have seen with your own eyes, you choose to accept right-wing cliches and humorous examples from sitcoms to prove that the employees there are all terrible people who are stealing the money you’d be paying in taxes if you actually made enough to pay them.

    So if you’re ever wondering why people think you’re stupid, this pretty much sums it up.