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U.S. Jobs, Pay Show Solid Gains in Trump's First Full Month (bloomberg.com)
Two anonymous reader share a Bloomberg report: U.S. employers added jobs at an above-average pace for a second month on outsized gains in construction and manufacturing while wage growth picked up, as the labor market continued its steady improvement in the new year. The 235,000 increase followed a 238,000 rise in January that was more than previously estimated, the best back-to-back rise since July, a Labor Department report showed Friday in Washington. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent, and wages grew 2.8 percent from February 2016. While unseasonably warm weather may have boosted the payrolls count, the data represent President Donald Trump's first full month in office and coincide with a surge in economic optimism following his election victory.
I mean he hasn't actually implemented any policies but let's go ahead and give him credit....
Still, it's "Trump!" and that'll be good for several hundred posts... I guess that's the whole point, ennit?
None of that has a single thing to do with Trump. Hell, there's things that Obama did in his first term that we'll just start seeing the effects of now. It's always been that way, the wheels turn slowly enough that it takes years for effects to become evident.
People have a hard time accepting that one person can be both really good and really bad at the same time.
To those who don't like Trump, he is all-bad, and they won't accept any attribution of benefits to anything Trump does.
And vice-versa, of course.
I abhor Trump's attitude towards, say, Snowden. I think Trump is an exploiter who doesn't care about justice, but just about power. On the other hand, my investment portfolio has been doing very well since he won. So, I recognize the good with the bad.
So what exactly did the US Government do in that first month to create all those jobs? After all, if you can implement policy on day one and see that translate into an economic boost within a month, that is some good policy that governments would want to imitate all over the world.
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
With all due respect, you're comment betrays ignorance of both the Trump and Obama administrations respective stance on regulations. The Obama administration required cost-benefit analysis to be performed on new regulations, and required the benefit of the regulation to justify its costs. Trump, on the other hand, has issued executive orders requiring that the incremental cost of new regulation be zero, regardless of benefit.
Effectively, the Trump administration is enabling a scenario where privileged businesses (those who can influence regulatory change) will be able to externalize their costs (such as the costs of pollution) onto individuals and other businesses. From an economic perspective, this reduces growth and efficiency since the actor best able to reduce the cost has no incentive to do so.
It seems to me like most businesses are pretty unhappy when things are uncertain.
Of course they are. When the NDP were elected in Ontario in the 1990's the TSE tanked overnight and we lost two ranks to our credit rating. When the Liberals were re-elected in Ontario ~3 years ago, it also cost another rank to our credit rating. Why? Because the liberals have fostered an anti-business environment and created an excessively expensive electricity market, while raising taxes through the roof, and spending like a drunken sailor. Businesses have fled Ontario over the last decade, even "clean" businesses like IT. When the NDP won Alberta they lost a ranking to their credit rating overnight, when the NDP won British Columbia same thing. Why? Because the NDP are anti-capitalism, pro-heavy regulation, pro-taxation. Businesses and investors believed and rightly so as it's turned out in every case that it would be exceptionally negative, and the economies stalled nearly overnight.
Om, nomnomnom...
Jobs are up. Stock market is up. Consumer confidence is up. Precious metals are down.
For the eighth year in a row. Thanks, Obama!
If you really think the economy is about to hit the fan, then you can make a fortune by betting against the experts.
"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett
I love the dumb fucks who think people who have been screwed are voting against their best interests if they don't vote Democrat. Democrats aren't going to do shit for these people. This is why they've stopped fucking voting for Democrats.
Way to put up some strawman arguments, shoot them down, and call everyone who disagrees with you dumb fucks. This may be the least insightful comment yet for this article.
No proposed solution to our economic problems will solve everything, and claiming Democratic voters think otherwise is asinine. Re-education of workers helps displaced workers, but it won't work for everyone. Relocating to areas with more jobs helps displaced workers, but it won't work for every family dynamic. Improved safety net systems helps those who fall through the cracks, but it can't be the solution for everyone. More equitable primary, secondary, and post-secondary education will also help, but it won't be enough for everyone. We need all of this and more to solve our problems.
On the other hand, the are almost literally no programs suggested by the Republican platform which will help the working class. Gutting public schooling won't help, reducing financial assistance for health care won't help, economic protectionism won't help, reduced clean air and water regulations won't help, the list goes on and on.
The Democratic party is far from perfect, and has been almost as disastrous for the working class as the Republican party has been. Emphasis on almost though, since after you strip away false rhetoric the Republican platform is nothing but the party of the wealthy elite.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
Vote out the incumbents until things change. Eventually things will either change or we'll die.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
But that's how it's been with the Democrats for the last 8+ years. Anything bad that happened under Obama was Bush's fault, even after he had been out of power for almost 8 years and of course everything that was good was all his doing. Now it appears that anything good that happens under Trump is Obama's doing and of course anything bad is all his doing as well. It's a no win situation, and people will do some serious mental gymnastics to try and prove it no matter what the evidence says.
the Republican platform is nothing but the party of the wealthy elite
As a lifelong Republican, I'd like to point out that Trump's electoral victory - achieved against the streneous efforts of the GOP hardliners and the majority of GOP congressmen - may well incidate that the average conservative voter seems to agree with you. That Bernie got as far as he did against the polished, powerful Clinton machine (so powerful that she forced the Democratic party leadership to cut a deal with her so she'd stop challenging Obama's run for nomination,)and the DNP apparatus, indicates that the left wing is tired of their elitists too.
Look for common ground - right now, I think you're likely to find it.