As everyone who follows the news knows by now, unemployment was up again sharply in December. Totally expected, of course, and, as nearly every economist is saying, very alarming. For instance:
"These numbers, back to back, of more than a half million a month suggest that the U.S. economy is in a freefall," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. "It's scary, and it indicates that unless something is done and done quickly to turn this economy around, we're looking at an awful situation this year." ...
"This is unprecedented," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com. "It's coast to coast. It's everywhere. There's really no refuge in this job market. There's no safe place."
Not so. Just over a week from now, George Walker Bush will be unemployed, and I suspect his bank account will provide a refuge. Thanks to the Supreme Court, Bush managed to get one of the slightly less than 3 million (net) jobs created during his eight years in office. That's 375,000 jobs a year, the most pitiful record since 1939 when the Bureau of Labor Statistics started collecting the numbers.
Not just the worst record ever, mind you. But far worse. During Dwight Eisenhower's two terms, only 438,000 jobs were generated annually. But the population was half what it is now. During Bill Clinton's two terms, 2.9 million jobs were generated each year.
rest http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/9/152744/0270/240/682161
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