When the Nutroots start talking about the economy…
Found this post at Wizbang by Jayson Javitz on the state of the economy. Funny, it’s the economy that almost always has center stage stage during presidential debates - though the Daily Kos moonbats have hardly mentioned it. Just as well, since the economy isn’t doing bad. But I’m waiting on the left to call the economy an abysmal failure. I’m sure they think that, just waiting.
Unemployment Rates
July 1997 - 4.2 - whites
July 2007 - 4.2 - whitesJuly 1997 - 7.9 - Latinos
July 2007 - 5.9 - LatinosJuly 1997 - 9.4 - blacks
July 2007 - 8.0 - blacksOverall Net Job Growth
137.5 million = total employment, July 2003
146.1 million = total employment, July 20078.6 million = net gain in total employment, 7/03 - 7/07
(179,000 per month)Wage Growth - Lower-Tiered Workers
$14.56 - avg. hourly wages, July 2001
$17.45 - avg. hourly wages, July 200719.8% = increase in avg. hourly wages, 7/01 - 7/07
17.4% = total consumer inflation rate, 7/01 - 7/07Net W-2 Job Growth
129.9 million = W-2 employment, July 2003
138.1 million = W-2 employment, July 20078.2 million = net gain in W-2 employment, 7/03 - 7/07
(171,000 per month)Breaking that down by sectors:
7.6 million - private sectors (93%)
0.6 million - government (7%)
There’s more - Jayson breaks things down by occupations and total personal income. And he had this tidbit about economic growth:
Economic Growth
The country’s vast services sector grew in July for the 52nd consecutive month. The services sector accounts for roughly 80 percent of all economic activity. The manufacturing sector also grew in July.
Hmmm. This will probably come as a shock to al-Qaeda, who thought they had crippled us on 9/11.
In a previous post, Jayson also notes the idiocy of a minimum wage floor and its effect on the economy:
Obviously in states with wage floors tied to the federal minimum wage the most direct impact will be less employment and higher unemployment for young workers in lower-level jobs, primarily in inner cities and other poor areas.
Probably the most interesting political aspect of this story is that even after non-voting conservatives went ahead and destroyed their own causes (yet again), thereby gifting over the Congress, the media/Democrats still lacked the political muscle to pass the wage floor increase as a stand-alone measure. Instead they engrafted it onto an emergency spending bill to supply and equip our troops in the field.
We can’t admire their tactics. But we certainly admire the media/Democrat’s ruthlessness.
I can’t help but feel optimistic about current numbers - even though I don’t have a job at the moment. With these numbers, it’s hard to think I can’t get one. 
