Blogs

After a review of the Labor Department's March 2012 economic report, I published an analysis showing that America had a jobs deficit of nearly 10.4 million jobs as compared to a "normal economy."  In the four months that have followed, because the population continues to grow more rapidly than job creation, the total jobs deficit has worsened by an additional 229,000.  That flies in the face of the President's recent assertion that "the private sector is doing fine." 

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The GDP slid backward for the second quarter of 2012.  According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis economic growth was a near stagnant 1.5% which is down from 2.0% for the first quarter of 2012 – which was less than half the 4.1% for the fourth quarter of 2011. 
 

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By Rob Douglas, Contributing Editor 

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In times like this, a good day for Barack Obama is anytime the dominant topic of discussion is anything but the economy.   But, make no mistake about it; November's election is still going to be a referendum on the President's failed economic policies.  

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By Peter Brookes, Contributing Editor  

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It seems that virtually everyone agrees that the upcoming election in November is the most important in our lifetimes. And, while many people do engage in supporting candidates, the vast majority of citizens remain on the sidelines. Barely half of the eligible population bothers to vote even in a presidential election. Only a small fraction of the people ever step up to volunteer to help or write a check. 

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Editor's Note:  The following commentary on labor reforms is authored by 18 economists and labor experts, including A Line of Sight Contributing Editor, Sanjai Bhagat, Provost Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado. The article was originally published July 10, 2012 by Fox News.com.  A full list of the authors may be found by clicking here.

Now that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has resoundingly won the recall election organized against him, pundits and policymakers are wondering what’s next. As economists and labor experts from across the country, we believe it’s time for legislators at all levels of government—local, state, and federal—to recognize that the labor reforms begun in Wisconsin need to be implemented nationwide.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. A ticking fiscal time bomb has already begun to explode in some cities, a direct consequence of unsustainable union pay and benefit packages. Meanwhile, state laws that mandate union membership as a job requirement are contributing to a status quo that delivers workers’ paychecks and citizens’ taxes into union hands—and from union hands to the bulging coffers of labor leaders’ favorite political allies.

The appropriate response to this perfect storm of excess is threefold.

First, steer our cities away from insolvency and bankruptcy by passing meaningful reforms to public employee pensions and compensation. Careful economic research has shown public-sector workers receive a level of compensation, pension benefits, and retiree health coverage in excess of what comparable workers in the private sector enjoy. In some instances, the total premium can be 30 percent or higher. The resulting burdens on municipal and state budgets are simply unaffordable.  

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By Peter Brookes, Contributing Editor

Here's a novel notion: Considering what's at stake in Syria for US interests, how about Team Obama leading for once from the front, rather than from "behind"?

After 16 months and nearly 20,000 deaths, it's past time. 

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