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October 22, 2004

A Little Afternoon Cowbell

Too late to influence the election, but it's nice to know the economy is getting healthier.

WASHINGTON - The number of new people signing up for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, offering a dose of encouraging news that the recovery in the labor market may be strengthening a bit.
The Labor Department (news - web sites) reported Thursday that new filings for unemployment insurance declined by a seasonally adjusted 25,000 to 329,000 for the week ending Oct. 16. That marked the lowest level since early September. In the prior week, claims had climbed by 16,000.

The latest snapshot of the layoffs climate was better than economists were expecting. They were forecasting claims to total in the 345,000 range.

The more stable, four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, decreased by 5,500 last week to 348,250, the best showing since late September.

Thanks to Mark.

And highlights from the Joint Economic Committee's latest report on state employment:

* Over the past year (since September 2003), the unemployment rate has fallen in 46 states. 36 states have unemployment rates at or below the national unemployment rate of 5.4 percent.
* Non-farm payroll employment has increased in 47 states over the past year. The largest over-the-year gains in employment occurred in Florida (+125,500), Texas (+123,700), California (+121,900), Virginia (+81,900), and New Jersey (+68,800).

* In 2004, 49 states have added new payroll jobs.

* Non-farm payroll employment increased in 33 states in September. The states with the largest payroll job gains during September were Kansas (+12,400), New Jersey (+12,000), Missouri (+10,400), Nevada (+6,700), and Texas (+6,500).

posted by Ace at 12:59 PM

Comments

Yes, but Florida and NJ were the only Swing states with significant employment gains. Perhaps because of the high numbers of very wealthy people there.

Not Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, NH, Maine.

Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy may have caused a local boost in states where most of the tax cuts went to - but not elsewhere. Wealth is not only concentrated in the few in America, but it is also geographically concentrated, curiously for Bush -in Democratic "Blue" bastions like CT, Massachusetts, LA, San Francisco, NYC, Seattle.

Posted by: Cedarford on October 22, 2004 02:31 PM

Considering the size of the NJ economy, I wonder if them being up there with CA in terms of jobs gain is creating some "street cred" for Bush.

Posted by: fat kid on October 22, 2004 02:35 PM

Why, it's not curious at all, Cedarford - it's long been understood that liberal states such as those you mention are full of rich, reactionary oligarchical hypocrites. And that's why they overwhelmingly support Kerry - he's one of them.

P.S. - Don't tell "the wealthy," but Bush must have diverted a fairly good chunk of "their" tax cut to solidly middle-class folks like me. And along with my wife and me, all of the contractors working on my house right now (and their solidly middle-class families) thank him.

Posted by: Rocketeer on October 22, 2004 02:37 PM

Perhaps because of the high numbers of very wealthy people there.

Numbers, not conjectures my friend. I need definitions for "high numbers of very wealthy people".

Posted by: fat kid on October 22, 2004 02:37 PM

Actually Maine has some very high income individuals, they dont call it "vacationland" for nothin. There are more vacation homes there than full-time residents or some stupid statistic like that. Of course we all know only super-poor people have second (and third) homes. But you know, I wouldn't want to by the fly in Cedarford's ointment. Heh.

Posted by: fat kid on October 22, 2004 02:41 PM

fat kid - Numbers, not conjectures my friend. I need definitions for "high numbers of very wealthy people".

Well, isn't it nice that you "need", fat kid!

If you look at US census maps, you will see wonderful geographical distinctions on concentration of wealth. Not much is shown in "flyover country". Most of the money Dubya borrowed from the Saudis and Chinese to fund his tax cuts went to Kerry Blue state well off folk.
Yeah, snicker...."IT'S THEIR MONEY"!! (So why did we borrow the funds to pay them from foreign countries?)

Rocketeer -

Paraphrasing..."Well, I'm not rich but I'm happy as a pig rolling in shit since Dubya's tax cuts let me buy a satellite dish for my double-wide!"

32.5% of the borrowed Chinese, Saudi, and French money went to the Richest 1%. 80% of the foreign loan money went to the top 10%.

Glad you are doing well on scraps.

Ever read Dickens?

Love that Porter family. Once they chased off the dogs, they dined well for years on the scraps thrown out of Lord Albrighton's manor. And, within their perspective, the Porters were quite happy with their lot. Stale bread, sour wine, and half-gnawed bones made a spendid stew.

Posted by: Cedarford on October 22, 2004 11:17 PM

Cedarford,

What's it like, going through life as a condescending little shit?

Ever read Thucydides?

Love those Athenians, talking to to Melians. "Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must."

Enjoy four more years out of power, punk.

Posted by: Rocketeer on October 23, 2004 08:56 AM

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Funniest thing I've read about the Virginia mess. Back when they were hustling the referendum through the assembly both Senators, Warner and Kaine, advised them to go slow and play by the rules. Louise Lucas said she respected them but didn't need advice from the "cuck chair" in the corner. The gerrymandering was overturned and Louise is heading for the big house. Edward G. Robinson voice "where's your cuck now?"
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I posted his post on twitter and it's gotten 25K views so far. Thanks, Smell the Glove

Chris
@chriswithans

"Ahhhhh ahh I put my career on the line for Louise Lucas and Jay Jones thinking they'd vault me into presidential contention and we ended up costing Democrats 20 House seats and unleashing a Reverse Dobbs ahhhhh ahhh"

Forgotten 80s Mystery Click That Sums Up the Democrat Communist Party Today
Something is wrong as I hold you near
Somebody else holds your heart, yeah
You turn to me with your icy tears
And then it's raining, feels like it's raining

TJM wonders about world building in stories, mostly The Hunger Games

"It's f**king f**ked."
-- reportedly a genuine comment offered by a "senior Labour source"
Correction: I wrote that Labour is losing 88% (now 87%) of the seats it is "defending." I think that's wrong. The right way to say it is the seats they are contesting -- that is, they don't necessarily already hold these seats, but they have put up a candidate to run for the seat. It's still very bad but not as bad as losing 87% of the seats they already held.

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

🚨ED MILIBAND [a Minister in Starmer's government] SAYS KEIR STARMER WILL RESIGN AS PRIME MINISTER

He has reportedly reassured Labour MP's that Starmer will be resigning following the disastrous results tonight

It's over

"The end of the two party system in the UK" as first the Fake Conservatives and now Labour chooses political suicide rather than simply STOPPING THE INVASION
Incidentally, the only reason this didn't already happen in the US is because of the Very Bad Orange Man (who is right on 85% of all policy calls and extremely, existentially right on 15% of them)

No political party that is NOT also a doomsday religious cult would EVER choose a cataclysmic loss -- and possible extinction as a party -- to support a toxically unpopular favoritism of NON-CITIZEN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS over actual citizen voters.

Only a cult does this.

Now they've lost 84%.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg
@zatzi
If this continues Labour loses 2,148 seats tonight.

That is much worse than the worst case predictions I’ve seen.

Cataclysmic

Update: They've now lost 88% of the seats they're defending. As I mentioned earlier, I think I heard that London will not bail them out, as many of those Labour seats will probably flip to "Muslim Independent" or Green. Detroit's 5am vote will not save them.

Yup, Labour is losing 80% of its seats...

The British Patriot
@TheBritLad

🚨 BREAKING: Labour have lost 80% of all seats contested as of 2:25 AM.<
br> If this continues, Keir Starmer will be out of office next week.

Reform has surged and projected to pick up between 1700-2100 seats.

Wow, up to 1700-2100 seats. It's not incredible that this is happening. It's incredible that the Davos crowd is so absolutely determined to privilege Muslim "migrants" over the actual native population who elects them, no matter how loudly the natives scream that they want to be prioritized, that they will gladly self-extinguish as a party rather than simply representing the interests of their own voters. Astonishing.
Remember, when they call other people "cultists" -- they are the ones so imprisoned in their social reinforcement and discipline bubbles that they will choose political death rather than dare upset the Karen Enforcement Officers of their cult.
Update: Now they've lost 83% of the seats they were defending.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges

Reform are basically wiping Labour out in the North. It's not a defeat. It's not even a rout. Labour are simply ceasing to exist.

Nick Lowles
@lowles_nick

Tonight’s results are calamitous for Labour. Not just for Keir Starmer's leadership, but for the very future of the party

STARMERGEDDON: In early returns, Reform gains 135 seats, Labour loses 90, the Fake Conservatives lose 36 (and I didn't even know they could fall any further), the Lib Dems lose 4, and the Greens gain 6. Note that the only other party gaining seats is the Greens and they're only gaining a handful of seats.
Update: Reform now up 145, Labour down 98.
Labour projected to lose Wales -- where they've ruled for 27 years.
Fulton County Georgia just discovered 400 boxes of ballots for Labour
Update: REF +156, LAB -107, CON -45
Brutal: In four out of five council seats where Labour is defending, they've lost. 80%.
I'm sure it's not this simple, but Reform is straight taking Labour's and the "Conservatives'" seats. They've lost almost exactly what Reform gained. If understand this right (and warning, I probably don't), all of London's council seats are up for election, and Labour might lose hugely there, as their old voters abandon them for Reform, Muslim Indenpendents, and the Greens.
REF +190, LAB -134, CON -56.

Updates on the Labour collapse in council elections -- which wags are calling #Starmergeddon -- from Beege Welborne. There are about 5000 seats up for grabs, Labour is expected to lose 1,800, Reform will probably gain 1,580, up from... zero. So this would be more than that.
People claim that while Labour has adopted the Sharia Agenda to appeal to the million Muslims it allowed to migrate to the country, those voters are ditching Labour to vote for the Muslim Independent Party or the Greens. Delicious. This shadenfreude is going straight to my thighs.
Oh, and if Starmer loses about as badly as expected, Labour will toss him out of a window Braveheart style and replace him. He will announce he is resigning to spend more time with his Gay Ukrainian Male Prostitutes.

Media bias and senationalism are as old as, well, the media:

That was written by Denny O'Neill and illustrated by, get this, Frank Miller. Editor to the Stars Jim Shooter was in charge at the time.
I always thought the gag was original to the comic book, but in fact the "Threat or Menace" headline was a satirical joke about media bias and sensationalism for a long while. The Harvard Lampoon used it in a parody of Life magazine: "Flying Saucers: Threat or Menace?"

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