This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It first appeared at The Conversation.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1393632
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1393632
Thank goodness this was kept secret until AFTER the polls closed Tuesday night…
After a lackluster jobs report in September 2021 (and thus, the LAST report voters saw BEFORE going to the polls November 2nd or prior), the latest news on employment gives Americans plenty to cheer about ahead of the holiday season (now that Republican’t and so-called liberal media (SCLM) manufactured poutrage over the “(supposedly) sluggish-yet-inflation-ravaged American economy” has been safely (for conservatives and their enablers) registered at ballot boxes).
In total, 531,000 jobs were added in October – outstripping the already optimistic predictions of economists. This caused the unemployment rate to fall 0.2 percentage points to 4.6%. (emphases added)
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But public sector employment was down, and that is important. This is largely a result of the pandemic. Retail sales were down significantly in 2020 and as a result state budgets are tight – in short, they have suffered from lackluster tax revenue sources.
This seems like a strong argument against relying solely on something like a VAT for all revenue. If there’s an economic downturn and people stop buying things for a while, you risk creating a feedback loop with not enough tax revenue to direct back into the economy, which lengthens the downturn, which weakens people’s ability to buy things, and so on.
Taxation should be handled in a way that allows government to continue to provide the services it needs to provide, regardless of anything save all out collapse. There should be a broad array of methods of taxation from sales tax, to property tax to income tax to wealth tax, to address all the different ways that we all derive benefit from government services and protections. And that way, if one of those levers falters due to an unexpected event, like a pandemic, it’s not ultimately calamitous for the whole system.
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“531,000 jobs were added in October – outstripping the already optimistic predictions of economists.”
bUt hiS aFgHaNS!!!
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Filling in for Ghost?
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(Just temping while he takes off National Doughnut Appreciation Day.)
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Kabullki Theatre.
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Biden Job Growth numbers (Feb 21 to Oct 21) = ~5.5 million
Trump Job Growth numbers (Feb 17 to Oct 17) = ~1.6 million
It took Trump till Sep 2019 (32 months) to break the 5.5 million job growth that Biden has achieved in 9 months.
The fact that Democrats are not shouting these numbers every time they get in front of reporters is political negligence.
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Meh. The Great Replacement will be the top issue in 2022 and 2024. Yeah, they won’t call it that, but that’s what it’ll be. White supremacist Christian dominionism by any other name…
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There’s strong support for labor unions, now. Hopefully these workers take advantage of that sentiment. Who knows how long it will last?
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For decades people have clamored for, and politicians have pledged, “Good Jobs for Americans.” Now that we see people returning to work and to better wages we should not be surprised that inflation is ticking up (for multiple reasons, but wages is one). There never was a magic circumstance where people can start making more (in jobs where productivity can’t significantly rise) without prices rising, and it’s cognitive dissonance to be surprised and disappointed now that it’s happening.
It’s a good thing.
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These numbers are misleading however it doesn’t stop the R’s from saying gasoline is more than a dollar higher than last year- Gasoline demand was low from the pandemic. The dems do a horrible job of bragging.
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Exactly. What now is, “Repubs don’t like inflation” should be reframed as “Repubs are pro-Depression.”
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And they are Pro-Covid.
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They might if a mainstream news reporter ever held a mic up in front of them.
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[quote=“irasdad, post:6, topic:213799”]
Just temping while he takes off National Doughnut Appreciation Day.)
In loving memory…
MESSAGING
MESSAGING
MESSAGING
This has been our FAILURE
Make it stop!
THIS!
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AFgHanS has a small n. Google it.
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But at this point I will say they don’t, they just need to do More of it!
They passed a bill before Veterans Day! I’m so proud of them.
Look at that jobs report, that was a great sign that President Biden is steering us towards the right course. And August and September were revised upwards! Excellent leadership from the President and the Democrats in Congress.
And the Squad voted against BIF and that’s great, they want more for the American people and feel BIF by itself won’t do enough.
That’s okay. The Goppers won’t do a damn thing for the American people, the Democrats do. Yes, do.
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