Choosing The Right Lane To Travel

The ugly truth about that ‘great’ jobs report

No doubt, the top headline of a dropping unemployment rate is helpful for the president. Democrats are celebrating. While this is certainly better news than we’ve been getting – which tells us more the sad expectations we have in the Obama era – the new unemployment rate reflects deep economic stagnation and, maybe, a new normal.

Let’s review:

• The 114,000 jobs created in September is below the average created this year, which was 146,000.
• The 114,000 jobs created in September is below the average created last year, which was 153,000.
• The U-6 unemployment number, which reflects the entire labor situation, was basically unchanged at 14.7  percent.
• If labor participation was where Obama had inherited it from George W. Bush, the unemployment rate would be closer to 11 percent.
• Part-time people employment jumped from 582,000 to 8,613,000, the most since October 2011, and the largest one month jump since February 2009. That means the quality of jobs people are finding is dropping.
• And a comparison: During the Ronald Reagan recovery the country average around 275,000 new jobs a month.

Updated:

• A 7.8 percent today ties Bush’s worst unemployment month.
• Although previous job growth revised up by 126,000, job growth in private sector was revised down by 4,000.
• August 2010: 58.5 percent of working age Americans had jobs. August 2012: 58.3 percent of working age Americans had jobs.
• 38,000 manufacturing jobs lost since August
• Black unemployment January 2009: 12.6 percent … Sept 2012: 13.4 percent.

If bringing the unemployment rate back to the 7.8 percent (with fewer people working at lousier jobs) is what a stimulus plan, three rounds of quantitative easing and endless spending gets us, this presidency can be safely categorized as one of the worst investments in history.

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Many Insurance Plans Heap Healthcare Costs on Consumers

A first-ever U.S. News analysis of nearly 6,000 health insurance plans marketed to individuals and families reveals that many of the consumers who enroll in these plans may confront budget-wrecking out-of-pocket costs that deplete their savings. Large numbers of plans severely limit coverage for such services as prescription drugs, maternity coverage, mental health treatment, and rehabilitation therapy. To help consumers make more informed choices, U.S. News today launched Best Health Insurance Plans, an interactive consumer tool, to help those who are not covered by an employer or a government plan find a health plan that best meets their individual or family needs.

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Shelving Our Can of Whoop … by Brian Bosché

By pursuing love and popularity, President Obama has dashed our foreign policy and embraced sheepish naivety. He’s created a rise in hate and anti-American feelings in a Middle East set ablaze. In Egypt and Libya, he attempted purchasing “allies” in the Muslim Brotherhood—an organization with oft-cited connections to terrorist groups. Quoting his mother at the 2012 Republican Convention, Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) said: “… [T]here would be times in your life when you have to choose between being loved and being respected. She said to always pick being respected, that love without respect was always fleeting ….”  Our President has chosen that which is fleeting. He chose coolness, the lessening of America’s leadership prowess, and the dampening of our excellence, innovation and position on the world stage. More than anything, he squandered our best tool: peace through strength.

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Top 10 Obama anti-business, anti-job actions

1. Obamacare costs

Congressional Budget Office says the bill will lead to 800,000 fewer jobs by 2020.

2. Small business tax hikes

The expiration of the Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000, or families making $250,000, will hit many small business owners, an increase that will hit as those same owners are still trying to dig out of the recession.

3. EPA’s burdensome regulations

Regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency on air quality standards are curtailing energy produced from coal-fired electrical plants, causing a rise in electricity prices and making scarce a major resource that is abundant in America.

4. Keystone XL Pipeline postponed

The president’s decision cost thousands of jobs and lost a possible source of energy from North America, as China was soon knocking on Canada’s door.

5. Boeing battle

When Boeing wanted to build a new $750 million assembly plant in South Carolina, creating thousands of jobs in the process, the National Labor Relations board stepped in, saying the move violated federal law because S.C. is a right-to-work state. The board, whose balance tipped toward labor with Obama appointees, finally dropped the case after the union representing Boeing workers withdrew its objections.

6. Capital-gains ‘fairness’

He is still on the same quest as the expiration of the Bush tax cuts would increase the capital gains tax rate by 33 percent.

7. Off-shore drilling moratorium

While Obama seems to constantly throw up road blocks that inhibit development of U.S. energy resources—including slowing the permit process for new oil drilling sites—after his moratorium, he gave assistance to off-shore drilling efforts in Brazil, creating jobs there, not here

8. Dodd-Frank ‘financial reform’

Passed in 2010 without a single Republican vote in the House, the measure mandates, among many requirements, an enormous paperwork burden that will mainly help employ accountants and lawyers.

Interesting that the politicians with their names attached to this bill did as much as any to protect and encourage Fannie Mae’s contribution to the 2008 financial meltdown.

9. Anti-business rhetoric

Obama’s “You-didn’t-build-that” mentality diminishes the accomplishments of business entrepreneurs while exalting the role of government. His class-warfare political strategy includes demonizing Wall Street, insurance companies, bankers, pharmaceuticals, Big Oil, and “millionaires and billionaires.” The presidency is a “Bully Pulpit” and Obama’s misuse of it only gives ammunition to the anti-capitalist Occupy crowd.

10. Business climate uncertainty

U.S. companies are sitting on trillions of dollars of cash but are not spending it to expand business or hire new workers because of the uncertainty about what government is going to do next. With tax hikes looming, along with rising health care costs associated with Obamacare, and the constant strangulation by bureaucratic red tape, corporations are in a waiting mode before opening their spigot of cash—waiting until we get a new president.

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Rasmussen Poll: Romney ahead 49-47 percent in first, full post-debate survey

Mitt Romney has the support of 49 percent of voters nationwide, compared to 47 percent for President Obama, according to a Rasmussen poll based entirely on interviews conducted after the first presidential debate Wednesday. Two percent of those surveyed prefer some other candidate and 2 percent are undecided, according to the first daily presidential tracking poll for Sunday.

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Democrat Turnout Lagging 2008

The media polls showing Obama with a solid and consistent lead over Mitt Romney are only accurate IF the democrats equal or improve the turnout they had in 2008. That year, the Democrats had a 7 point advantage over the GOP at the voting booth. It was the Democrats biggest advantage over the GOP in the modern political age. I have long argued that the Democrats were unlikely to repeat their turnout advantage this year. Preliminary data from some key swing states suggests I’m right. In 2008, in the critical battleground of OH, Democrats had a 14-point advantage over the GOP on absentee ballot requests. McCain actually won the vote on election day in the state, but Obama’s advantage on early voting was so large we was able to win the state. This year, however, the Dem advantage is down to just 5 points so far. In virtually every county in Ohio, the GOP have improved their position over 2008. In the largest counties, their position relative to Dems has improved 6-27 points. If these numbers hold up over the next few weeks, there is no way Dems will have another big turnout advantage over the GOP in OH.

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Windfall: Obama Raises $181 Million, Only Around 2% of Donations Reportable

The Obama campaign dropped a bombshell this morning. It announced that, combined with the DNC, the campaign raised a staggering $181 million in September. The windfall is a huge increase over July and August, when the campaign raised around $100 million, although it is slightly down from the $193 million it raised in September 2008. The news should raise eyebrows.  The campaign said that just over 1.8 million people made donations to the campaign last month. According to the campaign, over 500k of these were brand-new donors, having neither given in 2008 nor 2012. 98% of contributions were under the reporting threshold of $250. Of these, the average contribution was $53. Its really a tale of two worlds. 35k people gave an average of $2,600, while just over 1.7 million people gave an average of $53. Half the campaign’s haul came from people giving around the maximum amount and half from people who don’t have to be disclosed. Seems a bit odd.

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From the Tea Party
You've been hearing for the last couple weeks about the questionable polling samples being used against the Romney campaign. As usual when we get frustrated about something, we do something about it!  In response to the questionable polls, we decided to commission and publish our own poll and the results were shocking! The first poll we conducted was in the swing state of Nevada and the numbers seem to confirm the anecdotal evidence that the freedom-loving people of Nevada overwhelmingly reject the Obama regime! We hired a nonpartisan polling company out of Utah, telling them that we did not want numbers that are skewed one way or the other. We want to know what the voters really think and guess what? Our poll shows Nevada voters favor Romney 51.8% to Obama 42.5%!

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Percentage of severely obese adults skyrockets Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

One could surmise that Obesity far outweighs the hysteria the liberals have about "Man Made Global Warming".  The Obesity Epidemic is clearly manmade without a doubt! The percentage of American adults who are 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight has skyrocketed since 2000, a study released last Monday shows. In 2010, about 6.6% of adults in this country were severely obese -- about 15.5 million people -- up from 3.9% in 2000, says the study from the RAND Corp., a non-profit research group. "There is no question that severe obesity is going up very fast," says lead author Roland Sturm, a senior economist at RAND. "Severe obesity has severe effects on quality of life, chronic conditions and health care costs."  Extra weight increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other chronic and debilitating health problems. About two-thirds people in the USA are either overweight or obese. People are considered obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. People are severely (or extremely) obese if they have a BMI (a height-weight ratio) of 40 or higher. That's roughly 100 or more pounds overweight. "Moderate obesity (a BMI of 30 or more) has adverse health effects, but severe obesity is in a different league," Sturm says. Severely obese people have far more complex health issues and create different challenges for the health care system, he says. "Moderate obesity increases health care costs by 20% to 30% compared to those at a healthy weight, where severe obesity more than doubles health care costs."

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"Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." --Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801