Don Lee, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, reports on the economy in the Business Section of the May 3, 2012 edition:
“The jobs report to be released this Friday will be heavily scrutinized by economists and politicians trying to get a clearer reading on the direction of the economy.
“On the first Friday of every month, at precisely 8:30 a.m., the Bureau of Labor Statistics flicks a switch and the latest clue about the U.S. economy — the jobs report — gets transmitted all over the world.
“And then the frenzy begins.
“Politicians in Washington race for the mikes to proclaim that the economy is back, or maybe falling into an abyss. Investors from Brussels to Bangkok win and lose billions. And in American factories, offices and living rooms, you can almost hear a collective groan of dismay or sigh of relief.
“This Friday will be no different when the April jobs report is released.”
In a follow-up column the same day, he reports:
“The picture of the U.S. job market got a little brighter Thursday.
“After three straight weeks of elevated readings, first-time jobless claims fell by a much bigger-than-expected 27,000 last week to 365,000, the Labor Department said.”
“Filings for jobless benefits give an indication of layoff trends. Week to week, the data can be highly volatile, so analysts also look at the four-week moving average. That figure rose by 750 from the previous week to 383,500.”
Once again the focus is on JOBS and “Full Employment” rather than on Full Production, which is the driver of economic growth. By full production I mean empowering ALL Americans to participate privately and individually in the ownership of productive capital assets (non-human “things” used to produce products and services) that continue to exponentially displace and replace the need for labor workers in the process. Until we have a national discussion on the topic of the importance of productive capital ownership and how we can expand the base of private productive capital ownership simultaneously with the creation of new physical capital formation, we will not succeed in building long-term financial security for all Americans. Only if we implement policies and programs to broaden future private, individual ownership of new productive capital will be able to put ourselves on the path to prosperity, opportunity, and economic justice with ALL Americans––with ALL empowered to accumulate a viable capital estate that produces income to support their livelihood.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs-report-frenzy-20120503,0,6260525.story
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-jobless-claims-20120503,0,6150095.story
