Saturday, January 4, 2014

Obamanomics Way of Lowering the Jobless Rate: Region's jobless rate falls as more leave workforce, state says

Jan. 4, 2014


The unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh region dropped in November, but only because people continued to leave the workforce, the state said on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted rate slipped to 6.6 percent, down 0.1 of a percentage point — as 1,700 people left the workforce. The number of unemployed residents in the seven-county region declined, as well — by 700 — resulting in a lower jobless rate for the eighth time in the past 12 months, the state said.
“The numbers are undeniable. The numbers in the seven-county area have continued to decline,” said Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “Job growth in the greater Pittsburgh region petered out earlier (last) year.”
Economic growth in the region improved in 2010 and 2011 as the recession receded, then it stalled, he said.
“With a flat recovery, you tend to get people falling out of the workforce,” Rankin said.
The jobless rate is determined by a monthly survey of residents in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The total workforce fell to 1.255 million, compared to 1.263 million a year ago. Residential employment in the region fell by 1,100 to 1.172 million.
State officials aren't sure why the workforce is shrinking, said Ismael Fertenbaugh, an analyst at the Department of Labor and Industry. He said it could be anything from retirements to workers who have given up looking for a new job. “The labor force is down, which isn't a good thing,” he said.
In 2014, improvement in the region's economy is “very much dependent” on the national economy maintaining its recent growth pattern, Rankin said. “If the economy can continue 3 percent or more growth ... that would translate into jobs in Pittsburgh.”
The November jobless rate for Pennsylvania was 7.3 percent. The national rate was 7.0 percent.
A separate survey of employers in the region showed an increase of 2,600 non-farm jobs during November, according to state data. The jobs figures from employers is not seasonally adjusted.
Retailers predictably added 5,100 jobs in November for the holiday season. But that was about 2,100 fewer jobs than the sector had in November 2012, according to state data.
The leisure and hospitality sector had the biggest losses, dropping 3,500 workers from the prior month. Within that sector, food service — especially full-service restaurants — lost about 1,000 jobs from October.
The construction sector shed about 1,600 jobs month-to-month, but that is common as winter approaches, Fertenbaugh said.
Administrative services and ambulatory health care were the biggest job areas to grow compared to last year. Both shed more than 400 jobs between October and November, but they're still up by more than 2,000 workers compared to November 2012, according to state data.

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Understanding the Democratic Party "Simplified"

Saturday, January 4, 2014


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A Message from the Helpless to the Elderly: Curl Up And Die!

Jan. 4, 2014

The money spent for a college education could fund many entreprenuerial ventures for 5-10 years...


Older workers blamed for stealing jobs from young  


CHICAGO — It's an assertion that has been accepted as fact by droves of the unemployed: Older people remaining on the job later in life are stealing jobs from young people.

One problem, many economists say: It's not supported by a wisp of fact.
“We all cannot believe that we have been fighting this theory for more than 150 years,” said April Yanyuan Wu, a research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, who co-authored a paper last year on the subject.
The commonly accepted vision of a surge of workers looks like this: A young post-doctoral student dreams of a full-time teaching job at their university, but there are no openings. An 80-something professor who has remained on the job long past what's considered “normal” retirement is blamed.
The problem with that vision is that there are probably full-time teaching positions available elsewhere, or the person blocking the young grad student from the job is only 40 years old, economists say. Further, the veteran professor's decision to stay employed and productive may stir other job growth. He may bring research grants to his university allowing for other hiring, may take on assistants, and may be able to dine out and shop and fuel the economy more than if he were not on the job.
None of that would have happened had he retired.
The theory Wu and other economists are fighting is known as “lump of labor,” and it has maintained traction in this country, particularly in a climate of high unemployment. The theory dates to 1851 and says if a group enters the labor market — or in this case, remains in it beyond its normal retirement date — others will be unable to gain employment or will have their hours cut.
It's a line of thinking that has been used in the U.S. immigration debate and in Europe to validate early retirement programs, and it relies on a simple premise: That there are a fixed number of jobs available. In fact, most economists dispute this.When women entered the workforce, there weren't fewer jobs for men. The economy simply expanded.
The same is true with older workers, they argue.
“There's no evidence to support that increased employment by older people is going to hurt younger people in any way,” said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research and the co-author with Wu of “Are Aging Baby Boomers Squeezing Young Workers Out of Jobs?”
“It's not going to reduce their wages, it's not going to reduce their hours, it's not going to do anything bad to them,” Munnell said.
Many remain unconvinced.
James Galbraith, a professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin, has advocated for a temporary lowering of the age to qualify for Social Security and Medicare to allow older workers who don't want to remain on the job a way to exit and to spur openings for younger workers.
He does not buy the comparison of older workers to women entering the workforce and says others' arguments on older workers expanding the economy don't make sense when there are so many unemployed people. If there were a surplus of jobs, he said, there would be no problem with people working longer. But there isn't.
“I can't imagine how you could refute that. The older worker retires; the employer looks around and hires another worker,” he said. “It's like refuting elementary arithmetic.”
The perception has persisted, from prominent stories in The New York Times, Newsweek and other media outlets, to a pointed question to Rep. Nancy Pelosi last year by the NBC reporter Luke Russert, who asked whether her refusal to step out of the House leadership (and the similar decisions of other older lawmakers) was denying younger politicians a chance. A chorus of lawmakers around Pelosi muttered and shouted “discrimination,” until the Democratic leader chimed in herself.
“Let's for a moment honor it as a legitimate question, although it's quite offensive,” she said. “But you don't realize that, I guess.”
The heart of Russert's question makes sense to many: If Pelosi won't give up her position, a younger person does not have a chance to take it. That viewpoint is repeated in countless workplaces around the country, where a younger person awaits a senior employee's departure for their chance to ascend.
In the microeconomic view of things, Pelosi remaining in her job at the age of 73 does deny others her district's seat in Congress or a chance to ascend to the leadership. But economists say the larger macroeconomic view gives a clearer picture: Having older people active and productive actually benefits all age groups, they say, and spurs the creation of more jobs.
Munnell and Wu analyzed Current Population Survey data to test for any changes in employment among those under 55 when those 55 and older worked in greater numbers. They found no evidence that younger workers were losing work and in fact found the opposite: Greater employment, reduced unemployment and yielded higher wages.
Munnell said, outside of economists, the findings can be hard for people to understand when they think only of their own workplace.
“They just could not get in their heads this dynamism that is involved,” she said. “You can't extrapolate from the experience of a single company to the economy as a whole.”
Melissa Quercia, 35, a controller for a small information technology company in Phoenix, said she sees signs of the generational job battle all around her: jobs once taken by high schoolers now filled by seniors, college graduates who can't find work anywhere, the resulting dearth of experience of younger applicants. She doesn't see economists' arguments playing out. Older people staying on the job are not spurring new jobs, because companies are not investing in creating new positions, she said.
“It's really hard to retire right now. I understand that,” she said. “But if the younger generation doesn't have a chance to get their foot in the door, then what?”
Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who edited a book on the subject for the National Bureau of Economic Research, said it's a frustrating reality of his profession: That those things he knows as facts are disputed by the populace.
“If you polled the average American, they probably would think the opposite,” he said. “There's a lot of things economists say that people don't get, and this is just one of them.”

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Rapper linked to 50 Cent gunned down by ski mask-wearing thug just weeks after being released from prison; 3 others hurt in attack

Jan. 4, 2013


A 42-year-old man died from the gunfire which took place as Jamal Green, aka Mazaradi Fox, sat in a white SUV on Farmers Blvd. and 133rd Ave. in St. Albans shortly after 4 p.m.

NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi

The CD album cover photo for 'Mazaradi Fox Presents The Whole Bag or No Bag.' Fox had parted company with 50 Cent and started his own rap label, Dumout.

A rapper with close ties to 50 Cent was shot and killed Friday when a gunman in a black ski mask unloaded on an SUV full of people in Queens, police said.

Mazaradi Fox, 42, whose real name was Jamal Green, was killed at Farmers Blvd. and 134th Ave. in Jamaica about 4:10 p.m. when the shooter rolled up to his white SUV and opened fire.

Police sources said Fox, released from prison just two weeks ago, stumbled out of the Nissan SUV and collapsed in a driveway.
Mazaradi Fox, aka Jamal Green, 42, is pictured here with 50 Cent in 2006. He was once part of the rap group G-Unit.

Mazaradi Fox, aka Jamal Green, 42, is pictured here with 50 Cent in 2006. He was once part of the rap group G-Unit.

Three other people in the SUV were wounded, including a 21-year-old man who was hit in the neck and shoulder and was in critical condition, police said. A second man, age 22, was wounded in the arm, and the fourth victim, a woman in her 20s — believed to be Fox’s daughter according to thisis50.com — suffered a graze wound to the neck, police said.
Paramedics rushed the survivors to Jamaica Hospital.

Fox, who was released from prison Dec. 20, stumbled out of the Nissan SUV and collapsed in a driveway.

Fox, who was released from prison Dec. 20, stumbled out of the Nissan SUV and collapsed in a driveway.

Fox, a native of Jamaica, Queens, got out of prison Dec. 20 after serving two years for an attempted assault. He was also convicted of attempted murder in 1998, according to court records.

He was a childhood friend of 50 Cent and was affiliated with the “In Da Club” rapper’s crew G-Unit. A spokesman for 50 Cent’s record company said Fox never signed with the label.

He ultimately parted company with 50 Cent and started his own rap label, Dumout, according to thisis50.com.

The shooting victim's body lies on the sidewalk.

SAM COSTANZA FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The shooting victim's body lies on the sidewalk.

Family friends said Fox helped raise D’Aja Robinson, a 14-year-old girl shot dead while riding on a city bus through Jamaica in May. Relatives of the murdered girl said they considered Fox to be D’Aja’s stepfather.

Fox and 50 Cent hadn’t talked in some time, but 50 Cent attended D’Aja’s funeral and paid for the horse and carriage that carried the teen’s casket.

Police on the scene at 134th Ave. and Farmers Blvd. where four people were shot in the white SUV pictured here.

SAM COSTANZA FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Police on the scene at 134th Ave. and Farmers Blvd. where four people were shot in the white SUV pictured here.

50 Cent was in his New York studio when he heard Fox was murdered.

“Saddened by the news of Mazaradi’s tragic passing,” he tweeted. “My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”






Mazaradi Fox seen here in an 'instructional video' on how to get signed as a rapper. 

HOW2GETSIGNED VIA YOUTUBE

Mazaradi Fox seen here in an 'instructional video' on how to get signed as a rapper. 

In a jailhouse interview in August 2013, Fox said he and 50 Cent were still friends.

“We going to be homeboys till we’re both buried I guess,” he told DJ Self. “That’s my man forever.”

Police on the scene at 134th Ave. and Farmers Blvd., where four people were reported shot while sitting in the white SUV pictured here. Mazaradi Fox, who had close ties to rapper 50 Cent, was killed in the gunfire.

SAM COSTANZA FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Police on the scene at 134th Ave. and Farmers Blvd., where four people were reported shot while sitting in the white SUV pictured here. Mazaradi Fox, who had close ties to rapper 50 Cent, was killed in the gunfire.

It was unclear if the two rappers had reunited before Fox’s death.

He also told DJ Self he couldn’t wait to get back to rapping.

“I’m ready to get the money and get the business,” he said. “I’m ready now. I was young in the game and now I’m ready.”

Fox helped raise 14-year-old D'aja Robinson, who was shot  in May while riding a Q6 MTA bus on Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica.

R.I.P. BEAUTIFUL ASIA VIA FACEBOOK

Fox helped raise 14-year-old D'aja Robinson, who was shot  in May while riding a Q6 MTA bus on Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica.

The Twitterverse was abuzz with news of Fox’s slaying.

“#RIP Mazaradi Fox,” wrote @MikeBaggs. “And it seemed like homie was tryna leave the streets alone too. That’s the sad part.”

“They say jail keeps some brothers alive,” added @Shamoneyxl. “He just came home 10 days ago and now he gone.”

It was unclear how many shots were fired before the gunman, described only as a black man dressed all in black, fled in a dark-colored Hyundai sedan, according to sources.

Cops were searching for the sedan Friday night.

Residents were stunned by the bloodshed.

“We’re not used to this,” said Tiffany Jackson, 19, who lives near the crime scene. “This is a safe area. We don’t have issues. I live next to a preacher and a post office.”

The fatal shooting marks the city’s fourth homicide of 2014.



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MSM Reports, You Decide: Vague crime reporting leads readers to draw own conclusions

Jan 4, 2014

A man is recovering from surgery after police found him badly beaten at a local playground.




ATLANTA — 
A man is recovering from surgery after police found him badly beaten at a local playground.

Atlanta police first went to Emma Millican Park around 8:30 a.m. Friday to check out a report of a person who was sick, but quickly found a man lying by that playground with major head injuries.

One neighbor, Laurel Rummel, spoke to Channel 2's Aaron Diamant just hours after police found the injured man.

"I really hope it's not a young kid," said Rummel.

Police say they still cannot confirm the man's age or name. Investigators at the park told Diamant the male had serious trauma to the back of his head and was taken to Grady Hospital in critical condition.

Rummel says the beating is a big blow to the neighborhood.

"We've been here 15 years, you know, and we have wonderful neighbors. Literally we are like family. We all watch out for each other," said Rummel.

Neighbors say the city recently expanded the park, and another neighbor, Fletcher Mitchell, expressed his feelings on the park.

"I ain't never seen no fights or nothing down there. It's been a cool neighborhood," said Mitchell.

Now, Rummel has started worrying after word of Friday's beating started to spread.

"With it being heavily wooded up in there, you know, is that going to make us a target?" asked Rummel.

It's been confirmed that the victim had surgery at Grady Hospital earlier on Friday and he's listed as critical but stable condition.





Nevada Democrat's Magic Decline: Republican/Democrat gap narrows just by cleaning the legally ineligible

Jan. 4, 2013

25 CENT QUESTION: Why is it that states always have more inelligible democrat voters than republicans? Hmmm...


Voter roll cleanup brings decline in Nevada voters

Posted: Jan 03, 2014 8:32 PM ESTUpdated: Jan 03, 2014 8:32 PM EST
CARSON CITY, NV (AP) -
Nevada has 50,607 fewer registered voters because of routine cleanup of county voter rolls.
The secretary of state's office on Thursday reported that as of the end of December Democrats still hold a large lead over Republicans in voter registration, but the margin has narrowed to 77,636. A year ago Democrats topped GOP registrations by about 100,000.
Of the nearly 1.2 million active voters in Nevada, 41 percent are Democrats and 41 percent are Republicans. Nearly 18 percent are registered as nonpartisan. The rest are affiliated with minor political parties.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



Bad luck: Same family killed by Assad in Syria and by IDF bombing in Gaza

Jan. 4, 2014


Family killed twice!


h/t Jihad Watch

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Affordable Care Act Quiz (Lamestream Version)

Jan 3, 2014

If the lamestream version of this quiz portrays the sheeple to be this stupid, one can only imagine the truth of the matter....

Pronews 7 viewers quizzed during Say What!
Taking The Health Care Quiz  / Pronews 7
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AMARILLO, TEXAS -- In national health and politics, 2014 began with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As of January 2nd, reports from the White House said over two million people had signed up for what many are calling Obama Care.
However, the debate continues concerning the beginning of national health care and its future.
"Being a clinical person, I know it's kind of hard," said Nicole Brooke of Amarillo. "So much of it is complicated. But I think it's a step in the right direction."
Others have been quick to express their displeasure for the Affordable Care Act and national health care fo the United States.
"I think it's a waste," Amarillo resident Ryan Nash said. "It was better the way it was. Not the way it appears to be."
In the recent edition of Say What!, I quized Pronews 7 viewers on the additional elements of health care reform coming in 2014. See what happened when viewers were questioned about the government's plan to benefit from a 2 percent levy on health care reform and insurance companies paying to sell their medical plans on healthcare.gov.
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