U.S. Economy and its Mess

[Kulindahr]

And the GOP's version of capitalism is contrary to Adam Smith because it is against free markets.

 

[rareboy]

We watched it happen.

With the trade agreement between Reagan, Mulroney and Mexico, we watched all the US companies shut down their production in Canada and ship it to the southern US and then Asia...turning Canada into a nation of truck drivers.

 

[Kulindahr]

We watched it happen.

With the trade agreement between Reagan, Mulroney and Mexico, we watched all the US companies shut down their production in Canada and ship it to the southern US and then Asia...turning Canada into a nation of truck drivers.

I always argued that there should be penalties for moving production out of the FTZ.

 

[Kulindahr]

At least since the courts rules that the job of company management is to maximize profits!

 

[Kulindahr]

 

[rareboy]

Some will argue this is a good thing...but it also is an indicator that people just aren't buying stuff.

 

[KaraBulut]

One paradox of the 2024 election was that the economic reports said that the economy was booming but Americans weren't feeling it.

The BLS just updated their 2024 numbers and revised the job market numbers downward by 911,000 jobs.

New data shows the US job market was much weaker than thought in 2024, and this year as well

The U.S. job market was much weaker in 2024 and early this year than originally reported, adding to concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

apnews.com

Employers added 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March 2025, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The department issues the so-called benchmark revisions every year. They are intended to better account for new businesses and ones that had gone out of business. The numbers issued Tuesday are preliminary. Final revisions will come out in February 2026.

The revision showed that leisure and hospitality firms — including hotels and restaurants — added 176,000 fewer jobs than originally reported, professional and business services companies 158,000 fewer and retailers 126,000 fewer.

The report comes after the department reported Friday that the economy generated just 22,000 jobs in August, adding to fears that President Donald Trump’s erratic economic policies, including massive and unpredictable taxes on imports, have created so much uncertainty that businesses are reluctant to hire.

 

[rareboy]

Yes and no.

I used to beleive the BLS to some degree.

And certainly they haven't been releasing rosy numbers for 2025.

And certainly the Biden admin would not have wanted real numbers in an election year.

But now the agenda will clearly be to 'prove' that this upcoming recession belongs to Biden.

 

[KaraBulut]

Yes and no.

I used to beleive the BLS to some degree.

And certainly they haven't been releasing rosy numbers for 2025.

And certainly the Biden admin would not have wanted real numbers in an election year.

But now the agenda will clearly be to 'prove' that this upcoming recession belongs to Biden.

I'm hoping that some of the economists who understand the data and are familiar with how the standard procedures at BLS can explain what happened here and how the numbers could have been wrong... or whether the Trump Administration tampered with the numbers to make it look like 2024 was the problem, not 2025.

 

[rareboy]

^ this. I am looking for independent analysis.

 

[rareboy]

And obviously this has ricocheted all the way back into the White House. And someone has pointed out to them that the Hyundai plant raids has been a monumental fuck-up.

What Trump isn't telling people is that it is the failure of the US to allow sufficiant provision for some countries like South Korea to get visas for their skilled workers.

I don't think that South Korea or other nations in a similar position are going to be lulled back into the fold with this stupid, public blurb from TrumpCo. media flak.

 

[Kulindahr]

^
The way to have handled it would have been to issue temporary visas and then expedited making them permanent.

 

[KaraBulut]

^
The way to have handled it would have been to issue temporary visas and then expedited making them permanent.

You're assuming that government processes under Trump worked like they did in previous administrations. I can tell you from personal experience that processes that took weeks under Obama took over a year under Trump. They aren't assigning staff to work on expediting anything having to do with immigration or border processing.

 

[rareboy]

Just a reminder. It was Congress that didn't get around to approving visas for South Koreans apparently. The bill was in the House but likely died like it has in the past.

As I also noted, it wasn't Trump who wrote this little piece. I doubt if he knows or cares.

This was written because Hyundai and South Korea have likely been raising holy hell in the background and threatening to scuttle any more investment (and bribes) now that courts have struck down TrumpCo. tariffs.

 

[KaraBulut]

Just a reminder. It was Congress that didn't get around to approving visas for South Koreans apparently. The bill was in the House but likely died like it has in the past.

As I also noted, it wasn't Trump who wrote this little piece. I doubt if he knows or cares.

This was written because Hyundai and South Korea have likely been raising holy hell in the background and threatening to scuttle any more investment (and bribes) now that courts have struck down TrumpCo. tariffs.

And there's a bunch of Georgians who voted for Trump who are saying, "But we need that plant 'cause jobs! You didn't tell us that Koh-reans are brown!".

 

[Kulindahr]

Just BTW, a study was done in Oregon on the results of raising the minimum wage. The intent was to learn if the meme that people get fired when the minimum wage goes up is true.
Out of ten thousand people earning minimum wage, three were laid off, and it turned out that one of those lay-offs was planned ahead of time. So two out of ten thousand.

 

[Kulindahr]

 

[Kulindahr]

 

[Kulindahr]

 

[KaraBulut]

Meanwhile, the news is not looking good. Where's the whining about the price of eggs this time?

Long-term unemployment at post-pandemic high, straining workers and economy - The Boston Globe

Stories you may have missed from the world of business.

www.bostonglobe.com

More Americans are facing stretches of unemployment of six months or more, a worrisome sign for the US economy. More than 1 in 4 workers without jobs have been unemployed for at least half a year, new data shows. That number is a post-pandemic high and a level typically only seen during periods of economic turmoil. In all, more than 1.9 million Americans had been unemployed “long term” in August, meaning they have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, a critical cliff when it comes to finding a job. That’s nearly double the 1 million people who were in a similar position in early 2023. Six months of unemployment often signals a turning point in a person’s job search, according to economists. They’ve likely run out of unemployment insurance benefits and severance payments by then, leaving them on shakier financial ground. People who have been unemployed for more than six months are also more likely to become discouraged and stop looking for work altogether.

Jobless claims surge to highest level in nearly four years

Jobless claims surge to highest level in nearly four years

www.latimes.com

Applications for unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in almost four years, indicating layoff activity may be on the rise amid a sharp slowdown in hiring.

Initial claims rose by 27,000 to 263,000 in the week ended Sept. 6, the highest since October 2021, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 235,000 applications.

Prices, unemployment up: Even Fox News poll shows voters think Trump screwed economy | Opinion

President Donald Trump promised a new Golden Age. But eight months into his term, grocery prices are rising, along with inflation and unemployment.

www.usatoday.com

Prices, unemployment up: Even Fox News poll shows voters think Trump screwed economy | Opinion
Ground beef prices are up 13% over last August, beef steaks are up more than 16%, apples are up 9.6% and coffee prices have jumped more than 20%.

• Grocery prices, inflation and unemployment have risen eight months into Donald Trump's second term.
• Farmers face labor shortages and export losses due to the administration's tariffs and deportation policies.
• Long-term unemployment has reached a post-pandemic high, and consumer confidence has dropped.
• A recent Fox News poll indicates more voters believe the Trump administration has worsened the economy.