Fake Job Numbers from the Bush Administration

[Eric J in MN]

Starting for April 2003, the Bush Administration came up with a new way of calculating the number of jobs.

The calculation has been producing rosy estimates recently, but the job numbers are fake.

READ MORE at MOVELEFT.COM

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2004_06_07_fake_job_numbers_from_the_bush_administration.asp

[NMDemDist2]

1. i was switching thru the radio dial and the repubs got a new meme

"we have created 1 Million jobs this year"

i heard 3 different repub congresscritters say the exact same thing

thanks for the ammo on debunking that pie in the sky

[LittleApple81]

2. Ummmmmm.... voodoo economics. Bush* is a Reagan repug, after all.nt

[NMDemDist2]

3. no didn't you hear * tell Brokaw he was a "W republican" eom

[LittleApple81]

17. Yes, I was the one that posted that here in DU. That is why

I think that Bush* following (and "improving") Reagan's techniques is a contradiction to his statement... he even lies for that.

[Eric J in MN]

7. Reagan cut agencies which gather economic statistics.

Reagan cut agencies which gather economic statistics.

We might have a clearer picture of what is going on in the economy today, otherwise.

[NewJeffCT]

4. well, if it was April 2003

Then why was May through early this year so poor in terms of job creation?

Not saying I'm surprised by them cooking the books, just seems odd that it would be so bad the first 9 months...

[Eric J in MN]

5. They aren't being forthcoming about exactly how they're

They aren't being forthcoming about exactly how they're doing the calculation.

So they may be fudging the numbers as the election gets closer.

Or this fundamentally flawed calculation may just produce more dramatic results under recent conditions.

[Eric J in MN]

6. They started out saying this calculation would be a small

They started out saying this calculation would be a small part of the total of new jobs.

But for April 2004, it was 94% of new jobs, for some reason.

Fudging? Coincidence?

Until they describe exactly how they're doing the calcuation, so other economists can replicate it, there is no reason to trust them.

[shraby]

9. Have you ever yet seen

them tell the truth? Starting with Tommy Thompson's announcement that the first guy who got anthrax caught it out in the woods. You can take it from there. There isn't one thing they haven't lied about. Why should we believe the job numbers??????

[Eric J in MN]

34. They literally say it rained when it was dry.

They literally say it rained when it was dry.

(The story about how Bush's scrapes were from mountain-biking after it rained and falling. The weather was dry in Crawford, TX for weeks before.)

[shraby]

10. Maybe they are counting all the

ones called up for active duty as "new" jobs.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Actually, That's Not Completely Facetious!

When reservists and guardsmen are called to active duty, and away from their jobs, they stop counting in the labor rolls.

So, the denominator does go down. Which, of course, makes the proportion of employed people go higher. IOW, 100 over 110 is 90.9%, but 100 over 108 is 92.5%, so unemployment would look to go down by 1.6%.

Fun with numbers!
The Professor

[mhr]

8. The May Numbers Included 195,000 Fake Jobs Created By

the Birth/Death model.

The BLS has no idea if these jobs actually exist or not.

The truth about May is that only 53,000 were real jobs.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. If you lose your good job, then get a crappy one...

Buxh creates a new job. Simple, huh?
AND...they went back and "revised" Jan-Feb to reflect the new formula. I call that the "pulled out of their ass and stuck it in ours" jobs recovery.

[necso]

12. No information coming out of this administration,

that isn't independently verified is to be believed. None.

In this admin, unpleasant facts are disliked, reporting unpleasant facts is considered disloyal and disloyal people are punished. So they just make shit up... or create an environment where other people do it for them.

The only thing that surprises me is that it took so long for them to start putting out rosy job numbers. Maybe when the: "First pResident since Hoover to have a net loss of jobs" thing started to bite, they were stung to action.

These guys are all book cookers and swindlers from way back --- and for the moment they are above the law. Expect only massive fraud, unprecedented levels of fraud.

After all if you can convince people that the economy is good or that the war is going well or that chimpy is a decent man, this is just as good as if it were true --- from a marketing perspective. The shitheads in this admin don't know much, but they know the value of marketing --- it sells shit. And shit is all they have to sell.

[opihimoimoi]

13. Its a freaking shitty world we live in, Madness reigns

[Eric J in MN]

23. Right, "independentlly verified."

Right, "independentlly verified."

Thanks, I just updated the essay to add that phrase to the end.

[wabeewoman]

27. I certainly don't wish it upon us

but I wish there was an alternate universe where we could watch the bush wins in 04 senario play out and let him deal with the cascading effects of the mess he has created. I just want to be there when their Karma catches up with them.

[necso]

30. While it would be entertaining,

the players at the top see everything from so distorted a perspective that they would be largely oblivious to it. And their reaction, if any, would be more of the same. Rich, well connected and powerful men, (even out of office) they would also be largely isolated from its effects.

For them it is enough to believe that something is true to make it so. And since they will hammer anyone who says otherwise, they would not hear much differently anyway, at least from those around them. Delusionals like nothing better than to have their delusions reinforced by those around them. ChimpCo has made a real point of this.

It is a very dark and dangerous game that they are playing, forcing distortions to be treated as truth. It is a hallmark of the very worst of organizations. It is also the hallmark of this brand of repugs ... and this kind of "Christians". Since the Reagan days, it has sadly, also become the hallmark of the republican party.

[Don_G]

14. Don't Forget Who Elaine Chao Is

The Secretary of Labor is the wife of the Senate's #2 Rethug: Mitch McConnell.

[Eric J in MN]

33. I'm sure she was the best qualified.

I'm sure she was the best qualified.

Or maybe not.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. kick

[Mnemosyne]

16. Flipping burgers is now listed as "manufacturing" job!

[Eric J in MN]

22. Actually, the Bush Admin. floated the idea of counting

Actually, the Bush Admin. floated the idea of counting fast food jobs as manufacturing, but they haven't implemented that yet, as far as I know.

[Triana]

18. thanks for this...

...passing it on - waving it in front of the faces of rethugs who were crowing about May's glowing 'job' numbers. Of course, we knew it was bu$hit - this article explains in detail just how much they're lying about it. Good info.

[Eric J in MN]

29. you're welcome. also send a link to financial reporters

You're welcome.

Please also send a link to financial reporters, and ask them to write about the "CES Birth/Death Model" and whether the Bush job numbers can be INDEDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED.

[Killarney]

19. this makes sense

it explains a lot

[Killarney]

20. I just emailed Paul Krugman with this link

Maybe he can write about it as well and get broader coverage.

[Eric J in MN]

26. Thanks. If anyone else wants to email Krugman,

Thanks. If anyone else wants to email Paul Krugman about this,

his email address is:

[e-mail]

[Hubert Flottz]

21. Fake Jobs = Starving American Kids!

So Bush and Reagan really are alike when you look at the end product!(bottom line)

[lanparty]

25. More good news from the 'Ministry of Plenty'

We have more good news from the 'Ministry of Plenty'. At the end of the day, it won't work.

All those Software and Electrical engineers will still know they are unemployed or underemployed. All those factory workers will KNOW that their flipping burgers at McDonalds is NOT a factory job. All those folks at Wal-Mart will STILL know they are being treated like dirt.

[Kazak]

28. Yeah...

These numbers include the McManufacturing jobs, right? Oh joy.

[John_H]

31. kickeroo n/t

[Eric J in MN]

32. Please email economic reporters.

Please email economic reporters.

In your local paper, or a national paper you read, if you see a report about the good job numbers, please reply with a link to my webpage:

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2004_06_07_fake_job_numbers_from_the_bush_administration.asp

or the New York Post article webpage:

http://www.nypost.com/business/23936.htm

[Eric J in MN]

35. kick

kick

[Eric J in MN]

36. kick

kick