A consensus is the census is only a temporary solution to an extensive lack of growth in labor during a protracted period of egregious economic woes. While the growth in jobs jumped to 431,000 in May, the most in a decade, the overwhelming majority went to census workers, a body of temporary government employees, which distorted the number. As a result Wall Street wasn’t buying and took a dive of 300 points on Friday.
Which brings me to the dilemma I face when trying to assess what is really happening in this wonderful land of ours. On the one hand I want to see the economy grow and people go back to work. Efforts by the government to stimulate growth, such as the Workforce Investment Act that provides programs those of us in transition use to return to productivity are vital. Yet, like my conservative friends I know sustained growth requires expansion in private industry.
On the other hand to see the same corrupt corporate practices that built the bubble that burst to bring about this tremendous economic catastrophe benefit from a populace too willing to put their hard earned dollars back into it makes me want to puke. One has to ask is there any other way to measure economic success besides the figures reported on the stock market? It is hard to believe I am alone when I feel a smile welling up inside knowing some oil, pharmaceutical or banking executive took a hit when the market tumbled. Yet, like my liberal friends remind me their pensions are dependent upon the sustained growth of that same market.
One thing we can be sure of is the people on Madison Avenue, where I crossed the street a week ago, are dreaming of ways to sustain their positions along with their friends on Wall Street. As I walked along 47th Street barely able to carry on a conversation over the din of the jackhammers it occurred to me how those spin doctors up in their ivory towers make us forget how government employees like the guy wearing the orange and yellow vest breaking up the street are every bit as important to us as the banker or broker weaving ways to turn simple cash into complex derivatives. At the same time I had to wonder if the guys with the calluses might be able to get us some basic simple interest while the soft skinned guys attempted to hold onto the jackhammer for just an hour.
Of course most of my readers realize my what ifs are purely fantasy, just like the what if BP knew what it was doing and had tested methods to remediate a deep water well explosion. In lieu of such a what if one might contemplate what if instead of spending millions of dollars for the Madison Avenue boys and girls to assure us BP is doing everything it can to contain the spill they actually spent that money on such an effort. Or, what if everyone in the country buys a Nissan Leaf, Ford Transit Connect, Chevy Volt or California’s own Tesla.
As emotions regarding the bloody Israeli-Palestinian clash aboard a flotilla that confronted a blockade continue to escalate, and who shot who with what and why is shown on poorly lit incoherent video all over the internet, it is wise to take a deep breath and wait for Netanyahu to “get all the facts” Obama asked for on Monday. Hopefully, calm minds will prevail and an assessment of actions and reactions can be made accurately without all the preconceived rhetoric in the near future.
Finally, while I was excited to see the Lakers jump off to a first game victory over the Celtics in the NBA Finals, it was tempered by the news of basketball legend John Wooden's death Friday. Coach Wooden led UCLA to seven straight and a total of 10 national championships. Arguably the greatest coach of all time, he was 99 years old.
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