Originally published at: U.S. job growth beats expectations | Boing Boing
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This may seem like good news since it was breathlessly reported when trump was in office, but it’s actually a bad thing. See, low unemployment during a GQP presidency means the economy is strong, during a Dem presidency it means we are teetering on the brink of economic collapse, which means the real foundation of the American economy (ie. shareholders) are anxious, so they’ll withdraw all their money to some offshore acct, which will lead to another bank collapse, which will make egg prices soar. Sounds counter-intuitive, but that’s just because you just can’t afford proper bootstraps.
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You left out the (/s).
I get so tired of hearing that the “only solution to inflation is to have more unemployed and underpaid” rather than addressing the price gouging of corporations. Really tough to argue that the problem is about working folks making too much money when the corporations are reporting obscene record profits, eh?
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Trump had a golden opportunity to slow the runaway train down by gradually raising interest rates and ramping down QE during his term but instead decided to bury the accelerator in order to boost his ego. Now we’re in this bizarro world where good news is bad and higher interest rates are good; millions are getting laid off while facing historic inflation while at the same time low wage jobs continue to grow.
Trump truly is the reverse Midas where everything he touches turns to shit.
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Agree.
Republicans:
Cut Taxes, complain about the deficit, complain about the debt.
Don’t raise rates, don’t risk a recession, complain about weak dollar, printing money, inflation.
Yell about pulling the troops out, ending the war in Afganistan, complain that we lost Afganistan after we actually pull the troops out.
Yell about cutting spending, won’t tell anyone most of the spending is on medicaid, medicare, social-security, they still want to cut them, but don’t want to say they will.
Democrats come in and make hard choices, raise taxes, pay down debt, raise interest rates while trying not to cause a recession, pull out troops, end wars and the Republicans stand by to criticize but do nothing.
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well, not nothing. they ban books, ban abortion, ban trans people, ban minority voters, and just generally make life terrible for everyone.
they do have priorities after all
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Agreed. Yesterday I was listening to some financial expert on NPR wringing his hands about how wages are still rising despite everything that has been done to “fix the economy.” Being a bear of little brain I was confused. He seemed to be saying that when prices skyrocket the economy improves only if workers become less able to meet high prices by accepting stagnant or reduced wages. I must re-take my Capitalism 101 indoctrination to understand how that works.
At least we can be thankful that the stock market is still strong and the vulture capitalists (not to mention Clarence and Ginni Thomas) are doing just fine.
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I’m trying to game a discount on premium bootstraps and I don’t want to give myself away. 
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The job market seems particularly good if you’re 10-15 years old.
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No worries, by the second sentence I was already reading it in the voice of Jonathan Swift.
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Well it seems to be pretty easy to make that argument. I see people making it every day, and it baffles me, but they keep making it. You’d think more people would stop and think, “Heeeeeeyyy, wait a minute…all these companies are reporting record profits, and we also have super high inflation…hmmm…I wonder if those are connected?” But no, people just shake their fist and cry, “No one wants to work these days! Back in my day, we got $4 an hour to work 80 hours a week while also going to college and we were happy about it! And get off my lawn!”
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Funny, I was writing it in the voice of Milton Friedman.
Oh, and ETA /s
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Even when I was a kid, “I had it bad and you should be happy that you have it a little less bad” struck me as an absurdly shitty argument.
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If a certain percentage of unemployment is necessary for economic stability, maybe we should treat people who are unemployed as performing a valuable service and pay them. Just a thought.
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right? you’d think that was literally the point of progress. 
( see also: student loans. i had to pay 4 bajillion dollars back, why should anyone get their debt forgiven? and/or, i won’t be satisfied until everyone is buried in medical debt because i was. etc. )
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At this point any “good” economic news I take with several grains of salt, because unless rents start going down and wages start rising it’s moot.
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Something occurred to me this morning, possibly not original – a corollary(?) to Wilhoit’s Law, I guess:
Conservatism maintains that the out-group(s) must be kept underfoot for the greater economical good. Fascists might or might not believe it, but demand it because it entertains them.
Ok, it seemed pithier when it hit me.
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just remember, when fascism hits, hit back.
hmm… well. ok, i see what you mean. it seemed pithier when it hit me.
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