Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Senator Sherrod Brown's New School of Economic Theory




When I think genius, I think Senator Sherrod Brown. I never would have thought that unemployed people were the engines of economic prosperity, until that august Senator from Ohio made his case. Giants in the field of economics are turning over in their graves. Adam Smith’s saying that a rising tide lifts all boats is wrong; it’s actually the anchor dragging on ocean floor that’s the propeller of wealth.

Here is the statement that is forging a new school in economic theory:


"Congressman Cantor (R-VA) either failed English class or failed logic class or failed history class because these tax cuts for the rich that Bush did twice, in '01 and '03, resulted in very little economic growth. We saw only one million jobs created in the Bush years, 22 million created in the Clinton years when we reached a balanced budget with a fairer tax system," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said on MSNBC.


"There is no real history illustrating that these tax cuts for the rich result in jobs. It's extending unemployment benefits that creates economic activity that creates jobs, not giving a millionaire an extra ten or twenty or $30,000 in tax cuts that they likely won't spend," Brown said.

Here are the latest stats for Ohio:

Ohio and U.S. Employment Situation (Seasonally Adjusted)


Ohio's unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in October, down slightly from 10.0 percent in September, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment increased 8,400 over the month, from the revised 5,014,500 in September to 5,022,900 in October.


"The number of Ohioans with jobs increased in September, driving the unemployment rate down for the seventh consecutive month," ODJFS Director Douglas Lumpkin said. "Ohio’s unemployment rate fell below 10% for the first time since March 2009, thanks to job gains in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries."


The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in October was 588,000, down from 591,000 in September. The number of unemployed has decreased by 50,000 in the past 12 months from 638,000. The October unemployment rate for Ohio was down from 10.8 percent in October 2009.

The U.S. unemployment rate for October was 9.6 percent, unchanged from September.


I can smell that economic activity all the way down here in North Carolina. According to Senator Sherrod Brown you hadn’t better lower that unemployment rate. Otherwise you might not have an economy at all.




Source: http://jfs.ohio.gov/releases/unemp/201011/unemppressrelease.asp

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