JOB WINNERS AND LOSERS

I'm kind of baffled because on the one hand, jobs are increasing, layoffs are declining and voluntary quitting is increasing.  It would seem like the jobs picture is pretty good.  Then one hears about how unhappy workers are.*

For one thing, it seems to have something to do with education.  If you have a bachelor's degree you are probably in the same boat you were back in 2001 (see Figure).  If you have less than that, you haven't done well in recent years, but if you have an advanced degree, you are doing well.  One sees articles that say getting a degree isn't worth it, but that is baloney.  If you have less than a Bachelor's degree, however, it seems like maybe you shouldn't have bothered with higher education.

For another thing, there is a real decline in manufacturing jobs whereas jobs in education and health are rapidly increasing.  Next comes professional and business services.  Jobs in retail trade have been essentially flat in this century, but leisure and hospitality jobs continue to increase.**

One of the more glaring examples of how strong pessimism has become is Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index. The measure gauges the difference between respondents who say the economy is improving or declining. The most recent results are not good.

Fully 59 percent say the economy is "getting worse" against just 37 percent who say it is "getting better." That gap of 22 percentage points is the worst since August, according to Gallup, which polled 3,542 adults. The index carries a sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.**

(Click on Figure to Enlarge.*

* http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/most-americans-think-economy-is-getting-worse.html
** http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/04/12/is-life-better-than-it-was-decades-ago-for-some-voters-probably-not/?mod=djemRTE_h

ABORTION CONTROL THROUGH VASECTOMIES

I ran across this item the other day on controlling abortions through vasectomies.  Somehow I think it won't be adopted:

 

You just never know what you’ll find while frolicking on Facebook. Last weekend I noticed a typed anonymous blurb circulating and getting lots of likes/shares. Finally, I took a few seconds to read it:

“Since straight men ages 15-29 are most likely to impregnate women accidentally, I’m sure the GOP could get behind mandatory vasectomies for them staring at 15. Reversal is usually highly successful, and could be allowed at age 30, or earlier with wife’s permission. Both procedures are cheaper and easier than childbirth in terms of time, materials, and discomfort. More reliable business for doctors, the event industry could get behind it, and churches won’t complain. Win-Win-Snip-Snip.” -Writer Unknown*

* http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/12/1514092/-The-perfect-meme-on-how-to-reduce-abortions-GOP-can-I-get-an-AMEN?detail=email&link_id=8&can_id=af3794f2758d0c72ac0763afb2350d28&source=email-cartoon-north-carolinas-backward-bills&email_referrer=cartoon-north-carolinas-backward-bills___57953&email_subject=samantha-bee-proves-how-much-harder-it-is-to-book-the-nras-mascot-than-it-is-to-buy-an-arsenal

UNEMPLOYMENT FILINGS LOWEST SINCE 1973

The jobs picture continues to improve with weekly jobless claims (as of April 9, 2016) staying below 300 for more than a year now, something not seen since 1973.  At the same time continuing claims are also low and the least since 2000.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, revisiting a level last seen in 1973 as the labor market continues to strengthen despite a sluggish economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 253,000 for the week ended April 9, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That matched the level for early March, which was the lowest since November 1973.*

Claims for the week ending April 2 were revised to show 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported. 
 ...................................................................
The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims fell 10,250 to 2.18 million, the lowest level since mid-November 2000.*

* http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/us-weekly-jobless-claims-april-9-2016.html

MOVED TO NORTH CAROLINA (Biographical)

We moved to North Carolina in September of 2005 because my late-wife wanted to live about half-way between her summer cottage in Highlands, NC, in the SW corner of the state and her oldest son's home in northern Virginia.  I probably would have rebelled while Jesse Helms was a Senator, but he was gone.  I had some questions about the politics of the state; however, it seems to be left center in its politics.  They had a very liberal voting policy, for one example and a 2% tax on food whereas it was 6.75% on everything else for another.

I hadn't realized it but it turned out that, in the county I was to live (Moore), my vote didn't count except in state wide or national elections.

Then in 2012, Republicans took over the state House and Senate and governorship and the lights started to go out across the state.  The first thing they did was to reduce the number of polling places, reduce the number of early voting days, and require a "legal" photo ID.  Republican Gov. McCrory said he would veto any future bill  restricting abortions, but, when the time came, he caved in and signed the bills.*  Curiously for a state that wanted to attract retirees, a bill was passed to eliminate a health tax deduction for members of continuing care facilities (though now this law has been overturned).

The latest thing is a bill, HB2, that discriminates against the LGBT.**  Bruce Springsteen has cancelled his concert in NC even though 14,000 tickets had been sold, and PayPal has rescinded a plan to locate an office here with 400 employees.  Other companies have expressed displeasure with the law.

Are there any lights left on in North Carolina?

* http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article52991410.html
** http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/5/1510907/-North-Carolina-GOP-now-in-full-on-delusional-damage-control-after-losing-PayPal-over-HB2?detail=email&can_id=af3794f2758d0c72ac0763afb2350d28&source=email-cartoon-trump-smash&email_referrer=cartoon-trump-smash___56058&email_subject=to-be-arab-and-american&link_id=17

PUNISHING WOMEN FOR ILLEGAL ABORTIONS

Donald Trump has created quite a stir saying women having illegal abortions should be punished.  Everyone feigns such outrage, but women are and have been punished right now for having abortions.

In 2014, a woman in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for illegally procuring so-called “morning after” pills on the Internet for her 16-year-old daughter, who had an unwanted pregnancy.

In 2011, an Iowa pregnant woman fell down a flight of stairs and  confided in the nurse that she hadn't always been sure she'd wanted the baby. She'd considered both adoption and abortion before ultimately deciding to keep the child. Next thing Taylor knew, she was being arrested for attempted feticide. Apparently the nurse and doctor thought that Taylor threw herself down the stairs on purpose.*

National Advocates For Women in 2014 reported that in Alabama the word child includes even the egg from the moment of fertilization.  Their research finds more than 130 women have been arrested under the chemical endangerment of “children” law. Prosecutors have actually used the law that was meant to protect women to punish those who have used Marijuana or other illegal drugs while pregnant even though the babies were born healthy.

Just in March of this year the Illinois governor signed a bill making abortions illegal for fetus defects like Down’s syndrome and making the donation of fetal tissue a felony crime.  North Dakota previously adopted a bill in 2013 banning fetal abnormality abortions.

A Tennessee woman faces attempted murder charges after trying to terminate her pregnancy in a state with some of the strictest laws against pregnant women. But unlike similar cases in the past, where women faced jail time for taking illegal abortion pills or simply miscarrying, Anna Yocca used a frighteningly archaic method to end her pregnancy: She inserted a bent metal coat hanger into her uterus.The charge will probably be reduced to aggravated assault later this year because the baby survived though very damaged.**

This is just a sampling of punishment for women having abortions.

Most of the above from:
http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2014/12/global-conservative-religious-movement.html
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/01/indiana-woman-jailed-for-feticide-its-never-happened-before/
** http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/12/14/3731679/hanger-abortion-tenneessee/

JOB HIRES, QUITS, AND LAYOFFS FEBRUARY 2016

Things continue to look up in the overall job market, though the recovery in uneven.  See quote and figure from the WSJ below.  Many people lost their homes and retirements in the Great Recession and are yet to recover, thus the angry voters in the ongoing political primaries.

More Americans were hired to start a new job in February than in any month since before the recession that began in 2007—about 5.4 million people.

The data comes from the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts, which tracks underlying churn in the U.S. labor market, the millions of people who quit one job or start a new one each month.

Tuesday’s report also showed an increase in the number of people who voluntarily quit a job in February, which rose to about three million from 2.9 million. Labor economists generally regard the overall rate of quitting as a sign of the labor market’s health. When the economy is thriving, more people have the opportunity or the confidence to search for a better job.*

 * http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/04/05/americans-hiring-rose-in-february-to-the-highest-since-before-the-recession/?mod=djemRTE_h

WHITE FLOWERING RED BUD?

Hard to believe, but there are native Red Bud that bloom white!  Seems a contradiction in terms.

[Ceris canadensis] Forma alba has white flowers.
‘Royal White’ is a white-flowered cultivar noted for its pure white flowers. ‘Royal White’ was discovered in 1940 by Royal Oakes of Bluffs, Illinois, as a seedling from a native tree. It is uncommonly found in commerce. The more common white redbud found in commerce is C. canadensis f.[ for Forma] alba. In comparison to C. canadensis f. alba, ‘Royal White’ is a more compact tree, blooms earlier, is more floriferous and produces larger flowers. ‘Royal White’ is synonymous with and sometimes called ‘Royal’.