#373 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday June 9)
Good morning,
A potpourri for Thursday:
A LITTLE GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS
Some data sourced by David Lash (with some updates):
Good news #1. Economists expected US employers to add 380,000 jobs in April; instead, they added a whopping 428,000, continuing the recovery from the pandemic. In May, another 390,000 jobs were created.
The country has now regained more than 90 percent of the 22 million jobs that were lost at the height of pandemic in the spring of 2020. Job creation under Joe Biden has exploded. In his first year in office, there were 6.6 million jobs added to the economy, 60% more than the next highest total, which was 3.9 million under Jimmy Carter.
(Fewer jobs were created under Trump in his first year than Biden or, for that matter, Carter and Bill Clinton. Trump is tied with George H.W. Bush and Lyndon Baines Johnson, with 2 million jobs added in their first year in office.)
The second piece of good news is that the unemployment rate remained strong in April and May, at 3.6%, just .1% higher than it was before the pandemic. The unemployment rate hasn’t been this low since December 1969. In addition, wages rose, with average hourly earnings 5.5 percent higher than a year ago.
Finally, GDP grew 5.7 percent in 2021, the fastest pace since 1984.
More jobs, less unemployment, bigger paychecks, and a growing economy. What's not to like?
THAT SAID, THERE’S STILL INFLATION
It’s bad. It affects everyone deleteriously. But it will abate, through a combination of the Fed’s action in increasing short term rates, increasing supply of goods, greater efficiency in the supply chain, and relaxed demand. The biggest issue is the inflation that has emerged in the cost of services. That will hang over longer than the inflation of the cost of goods, as it can’t easily be remedied. Part of this inflation is, of course, a scarcity of labor due to low unemployment, which is hardly a curse. It will be bumpy for the next year or so.
IF YOU THINK SOME THINKING IS RATIONAL, THINK AGAIN
Sometimes you have to hear what “the other people” are saying. So here is an excerpt from a Facebook posting, which should leave us all wondering how we can talk with these people rationally:
“Back in March 2020 I already know from several outspoken medical doctors and German microbiologist Dr Stefan Lanka that no human pathogenic virus exists, we (my family and circle of friends) didn't submit for PCR test we know not designed to detect virus…John MacArthur (General Douglas MacArthur's cousin) said repeatedly it's 99% survival rate that's not pandemic, our immune system good enough to protect us if virus even real.”
And another:
“Before being called Right to Choose, child sacrifice was euphemistically called ‘pass through the fire to Moloch.’ For many years feminists kept quiet about it but now openly proclaim their reverence for Moloch as part of their advocacy of child sacrifice through abortion…”
You just can’t make this stuff up…
THE WIT AND WISDOM OF BOB BLAU
My father-in-law, Bob Blau, offers this amusing little quotation: “I like men who have a future and women who have a past.” –Oscar Wilde
Never mind that Oscar Wilde was gay and probably not interested in women with a past or, for that matter, a future…
Andrea and I recently celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. Among the many memories, I recall that seminal moment when the father of the bride gets up at the reception to propose a toast to the bride and groom. Bob ambled up to the microphone, while Andrea waited for the typical, obligatory toast that goes something like, “Andrea is my pride and joy. I love her to the stars and back. Take care of this special angel…” Instead, Bob cracked a grin and uttered the following:
“Glenn, congratulations. And remember, all sales final. No returns; no exchanges.”
What a romantic! What Bob didn’t warn me is that a similar qualification goes with the acquisition of in-laws. I’m not looking for any trade-ins there either…!
On another note, Bob maintains that if he hadn’t become an ophthalmologist, he would have been a field agent for the CIA. There is a test one can take at the Spy Museum in D.C. to see how good a spy one could be. Bob scored off the charts. Maybe he wasn’t an ophthalmologist after all…
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives: