Monday, February 8, 2010

Unemployment drops, spending hits all time high

By Owen E Richason IV
Updated Feb 05, 10

Feb 5, 10:20 AM EST



Washington, DC—Bloomberg News is reporting that the national unemployment rate (U-3) fell from 10 percent down to 9.7 percent and while the U-6 rate (the measure of those unemployed, underemployed, or have stopped looking for work) fell from 17.3 percent to 16.5 percent according to the latest figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Meanwhile, federal spending sharply rose, with a proposed budget to increase outlays by $67.5 billion from 2011 to 2015. A raise in the national debt ceiling has also been passed by Congress, bringing the federal debt limit to $1.9 trillion or $6,500 per citizen, the largest debt carried in American history.

Following the debt limit increase, the Wall Street Journal is reporting Moody’s Investor Service has warned the United State’s AAA rating makes foreign debt investors nervous, possibly causing a future downgrade to AA rating.

Adding to unease about the strategy for climbing out of the recession is a growing government payroll, climbing from 2 million to 2.15 million employees through the 2010 calendar year. Most increases will occur on the bureaucracy side, totaling 153,000 new workers, increasing from 1,277,000 to 1,430,000.

As federal spending rises, polling falls. Real Clear Politics’ average for the direction of the country shows that 58.4 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and only 35.6 percent believe it is on the right track.