John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, proves how little he knows about the economy every time he opens his mouth on the economy. Consider the add embedded in this post in light of this story from The New York Times:
About 62,000 jobs disappeared in June, the government reported Friday, the sixth consecutive month that payrolls have declined, as businesses rushed to lay off workers amid the worst economic climate in a generation.
And as job losses mount, even those still on payrolls have felt the pain: employers are putting hours for their full-time employees and shrinking salaries, just as workers face record-high prices for gasoline and food.
The unemployment rate stayed steady in June at 5.5 percent, the highest level in four years. The elevated figure dispelled speculation among some economists that last month’s half-percentage point jump, the biggest monthly spike in 22 years, was a statistical anomaly.
Indeed, employers have been steadily shedding jobs for the last three months. Businesses cut 52,000 more workers in May and April than the government first thought, the Labor Department said, casting aside initial estimates that suggested some deceleration.
In the last 12 months, the economy had seen a net gain of only 15,000 jobs, the lowest net increase since November 2003.
In the last 50 years, the economy has entered a recession every time jobs have dropped for six consecutive months.
And most Americans who are still employed earned less money in June than they did a year ago. Wages, which have been steadily shrinking in recent months, took a sharp hit last month, growing at the slowest pace since September 2005.
Among rank-and-file workers, who make up the majority of the nation’s work force, weekly paychecks have grown 2.8 percent in the last 12 months. That was down from 3.2 percent in May and well below the rate of inflation.
Average hourly earnings grew 3.4 percent, the slowest pace since the start of 2006.
McCain’s response to the report — boilerplate Republican nonsense — is equally as illuminating:
“At a time when our small businesses need support from Washington, we cannot raise taxes, increase regulation and isolate ourselves from foreign markets,” Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate, said in a statement. He called for tax relief, job creation, and investment in innovation.
So, workers are hurting so we’ll … help … business…..? And while he speaks of small business, we all know that the businesses most likely to benefit will not be so small.
Hank Kalet 