An error occurred with the video embed. Today's jobs report wins a great big "meh." Unemployment remains at 8.2 percent, public sector hiring is flat, private sector jobs grew at an anemic rate. New York Times: The economy added 80,000 jobs
July 6, 2012

Today's jobs report wins a great big "meh." Unemployment remains at 8.2 percent, public sector hiring is flat, private sector jobs grew at an anemic rate. New York Times:

The economy added 80,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, after a revised increase of 77,000 in May. The unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent.

Economists are expecting tepid job growth for the rest of the year, too.

“This economy has no forward momentum and little help from monetary or fiscal policy,” Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis for the Conference Board, said. “As if that were not enough, ill winds are blowing in from both a contracting Europe and slowing growth in emerging markets. Also, domestic lawmakers’ inaction on the upcoming ‘fiscal cliff’ creates uncertainty that is not conducive to hiring.

That report was evidently too straightforward for the Fox & Friends gang, who desperately tried to make it into a terrible thing. Media Matters does a good job of debunking that, if you care.

As to the "uncertainty," one might look to Congress to take some serious action on that. After all, they've had the President's proposal for job creation for nearly a year. You remember the American Jobs Act, right? The one that proposed hiring teachers, firefighters and policemen, modernizing schools, expanding infrastructure?

That would be the same American Jobs Act Eric Cantor declared dead on arrival, because he and his merry band of extremist Congressmen are treasonous self-dealing dictatorial idiots.

The report gave Mitt Romney the opportunity to claim that the report was a "kick in the gut for the middle class," blaming it all on President Obama's policies while giving Congress a complete pass. The man who wants to be President should maybe study up on the separation of powers, and also what has been going on over the past couple of years.

Dave Weigel:

Amid all the verbs and gerunds expressing disappointment, Eric Cantor gives us a sort of heads-up about how Congress will respond.

In the coming weeks, the House will vote to stop the tax hike on working families and remove the red tape burdening small businesses to reduce uncertainty and make America more competitive.

What this means, functionally: The House will hold yet another vote on full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. It will pass, and die in the Senate. Tread carefully. After that vote, you don't want to be mobbed on the street by newly certainty-infused people offering you jobs.

Yes, that. Exactly. I'm certain there will be a thousand or more votes defunding Planned Parenthood and banning abortion too. Those are true job creators.

Here are the facts. There is uncertainty in the economy right now because on January 1, 2013 two things will happen. The sequester will take hold causing automatic cuts to defense spending and other programs, and the Bush tax cuts will expire.

At one point in time, it was reasonable to expect the Congress to take action on these items, because that is what responsible elected officials do. However, we currently have a Congress full of irresponsible Republican idealogues who value their pledge to Grover over their oath of office, so all bets are off for everyone but the cottage industry devoted to yet another repeal vote on the Affordable Care Act.

Digby has a great list of what this do-nothing merry band of idiots is doing to our economy. Bookmark it.

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