JEC Employment Hearing May 6, 2011

VIDEO: Vice Chairman Brady Gives Opening Statement at JEC Hearing on the April Employment Report

Additional April 2011 Employment Hearing Resources:
Rep. Burgess Gives His Opening Statement at the JEC April Employment Hearing
Rep. Brady questions BLS Commissioner Hall on the jump in the April unemployment rate at JEC hearing
Rep. Burgess first round of questions at the JEC April Employment Report Hearing
Rep. Burgess questions Commissioner Hall on economic impact recent flooding in south on employment


Commissioner of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dr. Keith Hall's opening statement
Bureau of Labor Statistics Report on Employment Situation for April 2011

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Senate Republicans Plan to Block Consumer Bureau Nominee
U.S. Senate Republicans told President Barack Obama they will block any nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless Democrats agree to change the agency’s structure and funding.
Washington Times | FCC chief, GOP spar on ‘net neutrality’
Web-traffic rules called a federal power grab.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
AEI | Social Security Benefits in Context
The question is: To which countries do we look for context?
NRO | Amtrak: 40 Years, $40 Billion
For National Train Day, let’s look at the company’s financial failures.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
The Economist: Daily chart | Growing pains
ON MAY 3rd, the United Nations produced its two-yearly update of the world’s population, which includes projections. The numbers show small tweaks since 2008.
Cato@Liberty | Are Higher House Prices Better for the Real Estate Industry?
But if the price of a good increases, especially relative to income, it can increasingly become unaffordable, with the result that few sales take place. No sales, no commission income.

Reports                                                                                                                         
Heritage Foundation | Does Advocating Limited Government Mean Abandoning the Poor?
Government anti-poverty programs share the flawed assumption that poverty in America is primarily a material problem that can be solved by increased welfare and entitlement spending.
JEC | Japan after the Earthquake and the Tsunami
Disasters often give rise to fears of economic paralysis and misplaced blame, and so it is with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Mercatus Center | Canada's Reversed Fiscal Crisis
In the mid-1990s, Canada’s Liberal Party was in charge of the federal government and set out on a determined course to cut Canada’s federal deficit and to reduce the federal debt as a percent of the economy’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
Washington Times | GOP concedes Medicare vouchers unlikely to advance
Both sides hinted at movement, and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reported progress from an initial negotiating session.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Cato Institute | Paul Ryan's Medicaid Block Grants: Good for Maryland
What they mean is that they want to preserve the open-ended, perennial bailout that Medicaid has always offered.
Kaiser Health News | Yes, Cut Medicaid – It Won’t Be As Painful As You Think
The reality is that states could maintain or even expand their Medicaid programs under the GOP proposal because -- some critics seem to have forgotten this -- states do have the power to raise taxes.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
ThinkMarkets | Medicare Reform, RIP?
...what many voters refuse to understand is the unpleasant choice they inevitably face. Either cost-control by the consumers or cost-control (aka rationing) by the State. The issue is stark.

Reports                                                                                                                         
Heritage Foundation | Medicaid Provides Poor Quality Care: What the Research Shows
While targeted public assistance can work, Medicaid has become far too large and unwieldy to serve those who truly need it.

Taxes

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Jalopnik | Why Obama’s plan to tax cars by the mile is wrong
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that based on future fuel economy standards, paying for roads without any new fees would require gasoline taxes of $2.10 a gallon.
WSJ | The Tax-Me-More Lobby Doesn't Pay More
The same people who say they want to pay higher taxes don't bother to contribute more voluntarily.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
NRO: The Corner | Why Do We Have to Raise Taxes on the Rich?
Moreover, if you are obsessed with fine-tuning the ratio of contributions to government services for the rich, why not simply do the obvious and means-test more aggressively Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements (e.g., farm programs)?

Reports                                                                                                                         
JEC | Atlas Shrugs: The Diminishing Returns from Taxing the Rich
By taxing the rich, President Obama hopes to avoid politically difficult reductions in other government programs.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Restaurants Lift Prices as Inflation Hawks See Fed Behind Curve
Dining out will cost more this year as U.S. restaurants take advantage of the nearly two-year long expansion to boost prices on food and drinks.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
WSJ | Expect the Fed to Hum Same Old Tune
The Federal Reserve has an expectations problem.

Reports                                                                                                                         
JEC | Too Loose for Too Long: Has Price Inflation Already Set In
Once inflation is entrenched, the Fed must tighten more aggressively to control inflation.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | The Federal Reserve has an expectations problem.Pimco’s Gross Says U.S. Economic Growth Isn’t Enough to Sustain Job Market
Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest mutual fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said U.S. growth isn’t sufficient to support asset and labor markets nor enough to compensate for the nation’s growing debt level.
Reuters | UPDATE 1-Biden sees up to 200,000 new U.S. jobs next month
Vice President Joe Biden predicted on Friday the U.S. economy would create 100,000 to 200,000 jobs next month, with a rise to 250,000 to 500,000 jobs per month soon afterward, according to a press pool report.

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Obama trades away opportunity
Failure to ratify agreements costs American jobs.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Cato@Liberty | More Trade, More Jobs
The latest target of EPI’s flawed model is the North American Free Trade Agreement. Enacted in 1994, NAFTA has created a free trade zone comprising the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Without Jobs, U.S. Consumers Have No Strength
Don’t expect a turn in claims soon. In coming weeks, workers in the South left jobless by the tornadoes will file for benefits.
Calculated Risk | Employment Summary, Part Time Workers, and Unemployed over 26 Weeks
The number of workers only able to find part time jobs (or have had their hours cut for economic reasons) increased to 8.6 million in April from 8.43 million in March.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Why Did the Unemployment Rate Rise?
The household survey also includes workers that don’t show up in the establishment survey, like farmers, the self-employed and people who work without pay in the family store.

Budget

Econ Comments                                                                                                             
Washington Times | LAMBRO: Trillion-dollar Obama
President’s attempts to blame record deficits on Bush don’t add up.