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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | The Conservative Ideas That Could Solve Chronic Unemployment
If the president embraces some conservative solutions and Republicans want to do anything other than repeal Obamacare, they could agree on a jobs package.
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Climbed More Than Forecast Last Week
Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose more than forecast last week to the highest level in more than a month, partly reversing a post-holiday slump.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Obama's Federal Wage Hike Will Hurt Taxpayers and the Poor
Just hours before delivering his annual State of the Union address, President Obama signed an executive order increasing the minimum wage paid by federal contractors from $7.25 to $10.10. The order affects wages paid under any new or renewed contracts.
Washington Times | Not ‘hope and change,’ but real jobs in oil patch
As a whole, America’s job numbers are appalling. At least 12.6 million people have dropped out of the work force. Millions of Americans who had a job when George W. Bush was president don’t have one now. Future job prospects look abysmal, clear across the demographics — men, women, teens, minorities, recent graduates and seniors.
Forbes | Whip Unemployment Now! Obama's New Gambit Worthy of President Ford
In his Jan. 28 State of the Union speech, President Obama proved again that his grasp of economics is on a par with that of a not-particularly attentive student taking his first course in the subject. Obama repeated the economic urban legend that women are underpaid, restated his idea to saw off the bottom rung of the economic ladder by raising the minimum wage, and tasked Joe Biden with fixing American job training.
AEI | An Obama policy the tea party should love
In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Obama put forth at least one initiative that is useful, should arouse bipartisan support and deserves to be taken much further than he suggested. I am talking about his plan to force federal contractors to pay workers a minimum of $10.10 per hour, instead of the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
CATO | Minimum Wage Laws Kill Jobs
There are seven European Union (EU) countries with no minimum wage (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden). If we compare the levels of unemployment in these countries with EU countries that impose a minimum wage, the results are clear – a minimum wage leads to higher levels of unemployment.