Continuing resolutions kept the government open but Obama has now agreed that the short term resolutions need to end and a budget needs to pass. Obama has agreed to cuts in the budget but hasn’t agreed with Congress on what actual cuts would take place.

Looking deeper into the numbers raises questions that the unemployment rate may not be falling due to job creation but rather by changes in the labor force participation rate. Most years there are more people in the labor force as the population grows. From 2001 to 2008 there were about 10 million more people in the labor force. If those added 10 million weren’t able to find jobs the unemployment rate would have shot up sharply but during those years we saw high levels of job creation keeping the unemployment rate at what is considered a “full” rate of only 5 percent.

Over the last two years the Obama Labor Department is reporting that about a million less people are in the labor force and that the participation rate as a percent is down by a large 1.5 percent (seasonally adjusted). The participation rate is reported to have fallen to a 64.2 percent which is the lowest rate since 1984. If the labor force was to remain the same the last two years unemployment rates would be higher at about 9.5 percent. When including the rising population in the participation rate over the last two years the unemployment rate would be near 10.5 percent.

There are many reasons there could be less people in the labor force the last two years not including any changes in the way the survey questions people. When people can’t find work many give up looking due to being discouraged that they can find work. These people are no longer counted in the labor force. Some may find a part time job to make some money until they find a full time job. While they have a part time job they would consider themselves unemployed because of lack of a full time job but they won’t be included in the unemployment rate. The last few years there has been a major disruption in the housing market with people losing their homes in foreclosure forcing people to move in with family or friends or even being homeless. Many of those losing their homes are unemployed but it’s difficult to find these displaced workers. It would be difficult to survey people by phone when they may no longer have the same phone numbers since they lost their home. These are people that are difficult to find effectively reducing the labor participation rate and the unemployment rates.

LNF Unemployment Rates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Judge Vinson excoriated the Obama Administration for not following his ruling striking down the Obamacare law. Judge Vinson said it was not expected “that they would effectively ignore the order and declaratory judgment for two and one half weeks, continue to implement the act, and only then file a belated motion to clarify.”

If the Obama Administration doesn’t get a stay of Judge Vinson’s ruling the Obama Administration would have to stop implementing the healthcare law.

Obama stopped domestic oil production in the Gulf of Mexico after the oil spill effectively hindering major U.S. production for many months or years. Oil drilling platforms moved to foreign ocean drilling sites making it difficult to get production going again for many months at best. Obama is planning to end his moratorium on drilling in the Gulf even though a U.S. judge already ruled the Obama drilling ban illegal.

Reports of rebel forces in a battle with Qaddafi’s loyal troops over an oil port enforced the view that oil would be cut off to a slow trickle from Libya. The barrel of oil for West Texas Intermediate crude, a high grade oil, traded at $102.

Oil hit $100 dollars a barrel as worries about the Middle East continue to threaten oil supplies. Reports that Saudi Arabia sent tanks to support Bahrain allies as opposition protests; and fear of the unrest spreading there sent Saudi Arabia’s market down 7%. Unrest continues or grows in many Middle East countries. Higher oil prices make fuel and food more expensive and threatening to anger more people and riots spreading.

Inflation worries of the high oil price and the Middle East violence helped push gold to a record high of $1434 an ounce. Silver reached a 31 year high reaching $34.72. Concern about how inflation will effect the U.S. dollar has led to higher precious metal prices as a hedge or to speculate and profit from rising prices. Gold and silver are increasingly becoming the store of wealth where investors buy to protect their money while the U.S. dollar loses it’s safe haven status it had for decades.

The greatest worry now is Libya which produces 1.6 million barrels a day. Libya supplies Europe of high grade crude that effects the price more than lower grade crude would. Qaddafi and his son Saif al Islam, are increasingly isolated in the nations capital of Tripoli while opposition forces have taken a large part of the eastern part of the country and oil producing areas. Qaddafi’s supporters have attacked protesters and becoming armed. As Libya descends into a civil war, it’s oil supplies are likely to be sharply reduced and some of the oil infrastructure including oil wells and pipelines can be damaged. Oil supplies can very well be disrupted from Libya for many years.

Unrest has spread to other Middle East nations such as Bahrain threatening more oil supply disruptions. The biggest fear is if violence spreads to Saudi Arabia that produces near 9 million barrels of oil a day. With civil war in Libya and possible disruptions of oil supplies from more countries as well as the weak US dollar it is expected that gasoline prices to reach $4 by the end of the year or in the summer. Prices are currently averaging over $3.25 nationally but in some higher taxed states like Chicago and other cities prices are already near $4 a gallon.

Many people remember this speech, especially those union members who voted for Barack Obama to become their president. And knowing this, they are expecting him to grab his comfortable shoes and show up at the demonstration called “The Rally to Save the American Dream,” to be held at the steps of the Wisconsin State House, that is being sponsored by Moveon.org.

Moveon.org wants demonstrators to wear the Wisconsin Badger colors, red and white, to show solidarity. And of course, wear comfortable shoes.

But the one person absent from this moment of solidarity will be none other than the President of the United States, the one who said he’d stand with union members. Why would he make supporting unions his battle cry while campaigning, yet when it came time to putting those shoes on, he would stay home at Pennsylvania Avenue?

The reason is Obama can’t be in Wisconsin with union members or with Moveon.org knowing that his own federal employees don’t even have collective bargaining rights that the unions in Wisconsin are striving to keep. And he can thank former President Jimmy Carter for that.

Jimmy Carter signed the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978  that limited the scope of collective bargaining rights to “ personnel employment practices only. Basic working conditions such as wages, hours of work, and employee benefits are instead subject to statutory provisions.” Under the Civil Service Reform Act,  federal employees are also not allowed the right to strike. Even picketing, for federal employees, is limited to “informational picketing” only.

Due to knowing the limitations placed on Federal employees, there is no possibility of Obama putting on his comfortable shoes and joining the Wisconsin union members in their protest against Governor Scott Walker and the Republican legislature without looking hypocritical.

We are all aware of the high unemployment rate that teeters on over 9% and depending on what state one lives, they could be even higher. But those numbers don’t include young people who are not collecting unemployment but are still looking for employment, be it part time or full time.

Today, the young people in Massachusetts decided to let their voice be heard. Several hundred young people took to the streets of Massachusetts with their homemade signs and marched to the state capitol.

The young people represented youth of all races and nationalities. And the constant cry was, “What do you want? JOBS!  When do you want it? NOW!” And they continued chanting as they marched down the streets with a police escort.

Unlike some protesters you’ve seen demonstrating across the country, this group remained civil at all times. They marched orderly, obeying the police officers at the cross roads and didn’t throw trash nor use any vulgarity.

The unemployment for adults across America is about 9% but among the youth, the rate skyrockets to 27.1% with the rate for the African-American youths bounding to 50.4%. But you won’t see them listed with the adult population since they cannot collect unemployment checks.

Yet these are the same people that families are starting to rely on because of their own employment status, but the young people have it even worse. What jobs there are, are being given to the adults who are willing to take minimum wage jobs as well as illegals.

The result is not only that these young people can’t afford items which they did at one time, when their parents were working, but it’s creating an environment where they’re getting into more trouble. Some times they are stealing out of need, but also stealing out of not having anything to do.

Some of the young people are single parents who need to take care of family responsibilities. Yet even they cannot even find a job at a local fast food restaurant. This is forcing more people to end up on the welfare rolls.

So now America’s young people are wanting the government to hear their plight. This group of about 200 well behaved young people organized themselves so that they might be heard.

On September 9th of last year, Vice President Joe Biden got in front of the TV and promoted the Stimulus Package’s first federal loan guarantee and it was in the amount of $535 million dollars to Solyndra. The money was supposed to create 3,000 construction jobs so new facilities could be constructed and once built 1,000 full-time positions in the modern plant making photovoltaic solar panels.

The Obama administration thought Solyndra was going to be  the poster child of  the Stimulus package that the president even went to the new plant location in order to hail his decision..

The president said the facility was “leading the way to a brighter and more prosperous future” and the plant was “a testament to American ingenuity and the best workers in the world.

But then the day after the November elections, Solyndra announced that not only wasn’t he going to be creating those 1,000 jobs he initially stated, but he also was closing one of his factories, but he also was laying off 175 employees. Thus leaving the tax payers holding the bag for 3/4 of the loan in the amount of  $390 million.

It was at that point the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Oversight Subcommittee decided to investigate Solyndra. Fred Upton and Cliff Stearns, chairmen of the subcommittee discovered that since 2005, Solyndra had never made a profit and even their own internal auditors had raised questions as to why the company even was considered for the loan.

Last week Upton and Stearns wrote Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The Republicans said:

While we understand the purpose of the Loan Guarantee Program is to help private companies engaging in clean energy products to obtain financing by providing loan guarantees, subsequent events raise questions if Solyndra was the right candidate to receive a loan guarantee in excess of half a billion dollars.

It might be worth mentioning that the owner of Solyndra is George Kaiser, an Oklahoma billionaire. He was also a bundler, a major fundraiser, for the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

MONTH                             UNEMPLOYMENT RATE                                 JOBS LOST/GAINED

January 2010                       9.7%                                                                       -20,000

Februaty 2010                     9.7%                                                                       -36,000

March 2010                          9.7%                                                                       +162,000

April 2010                             9.9%                                                                       +290,000

May 2010                              9.7%                                                                       +41,000

June 2010                             9.5%                                                                       -125,000

July 2010                               9.5%                                                                       -66,000

August 2010                          9.6%                                                                        -57,000

September 2010                  9.6%                                                                        -95,000

October 2010                        9.6%                                                                        +159,000

November 2010                    9.8%                                                                         +39,000

December 2010                     9.4%                                                                         +103,000

January 2011                        9.0%                                                                          +36,000

In viewing the chart above, it appears as if the only industry with serious job gains for 2010 was the government sector.