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University of Maryland economist Peter Morici, Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal, WSJ economics reporter and Ben Casselman discuss jobs and the...
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And we are.
Ten and a half minutes exactly total -- From that jobs airport and we put together an all star panel of folks.
Joining us -- -- -- C a from the University of Maryland and economists there.
Also we're gonna have -- Steve -- coming up once he gets all situated down in Washington as well and they castle is back with us.
From the Wall Street Journal.
Peter how is it that this at this economy has been able to produce so few jobs and still have a stubbornly high unemployment rate.
Near 8% and we've had a -- that's -- record after record this week.
Well the Dallas hitting records -- -- inflation adjusted basis -- still as a way to go.
We've been creating jobs simply by not having productivity growth the greater growth in the economy's been very slow.
And so we we -- workers.
And you have to remember that the the SMP in that and the Dow you know that's the biggest companies.
And they've been able to trim their payrolls even as the rest of the economy is -- -- jobs increase profitability that way.
And they were also earning about 50% of their profits offshore AKA China that gives the market a big left finally Ben Bernanke but all that money.
And if you -- your your in Europe where would you put your money in Europe or the United States why did all those things are.
-- -- mean that's where I put my money.
-- -- all you know and that fifty is to me it as far as the notes I've read this morning that there is that the some positive.
That there's a lot of productivity heading into this report which can be dangerous for markets that are sitting.
And all time highs a lot of economists are calling for better than expected jobs growth -- state.
Well I I.
Think that will probably come in where we expected -- -- in which is -- about a 170000.
Which is a bit better than we have been doing lately.
And and that's good and I think that will be enough to sustain the -- for the weekend.
And into next week.
Ben front page -- your paper today firm sending a record amount of cash back to investors.
In order for it to get that unemployment rate down and to get the job growth and get to pick up steam that cash needs to be spent ultimately on hiring people rather than -- -- -- -- shareholder.
They need to see opportunities and and that's the question right now is is the demand in the economy there.
To say hey what you know we need to we need to make more products that we can sell -- so that we can hire people.
Eventually you get that virtuous circle when you start to see people get hired they have money in their pockets and they spend it.
We've seen a real divergence recently.
You know we we had a McDonald's numbers out earlier Wal-Mart has been saying they've been seeing trouble at the higher end people are spending right housing prices are up.
We got those big dividends in December stock market is doing great or not seeing that really hit the the broad mass of people -- more.
Also joining us from DC and Steve I you know I think that the big uncertainty heading into this report just a few minutes from now.
It's sequestration and how it -- that are expected overall businesses willingness to higher during.
We'll so far looks like it's been a net positive.
Just the opposite of what a lot of the economists on Wall Street and Washington were saying -- -- look at that we've got a 500 point increase in the Dow since this is -- took place I think actually businesses.
I have a kind of may be an minority viewpoint here but I always have that that actually the sequester going in places provide a private businesses with some confidence that maybe we can actually do something about this federal deficit.
-- saying that I really believe that I think government cutting government spending is good for the economy it's good for the market and so far we're seeing enough.
Given event also condemned big business is really care that is stable 'cause if you've got enters right they don't care how will -- how they get.
To be sub 2%.
Interest rate on a ten year treasury do they mean maybe it's the bad roads are -- -- interest rates are still low.
Our businesses really have their pants and -- not however then where -- deficit is right now.
Well whoever you make a good point I'm not Trent -- let me not overstate this I mean O Reilly point is that a lot of the economists who thought that sequester was going to be a disaster they've been at least so far proven wrong the markets.
Done very well we've had if you look at the unemployment -- insurance numbers.
They have been pretty good over the last couple weeks and so what I'm saying is the Armageddon didn't happen and I think what business wants is government -- -- stay out of the way and sequester helps do that.
Here I mean overall it sounds pretty optimistic but at the end of the day was still looking at the unemployment rate nearly at 8%.
And if we're talking about a 160000.
Jobs growth today -- we get that or slightly better he still not great numbers would you agree.
Well absolutely.
You know Ronald Reagan had a situation similar to Barack Obama his unemployment rate peaked at ten point 8%.
Mr.
Obama at ten in the economy -- lots of troubles but at this point in the recovery he was growing at better than 5% on average compared to mr.
Obama's senate.
You know it -- they get that kind the unemployment rate down to save 6% over three years.
We get that jobs growth in the range of 360000.
Jobs a month.
And we can't get that kind of growth and better during the Reagan years.
This economy simply not performing up to standards and I agree which they've -- That I think the market viewed it as a good thing that we had -- because what was the alternative.
Another deal -- mr.
Obama with another increase in taxes on capital gains wealthy folks and all the rest.
You know the market doesn't like mr.
Obama's solutions because they're all punitive in nature.
All right guys we're gonna have to cut everybody off there we're but -- that's because --
