Billmon on jobs and the economy

Because Billmon can, and I can't.

Last year, the Bush administration was looking for the creation of about 1.7 million jobs. But the economy actually lost 53,000 jobs, bringing the total number of jobs lost since Bush took office to 2.2 million.

I thought it might be helpful to take a closer look at just how accurate the White House's employment predictions have been over the past few years -- just to give you a better sense of how ridiculous it is for the media to be giving such credence to the Council of Economic Advisors' latest fantasy.



The hallmark of the Bush CEA...has been a stubborn optimism, one not easily influenced by somber facts. In fact last year's forecast was only slightly less unworldly than the 2002 job projections -- even though by the end of 2002 it was obvious something was very amiss in the labor market.

The reason, of course, was the continuous need to justify those lavish tax cuts for the wealthy. The payoff for that supply-side pork roll was supposed to be jobs, jobs jobs -- 1.4 million from the 2003 tax-cut bonanza alone. And, according to the Council of Economic Lackeys, those additional jobs were supposed to show up soon -- by the end of 2004, in the case of last year's dose of snake oil.

This, however, is going to require a truly heroic effort on the economy's part, considering that as of the end of last year, payrolls were 2.6 million jobs short of the administration's 2003 forecast, and 5.3 million shy of the 2002 forecast.

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[A]s a bubble of rationality in an environment as loaded with political pathology and ambition as is your average White House, the CEA has (had) a certain credibility, and integrity -- which at times has helped keep some really dangerous political animals from completely taking over the zoo.

I covered the CEA as an economic journalist, and I always appreciated the things that made it different from most government agencies. CEA members and staff were (usually) among the very few White House officials I found it interesting to interview, because they were (usually) among the few willing to engage in an actual conversation -- as opposed to simply regurgitating political talking points filled with praise for their glorious leader.

That's why it's such a shame to see the Mayberry Machiavellis systematically reduce the CEA to the same intellectual level as a Bangkok whorehouse. It just makes you wonder: Is there anything these people won't corrupt?

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