Friday, August 15, 2008

Since All Politics is Local...

  • Illinois employers eliminated a total of 9,700 jobs statewide during the month of July, state officials said today, pushing the Illinois unemployment rate leaped from 6.8 percent to 7.3 percent -- the state's highest jobless level in almost 15 years.

    The national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent.
Gee, one of the top tax rates in the nation, and businesses don't want to open here, locate here or do business here. Who'd have thunk it?

Some more amusing stats:
  • The hardest-hit sector in July was the "professional and business services" group, which shed 3,200 jobs, falling to 876,800.

    Trade, transportation and utilities employment dropped by 2,000 to 1,219,200; and construction employment dropped 1,100 to 260,900.

    Illinois lost 2,200 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector, where employment dropped to 530,200.
As a happy side note though, Todd Stroger's family, extended family, play family and assorted hangers-on achieved 117% full employment - the extra 17% comes from all the double-dipping Toddler's been handing out.

Labels:

39 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.



GOP= selling out the country

8/15/2008 03:23:00 AM  
Blogger JK189 said...

OFF TOPIC. I was hoping SCC could put the word out to our CPD members and other readers. My 20 year old son who is a U. S. Marine, just went back to Iraq for the second time. He calls when he can. The big scam over there is AT&T selling their prepaid phone cards to our Military. They pay $18.00 for a 300 minute card. However the phone company whacks them with a surcharge of 220 minutes for using the card over there. They end up with 80 minutes to call home. Does this sound like a scam? Maybe if enough people call AT&T they will decrease the surcharge. Thanks for looking at this....

8/15/2008 05:28:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.



GOP= selling out the country

8/15/2008 03:23:00 AM

osama "barry" obama= more free handouts, more illegals, more taxes ok asshole?

8/15/2008 06:44:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ya'll just pickin on us minorities. Its our turn to milk the cash cow that you white folks been doing for centuries.

8/15/2008 07:18:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does this sound like a scam?


This does sound like a scam, although I'm sure AT&T is going to say "Well, it's all there in the fine print." Which most people never bother to read.

Shame on AT&T for doing this. They know that our young men and women see these cards as a great deal to keep in touch with their families and other loved ones at home in the U.S. They're taking advantage of it.

8/15/2008 08:14:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe if enough people call AT&T they will decrease the surcharge.

------------
Randall L. Stephenson, CEO
AT&T, Inc.
175 E. Houston
San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 821-4105

8/15/2008 08:40:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.



GOP= selling out the country

8/15/2008 03:23:00 AM

AAAhhh Hello? The NAFTA agreement was actually pushed through by a DEMOCRAT! Thank Clinton for finalizing the deal.
But in reality politicians (Democrat and Republican) have been selling out the American public for a long time.
Maybe there is a reason why they want our guns? The real reason for the second amendment is protect the citizen against a teranical government. I think it's time "we the people" stand up and take notice.
It's sad to think that these two candidates are all either party can come up with. But I'd still vote for McCain over the pre-schooler Obama. We need experience in the office not someone with pipe dreams and more taxes for a platform.

8/15/2008 09:02:00 AM  
Blogger leomemorial said...

I work for a corporate financial institution. We were bought by another company therefore we're all losing our jobs by October.

8/15/2008 09:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can anyone even name what Obama's supposed "change" entails? All I see are more taxes to give handouts to blacks and other minorities who don't want to work. They disgrace the ones that actually do support themselves.

8/15/2008 09:30:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Illinois is getting to look like New Jersey. Everything is run down. Pot holes all over the place, faded and missing highway signs, weeds, garbage and roadkill on the shoulders, ramshackle housing, boarded up businesses and no place to use the bathroom along the Turnpike. In Chicago, it seems like half the population is on Probation and the other half is yelling "Street-Wise." Our tax money that should be used to repair our infrastructure, goes to Chicago State University for million dollar copy machine contracts for Emil Jones cronies.

8/15/2008 09:40:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.



GOP= selling out the country

8/15/2008 03:23:00 AM

Lets dissect this. It was Clinton who pushed for and signed NAFTA, which sent our jobs south of the border. Its Blago and the Demo-rats that control Illinois where taxes are so high that industry leaves for greener pastures. Its the greedy unions who out-price themselves so business owners go to foreign countries or use illegals for the jobs. These unions vote for who????? Demo-rats overwhelmingly. Now before you go off on me, unions do serve a purpose, but its my belief that they have gotten out of control with demands. Lets not forget the fine county run by Stroger family and all the taxes, graft, nepotism, cronyism, and corruption. They are all what? Demo-rats! What about the Daly Kingdom? DEMO-RAT!!!!!!!!!

Bush only has an approval rating in the 30% range, but the Demo-rat controlled Congress' rating is 9%, the lowest in history.

Vote Obama the Messiah and vote for higher taxes, more jobs leaving the country, more handouts and publicly funded programs for people who don't want to work, continued dependence on foreign oil (Clinton vetoed a bill for offshore drilling saying that it wouldn't be on line for 10yrs. Wouldn't it be nice to have that oil now???????), and an administration the terrorists will not fear (do you notice that the terrorists are in hiding now? They will be coming out if Obama gets elected).

8/15/2008 10:04:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.

8/15/2008 03:23:00 AM

Is Obama your favorite little "rock star" and will he save us all? Look, stupid, if you knew anything about economics you would know that politicians do not "allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country." How do you stop them? By passing laws making them stay here? You dumocrats - a bunch of mouthbreathers in love with obama - another nitwit like Blago and Richie.

You ATTRACT and KEEP good paying jobs by lowering your tax rates, passing reasonable workers comp laws, creating enterprise zones, reducing crime, and educating the population. But THAT'S NOT HAPPENING IN ILLINOIS OR CHICAGO! Now go get your "Cease Fire" sign and stand in line with the reverends!

8/15/2008 10:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

said... OFF TOPIC. I was hoping SCC could put the word out to our CPD members and other readers. My 20 year old son who is a U. S. Marine, just went back to Iraq for the second time. He calls when he can. The big scam over there is AT&T selling their prepaid phone cards to our Military. They pay $18.00 for a 300 minute card-----------------------------------As an iraq vet. i know and understand where you are coming from. There is a website WWW.viapin.com where you can purchase cheap phone cards. A $10 card would give you 2hrs talk time with no connection fee.

8/15/2008 10:27:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey anti-McCain dope, go fuck yourself and the camel you rode in on.

Civilian Republican

8/15/2008 10:43:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

vote obama!!

8/15/2008 11:40:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.

Why don't you go live in Venezuela where more and more industries are being nationalized. Then you can feel the pain that it is to be a government employee!

You bleeding heart liberals are always worried about the plight of the poor in the underveloped third world. Even Bono aknowledged the fact that Bush has helped Africa more than any other president. Private industry has created opportunities for many in poor areas, not by handing out money but by putting people to work.

It is a fact that Capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than any government handout program ever will. Private enterprise creates more wealth and opportunities across the globe not just here in the US. You obviously don't understand the first thing about economics. Millions of jobs have been added to this economy since the Bush tax cuts. Even after the recent job losses, the US still has the lowest unemployment rate in the developed world.

8/15/2008 11:51:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suppose it's Bushs' fault the House and Senate are in control of the dummycrats and things never seem to get done. How do you explain that? I think the country has gone to shit with the dumbocrats in charge. Think of how things will change when the pseudo American is sitting at the helm? Higher taxes to the middle class to pay for social programs for the people who refuse to work for a living. Hell, we're in America and you should be able to stay home and drink Ripple, watch a plasma and collect a check. Isn't America a great place to live? No wonder every foreigner longs to be here...

8/15/2008 12:20:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its Bush and the "free traders" that allow good paying jobs to leave the state and country. Trickle down economics DOES NOT WORK! You stupid right wingers out there go ahead and vote for mccain and just wait and see how much worse the economy gets. you idiots who support mccain better not say one f'in word when the economy gets worse.
___________________________________
What an idiot! The Democrats run Illinois, Cook County and Chicago. Not Bush. Keep drinking that Kool-Aid!

8/15/2008 12:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PO said...
OFF TOPIC. I was hoping SCC could put the word out to our CPD members and other readers. My 20 year old son who is a U. S. Marine, just went back to Iraq for the second time. He calls when he can. The big scam over there is AT&T selling their prepaid phone cards to our Military. They pay $18.00 for a 300 minute card. However the phone company whacks them with a surcharge of 220 minutes for using the card over there. They end up with 80 minutes to call home. Does this sound like a scam? Maybe if enough people call AT&T they will decrease the surcharge. Thanks for looking at this....

8/15/2008 05:28:00 AM

Those AT&T phone cards are the worst,they are promoted by the military and that BS has been going on for years. Tell your son to obtain a local phone card if he can and he will get a much better rate. Fuck AT&T

8/15/2008 12:56:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good government is good service, good service is good politics.

8/15/2008 01:45:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OSWEGO STATE REP. TOM CROSS FOR GOV.
THE GOP STILL ROCKS.

8/15/2008 02:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OFF TOPIC. I was hoping SCC could put the word out to our CPD members and other readers. My 20 year old son who is a U. S. Marine, just went back to Iraq for the second time. He calls when he can. The big scam over there is AT&T selling their prepaid phone cards to our Military. They pay $18.00 for a 300 minute card. However the phone company whacks them with a surcharge of 220 minutes for using the card over there. They end up with 80 minutes to call home. Does this sound like a scam? Maybe if enough people call AT&T they will decrease the surcharge. Thanks for looking at this....

8/15/2008 05:28:00 AM

My son is at an Army FOB near Baghdad. It's so dry there now that the dust (sand) kicks up and it's in his crotch and armpits by the time he walks 100 yards. Most of the time he's got to wear a bandanna over his face and goggles. Then it mixes with the sweat from walking in the hundred-plus heat. When he calls us, he calls on phones provided by the Army (and the taxpayers) on lines installed and maintained by the Army, using commo equipment provided and maintained by the Army, and the signals bounce off satellites launched by NASA (again the taxpayers.) But he has to use a phone card from AT&T who charges him two units for every one minute, and if it goes over, they cut him off without a warning. Talk about a scam - these phone companies have been screwing the public for decades - now they're enjoying the huge profits from the Iraq/Afghanistan deployments. Scumbag war profiteers.

God bless and protect your son. He's in our prayers with all the others over there.

8/15/2008 04:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Republicans=Fiscal Conservative
http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/greenberg/qqxsgFiscalConservative.jpg

8/15/2008 05:04:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OFF TOPIC. I was hoping SCC could put the word out to our CPD members and other readers. My 20 year old son who is a U. S. Marine, just went back to Iraq for the second time. He calls when he can. The big scam over there is AT&T selling their prepaid phone cards to our Military. They pay $18.00 for a 300 minute card. However the phone company whacks them with a surcharge of 220 minutes for using the card over there. They end up with 80 minutes to call home. Does this sound like a scam? Maybe if enough people call AT&T they will decrease the surcharge. Thanks for looking at this....

8/15/2008 05:28:00 AM

It's true. They stick it to the servicemen. Tell the kid to use the spawar phones at MWR when he can or get a haj phone.

8/15/2008 05:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's great that the city is so quick to lay off people who work for a living but they wouldn't dare think of cutting back on free housing, medical, and link cards to people who have never worked a day in their life. It's nice to know that we, the workers, rate way below pookie and the ghetto kids.

8/15/2008 06:53:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

N O-bama!!!!

8/15/2008 09:33:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

40 yrs ago while in Vietnam we used a thing called the post office. Granted we did get free postage. Nearest thing to a phone that I saw was hanging off the RTO back.

8/15/2008 09:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't blame Bush and the "free traders"

Look back on your history: It was the dumbocratic Congress under President William Jefferson "I-Did-Not-Have-Sex-With-That-Woman" Clinton that pushed thru and signed NAFTA.

8/16/2008 12:00:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its the greedy unions who...

sign a contract at your current salary asshat maybe we have better negotiators frat boy.

8/16/2008 06:59:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

re 8/16/2008 12:00:00 AM



The proliferation of Democracy and Free Market Capitalism is a two edged sword, especially for those who fail to realize that, as in any form of competition, economic competition results in winners and losers.

Free Market Capitalism does not guarantee financial success for everyone, nor does it guarantee the best goods and services at the least possible cost.

What it does guarantee is competition.

The nature of that competition is what has become painfully clear to many who have enjoyed, for some time, the absence of same.

Consider the nature of those that now labor to produce goods and services in countries formerly not participants in the world markets.

Our nation has, in the past, enjoyed the absence, from the world markets, of a large percentage of this planet's human population's work products.

We are now experiencing the early formations of a world economy, and we are no longer at it's center.

What we, as a nation, choose to do about it will determine whether we, as a nation, survive and prosper or diminish and fall into that deep, dark hole of becoming a complete debtor nation.

Those who believe that America does not need authentic patriotism, sincere loyalty and vibrant leadership dedicated to aggressively pursuing our nation's interests are fooling themselves into believing we can remain a free and prosperous nation by sitting on our asses and enjoying what is soon to become our former prosperity.

Daley and his ilk exemplify the mentality of those who think that the gravy train can not be derailed.

It doesn't have to be derailed to be halted, it need only run out of fuel.

And it is.

8/16/2008 03:53:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Capitalism is great. However, if you move your company overseas your products should be treated the same as products from any other foreign nation. Stop believing that the republicans will always take the best interest of Americans at heart first before they make a decision.

8/16/2008 04:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What we, as a nation, choose to do about it will determine whether we, as a nation, survive and prosper or diminish and fall into that deep, dark hole of becoming a complete debtor nation.

______________

If Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae go down (both have many foreign investors), and there are many, many people in the mortgage industry that think they might, our entire country will collapse. While Bush has pledged a bail out, people in the know are saying the bottom may be so deep it will be unsalvagable.

8/16/2008 07:22:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Barack Obama Bin-Laden says---

I am sick of you infidels calling me the "Messiah". That is a Judeo-Christian term that turns my stomach. I am the Al-Mahdi, who will carry the flag of Islam throughout the world.

My comrades in arms are in hiding right now, but shortly after my coronation as Califate of the Islamic States of America, they will come out and help me complete the jihad. It is the will of Allah.

Change you better belive in.

8/17/2008 08:05:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"While Bush has pledged a bail out, people in the know are saying the bottom may be so deep it will be unsalvagable.

8/16/2008 07:22:00 PM"



What might happen if:


1. An assessment is made of all debt owed by American citizens into two categories:

debt held by 'friendly' foreign entities and debt held by 'unfriendly' foreign entities.

2. Debt held by friendly foreign entities will be honored, though subject to negotiated restructuring.

3. Debt held by unfriendly foreign entities will be declared null and void, ie., not going to be paid, ever, with the option offered to said unfriendly foreign entities to settle for pennies on the dollar.

4. Depending upon the nature of what real assets secure said debt, might this be the solution to the possibility of the catastrophic economic effects looming on our horizon?

5. The power inherent in being indebted is the leverage possessed by the debtor to refuse to pay.

Debt secured by assets less valuable than the amount owed puts the debt holder in a position of weakness, not strength.

6. Should the debtor refuse to relinquish the assets that secure the debt owed, whatever their present value, or lack thereof, and, should there be no force capable, or willing, to compel said relinquishment, what can the holder of said debt do, other than settle for less or get nothing?

7. And if the 'unfriendly' foreign debt holders depend upon the American debtors continuing to pay the interest on said debt, what might happen if said debtors suspended said payments, indefinitely?

8. What are the means, methods and causes of the value of our unit of economic means of exchange, ie., the dollar, being defined by 'unfriendly' foreign entities?

9. What strategies have 'unfriendly' foreign entities been using to undermine the strength and value of our economic unit of exchange?

10. Why would the vast majority of American citizens accept the financial burdens that said undermining foreign strategies have imposed upon them?

11. Why have Americans accepted being economic pawns in the world markets?


Have Americans become so ignorant of the realities of life, that they cannot recognize when, and by whom, they are being led to slaughter?

8/17/2008 01:53:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

8/17/2008 01:53:00 PM

Ok, I really should not have read this thread before I had my coffee.

8/18/2008 10:52:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have Americans become so ignorant of the realities of life, that they cannot recognize when, and by whom, they are being led to slaughter?

8/17/2008 01:53:00 PM

See, shit like this is the reason I pay my credit card in full EVERY month.

8/18/2008 10:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

8/17/2008 01:53:00 PM

Ok, let's see. So by holding our debt over their heads, we actually have them by the balls? Geez, I always knew that sooner or later I'd start to think like a shithead. Right, why pay those bills? Shiiiiit.

8/18/2008 11:07:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Ok, let's see. So by holding our debt over their heads, we actually have them by the balls?"


Ever loan someone money that you find, no matter what you say or do, you never get back?


Do you really think that the bankers are happy about getting stuck with all those less valuable than the balance of the loan properties the debtors of those loans are walking away from?


And do you really think that the principles are different, concerning the massive amounts of US citizen debt being held by unfriendly foreign entities?


Are these foreign entities going to foreclose on these properties and ship them back to their home countries?


Can these foreign entities compel US citizens to not file bankruptcy?


Will these foreign entities forcibly seize US citizen debtors and transport them back to the homeland, to work off their debt as slave labor?


How many foreign countries have had their debt, owed to US companies, and the US government, forgiven, solely on the basis of being 'unable' to pay, ever? And how much has that forgiven debt been, to date?


Which foreign countries have business entities holding the vast majority of US citizen debt?


What percentage of US citizens spend more each year than they earn, ie., must incur debt to enable said spending?


Will the Courts of these United States impose the civil laws of property and indebtedness upon US citizens, even if, or when, said imposition turns said citizens into economic slaves of foreign entities? Or have they done so already?


Drink several cups of coffee, you're gonna need to be wide awake.

8/19/2008 01:01:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Drink several cups of coffee, you're gonna need to be wide awake.

8/19/2008 01:01:00 AM

And obviously re-read the rules to Jeopardy!

You know they killed Socrates.

8/19/2008 07:01:00 PM  

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