The solution to a problem shouldn’t make the problem worse.
But apparently, California’s policy makers missed that memo.
On April 1st, the state instituted a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, the highest in the US. With California’s absurdly high cost of living, the policy appeared to make life more manageable for low-income residents. Unfortunately, as the adage goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” California’s new minimum wage is poised to hurt the same fast-food workers it aims to help.
According to the latest non-farm payroll report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the US economy added 199,000 new jobs in November and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7%. This was widely viewed as a “strong” jobs report. According to one mainstream analyst, the November employment data “portrays an economy that is easing toward a soft landing and is not on the brink of a recession.”
Peter Schiff wasn’t as impressed. He called it “just another hyped-up jobs report.”
President Biden keeps saying the economy is great. Fed officials say the economy is expanding at a “strong pace.”
Peter Schiff isn’t buying the narrative.
He says we may already be in a recession and he made a strong case in his podcast.
I’ve been saying that the government job numbers seem wonky. Looking at the monthly revisions bears this out. Every month this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has revised the nonfarm payroll numbers from previous months lower.
If you have any skepticism of government narratives at all, you have to question last week’s non-farm payroll report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given the number of layoffs and the general slowing of the economy, the notion that 517,000 jobs were created in January just doesn’t make sense.
Turns out that your skepticism is warranted.
Why is there a labor shortage in the US?
In a nutshell, a lot of people have simply dropped out of the labor market. They’re not working.
But why?
Mark Twain once said there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. The government excels in all three. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey digs into the recent jobs data. He reveals that the numbers just don’t add up and explains why the labor market might not be as awesome as the mainstream keeps telling you. He also talks about the newest data on central bank gold buying.
On the surface, some of the economic data that came out this week seemed to indicate that the economy is in better shape than the bears believe. In his podcast, Peter Schiff dug into consumer confidence and labor market data. He concluded that the strong economy narrative is greatly exaggerated. In fact, the data reveals a dysfunctional economy.
The July non-farm payroll report came out much stronger than anticipated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added 528,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%. The narrative was that this blockbuster employment report proves that we’re not in a recession.
In his podcast, Peter Schiff broke down the data and reveals the truth behind the “strong job market” hype.
Despite back-to-back contractions in GDP, President Joe Biden, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and all of their supporters in the corporate media insist the US economy isn’t in a recession. But the only data they ever point to in order to back up their assertion is the “strong” labor market.
The problem with this spin is the labor market is a lagging indicator and it’s starting to show cracks.
