XPost: alt.global.warming, soc.culture.indian   
   From: Coopere@nobody.com   
      
   Obama economy: 8.7 million jobs (lazy rightists refuse to work)   
      
   The U.S. economy is humming again.   
   October was a month of strong jobs gains. Since President Obama   
   took office, the economy has added 8.7 million jobs. On many   
   fronts, there's a lot to cheer. More people are getting back to   
   work. Gas prices are extremely low. The stock market is back   
   near its all-time highs. Home prices have rebounded in most   
   parts of the country. Even wages and consumer spending are   
   finally starting to show signs of a pickup. Unemployment is now   
   down to 5% -- a healthy level that the U.S. hasn't seen since   
   before the financial crisis of 2008. A stronger economy is a   
   problem for Republicans "With low unemployment and rising   
   wages, the Republicans' job gets a lot harder," says Doug   
   Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and a   
   former economic adviser to John McCain's presidential campaign.   
   Of course, there are still challenges. Economic growth is good,   
   but not great. The U.S. has been expanding at about 2% a year.   
   That's a lot slower than the usual growth of 3% that America   
   has averaged over the past several decades. "We've been   
   recovering at 2.2%. The question is will we see something that   
   is faster?" says economist Holtz-Eakin. He adds that Friday's   
   strong jobs report "is promising but is by no means definitive"   
   that growth will pick up. Related: U.S. sees its best wage   
   growth in 6 years Obama economy is picking up   
    Home sellers see biggest gains in eight years   
   Home sellers see biggest gains in eight years   
   But overall, it's getting harder to poke holes in the Obama   
   economy. "Republicans -- or Bernie Sanders, for that matter --   
   can no longer credibly claim that the economy is terrible,"   
   says Greg Valliere, chief global strategist at Horizon   
   Investments. Employment in America hit a low in December 2009   
   -- toward the end of Obama's first year in office. Since then   
   the economy has actually gained nearly 13 million jobs. One of   
   the sticking points in the Obama economy was too many people   
   who wanted full-time jobs had to settle for part-time work.   
   There were concerns that the Affordable Care Act would cause   
   employers to keep workers part-time so they wouldn't have to   
   pay health care benefits. So far, the evidence isn't showing   
   that. In the past year, 1.2 million Americans have been able to   
   transition from part-time to full-time work, an encouraging   
   sign. The other frequent criticism is that so few Americans are   
   working at all. The so-called labor force participation rate is   
   at the lowest level since 1977. Some of that is because Baby   
   Boomers started to retire and younger Americans are studying   
   for more degrees. But that is a cultural shift.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)