We might be turning the corner, but it seems it might be a wrong turn. Like, we accidentally turned right around.
Employers added just 32,000 jobs in July, a small fraction of what forecasters had expected and the smallest gain this year. The government also announced that job growth in May and June was less than initially estimated.
The New York Times' headline for this article was "Job Growth Grinds Nearly to Halt in July, Labor Dept. Reports" Pretty accurate, some might say a bit negative, but this is some pretty negative news.
A screenshot of CNN's front page coverage on this story:
Jeez, if you just glanced at that page, you really wouldn't get the idea that these were the worst job numbers of the year, would you? They're just "fodder for campaigns," by god! It's not really important what this says about the state of our economy, it's only important that the presidential candidates "offer different interpretations."
And the picture! Just a big ole' American flag, what could be better than that? Sure doesn't make me feel bad about the economy!
Bush is quoted as offering this encouragement, obviously noting the seriousness of this report: "I say we have a strong economy, and it's getting stronger."
Well, obviously. What was I thinking?
