Jobs

There are no jobs. Well, there are few jobs. There are a lot of jobs but they are all taken. New hires are rare. There is some part time work out there but that reminds me of the weed crews in Arkansas.

Bernanke praised farmers yesterday because commodities are selling and farmers are doing everything in their power to produce them. The ag economy is pretty decent compared to many others. Agriculture is the one bright spot in our country right now as it always is but the light is more on us right now.

Vilsack and Strickland were at a neighbor's farm Tuesday and E. Gordon Gee was at another's yesterday. The big boys are coming to the farm, watch out.

The job market is hard on the young people coming out of college and high school. It is hard on those who lost their job or those of us who are able to draw our pittance of retirement and still are able to work and everyone can always use a little extra money.

There are a rare few like my school superintendent friends who are drawing $100,000 a year in their retirement because they got their education, fought their way up the ranks and took the risk of running a school. I guess that is similar to risk of running a farm but the grass is always greener on the other side.

" Fed: Job Market Worst Since Depression, Economy's Outlook "Unusually Uncertain."

The New York Times (7/21, Chan, 1.09M) reports that according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, "the unemployment rate in the United States is likely to remain well above 7 percent through the end of 2012 and the duration of President Obama's current term, according to the Federal Reserve." In his "semiannual monetary policy report to Congress," Bernanke said that "it would take 'a significant amount of time' to restore the 8.5 million jobs lost in the United States in 2008 and 2009, and warned that 'the economic outlook remains unusually uncertain.'"

The Los Angeles Times (7/22, Lee, Hamilton, 776K) quotes Bernanke as saying, "This is the worst labor market, the worst episode, since the Great Depression. ... Not only for the sake of the unemployed and for the short-term strength of the economy but also for a long-term viability in international competitiveness, I think we need to be very seriously concerned." The Times notes, however, that "though Bernanke painted a bleak picture for the millions of jobless workers, he said the US economy was continuing to recover at a moderate pace."

AFP (7/22, Beatty) reports that the comments "kicked off two days of hearings in Congress, which is deeply divided over how to deal with high unemployment and a stuttering recovery." The Wall Street Journal (7/22, Reddy, 2.08M) runs a similar story under the headline "Bernanke Prepared, But Reluctant, To Act On Economy."

What do you think about jobs? I am thinking I can't even get all my work done and I have hired more help the last few years than I have in my whole life.

Like life, it's a delicate balance between prosperity and poverty. At least we have our life. The doctors took the breathing tube out of Gary Reece yesterday so he will soon be with his maker. What a life story he has. Thanks for praying for him.

Ed