Anderson@Large

A Nightmare Before Christmas

No, I am not referring to Tiger Woods’ “private matter” hot ghetto mess. Though as a black woman, there is an element of Schadenfreude that Tiger’s, um, “courageous” Swedish wife reportedly went PWT on his SUV.

But I digress.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the job losses and unemployment rate for November on Friday. The unemployment rate is expected to remain in the double-digits. And like a lump of coal in a Christmas stocking, the Federal Reserve projects the jobless rate will hover around 10 percent in the short run.

For President Obama and congressional Democrats, the jobless crisis is scarier than an angry wife wielding a golf club. Oops, again I digress.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius observed:

If the Fed’s projections are right, the public is going to be very angry next year -- at big business and at the elected officials who have spent trillions of dollars without putting the country fully back to work. Lou Dobbs, the voice of populist anger, may become the nation’s hottest politician. President Obama, who has struggled to find a centrist consensus for economic policies, may be tossed like a cork on a stormy sea.

Ignatius continued:

The politics of rage aren’t pretty. But in this case, it’s hard to argue that the anger isn’t justified. The Fed’s analysis shows what we see in the daily stock market summaries. People on the top are recovering their losses; people on the bottom are out of work and out of luck. I admire Obama’s effort to make responsible economic choices in this environment and his refusal to demagogue issues such as financial reform. But he will need all the political genius he showed during the 2008 campaign -- and which he has displayed too little lately -- to handle what’s coming at him next year.

Fore!

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m off for the next few days. Before I go, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Yes, times are tough, particularly for young black men and women. The Washington Post reports:

Joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions, 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population.

Young black women have an unemployment rate of 26.5 percent, while the rate for all 16-to-24-year-old women is 15.4 percent.

If you’re “young, gifted and black,” you’re still the last hired and the first fired:

For young blacks, race statistically appears to be a bigger factor in their unemployment than age, income or even education. Lower-income white teens were more likely to find work than upper-income black teens. Even blacks who graduate from college suffer from joblessness at twice the rate of their white peers.

For the moment, be thankful for what you got. And don’t let the turkey get you down.

Since I can’t “pass the peas,” I want to share one of my favorite songs, “Sinner’s Prayer.”

House of Credit Cards

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

With “Black Friday” looming, you might want to check your local listings for Frontline’s investigative report before you reach for your credit card.

You can also watch the full program here.

National Day of Outrage

They call it “Stormy Monday.” But the Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network are calling it a “National Day of Outrage” against gun and gun violence in the black community.

In an op-ed piece, Sharpton wrote:

What bothers me most of all is the silence regarding what has become by any standard an emergency. We seem reluctant to admit that we are paralyzed by fear as we await the next stray bullet’s victim and hope it doesn’t have our name on it.

And personally, I have had to come to terms with a painful realization: If this had been racial violence or even police violence we – myself included – would have been marching and standing up a long time ago.

That is shameful. We must change our ways. What signal are we sending to our young people when the only time their murder matters is if it is at the hands of another race or a symbol of authority?

It’s time to break the silence about the senseless and vicious killings that are plaguing black communities. Concerned citizens, clergy and civic leaders will rally at 2:00 pm ET in 28 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York City and Philadelphia.

For info on locations, go here or call (877) 626-4651.

Help Wanted: Recovery.gov Auditors

The job-counters at Recovery.gov need help. The Government Accountability Office reports the stimulus jobs numbers don’t add up.

Concerns about the accuracy of the data is not a “side issue.” The issue is accountability.

In his opening statement before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Chairman Edolphus Towns said:

I am gravely concerned that the unemployment rate is now 10.2 percent – the highest in 26 years. It is even higher for African Americans and Hispanic Americans. For people who have lost their jobs, it is not very comforting to say we are making progress.

Towns continued:

The truth of the matter is that while recipient reports provided for an unprecedented level of transparency, we must be able to rely on the reported data. At this point it is clear that errors found by GAO and others should be corrected immediately, not months later, no matter how difficult. Recipient reporting should be subject to strict quality control.

The American taxpayer expects reporting to be done, and done well. And $787 Billion weighing in the balance is certainly far from pocket change.

Those errors include:

• 3,978 reports that showed no dollar amount received or expended but included more than 50,000 jobs created or retained, and
• 9,247 reports that showed no jobs but included expended amounts approaching $1 billion.

The 50,000 jobs represent nearly 10 percent of the 640,329 jobs posted to Recovery.gov.

Just think how many jobs would have been created if a fraction of the $1 billion had been awarded to minority business owners with a track record of “making a way out of no way.”

Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, told the Committee the jobs reports are “riddled with inaccuracies and contradictions.”

So the question remains: How many jobs have been created?

Tax Cheat Geithner May Get the Ax

Finally, some good news. Progressive Democrats are calling for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to get to stepping.

The Hill reports:

A Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member said there's “growing consensus” among liberals that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should step down.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he and other liberal House members are becoming increasingly tired of Obama administration economic policies that they say are too focused on maintaining the stability of Wall Street firms and largely ignore “Main Street.”

DeFazio told MSNBC’s Ed Schultz “we may have to sacrifice just two more jobs [Geithner’s and Larry Summers’] to get millions back for Americans.”

DeFazio’s sentiment was echoed by Republican Rep. Kevin Brady, who during a Joint Economic Committee hearing told Geithner:

Mr. Secretary, the public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job. Conservatives agree, Democrats agree that it really is time for a fresh start, and I would urge you to consider it.

Geithner, get ready. The bus may be coming.

Congress Looks behind Stimulus Numbers

There are lies, damn lies and jobs numbers. The reports posted to Recovery.gov notwithstanding, only seven percent of Americans believe stimulus spending has created jobs, according to a new CBS News poll. 

Media outlets from Massachusetts to California have looked behind the numbers and discovered there are no jobs there. Hell, in some instances, the congressional districts aren't there.

Recovery czar Edward DeSeve says “the mistakes are relatively few”:

More than 130,000 such reports were filed. You can go to Recovery.gov and look them up by zip code, or search for them on a map. It’s a “real-time” update on your tax dollars at work that is unmatched by any federal initiative, ever, of this scale.

As part of President Obama’s commitment to transparency and disclosure, it’s been a huge success. When you consider the sheer number of reports that had to be filed, processed, and posted; the fact that this had never been done before; and the very short time to check reports and make sure they were right – the data collected and posted is very impressive.

Sure, it’s government work but the data collection is not good enough.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey who slammed the White House for the errors in the recipients’ reports:

The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes.

Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. We’ve got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen.

We designed the Recovery Act to be open and transparent and I expect the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board [aka the RAT board], who oversees the recovery act web site and data to have information that is accurate, reliable and understandable to the American public. Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now.

Meanwhile, Republicans smell a rat. They are hauling RAT Board Chairman Earl Devaney before the House Committee on Oversight and Government’s hearing, “Tracking the Money: How Recovery Act Recipients Account for Their Use of Stimulus Dollars.”

You can view a live webcast here on Thursday, beginning at 10:00 am ET.