It seems the Times has decided to throw the President to the wolves in the hopes that a better candidate will come along by 2012. How else to explain yesterday's bombshell ObamaCare articles stating outright that the President's signature program is a tax and that it will restrict doctor choice? And then today's articles, including the GM, Chrysler article I posted about this morning, which in the second paragraph (!) suggests that the Obama Administration cost tens of thousands of jobs.

And then there's this:

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have enrolled in federally financed training programs in recent years, only to remain out of work. That has intensified skepticism about training as a cure for unemployment.

Even before the recession created the bleakest job market in more than a quarter-century, job training was already producing disappointing results. A study conducted for the Labor Department tracking the experience of 160,000 laid-off workers in 12 states from mid-2003 to mid-2005 — a time of economic expansion — found that those who went through training wound up earning little more than those who did not, even three and four years later. “Over all, it appears possible that ultimate gains from participation are small or nonexistent,” the study concluded.

In the last 18 months, the Obama administration has embraced more promising approaches to training focused on faster-growing areas like renewable energy and health care. But most money has been directed at the same sorts of programs that in past years have largely failed to steer laid-off workers toward new careers, say experts, and now the number of job openings is vastly outnumbered by people out of work.

Labor economists and work force development experts say the frustration that frequently results from job training reflects the dubious quality of many programs. Most last only a few months, providing general skills without conferring useful credentials in specialized fields. Programs rarely involve potential employers and are typically too modest to enable cast-off workers to begin new careers.

Most job training is financed through the federal Workforce Investment Act, which was written in 1998 — a time when hiring was extraordinarily robust. Then, simply teaching jobless people how to use computers and write résumés put them on a path to paychecks. Today, even highly skilled people with job experience of two decades or more languish among the unemployed. Whole industries are being scaled down by automation, the shifting of work overseas and the recession.

It goes on, under the sub-head "Claiming Successes":

The Obama administration argues that expanded job training has already delivered success. As part of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package begun last year, the administration increased grants sent to states for training programs devoted to laid-off workers by $1.4 billion for 2009 and 2010. Those funds came on top of $2.9 billion allocated through normal budget channels for grants in those two years.

Last year, the number of laid-off workers in job training reached 241,000, up from about 124,000 the year before, according to the Labor Department.

“These programs are really working,” said the assistant secretary of labor, Jane Oates. “These are folks who clearly want to go back to work and we’re able to help them get back to work. The investment in job training is one that’s not only going to pay off in the short term, it’s going to help us be more competitive in the long term.”

According to the Labor Department, 85 percent of laid-off workers who received training in 2007 and 2008 gained jobs within a year of completion. But the department does not track what percentage of them gained jobs in their fields of study and so far lacks any data for 2009, the first year of the Obama administrationÂ’s expansion.

Experts harbor doubts about the reliability of Labor Department numbers, which are derived from reports by state agencies that collect data from community colleges and employment offices whose training funds are dependent upon reaching benchmarks. Twice the Labor Department had to correct the data it supplied for this article.

Oh, yes, the Times just called the Obama Administration liars.

And then the double-wammy. After a few paragraphs on how "those who oversee job training" are also reporting successes:

The literature is not encouraging.

A 2006 study prepared for the Labor Department found virtually no benefit for 8,000 randomly selected recipients who entered federally financed training programs in 2001 and 2002.

This isn't a friendly wap on the nose from the Times. This is their news desk editors wishing they'd voted for Clinton last time and hoping they'll get to vote for her next time.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 12:16 PM | Comments (113)
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With a "SHOCK" headline, no less.

Breitbart gets results.

Now if only the MFM will begin acknowledging there is no evidence whatsoever for the "hail of racist invective" directed at Representives Confabulate & Fabricate.

Posted by: Ace at 12:01 PM | Comments (62)
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He's joking/serious that it's due to his midlife crisis.

It's going to rock. Seriously. I can't think of a better mix for a party album: midlife crisis, Tim Robbins, and special guest Spoken Word Artist Sean "Mumbles" Penn.

Posted by: Ace at 10:59 AM | Comments (159)
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Obama's Decapitalist Theory is going to take our heads off clean.

The historical development of the recovery in the DOW in 1930 ended with a new head and shoulder pattern. This was followed by a rapid market decline that created the first part of a long term double dip pattern. This retreat also exceeded the pattern projection targets with a fall of 28%.

Fast forward to today, we're seeing the Dow is developing a new head and shoulder pattern which indicates a beginning of a bear market. The rally peaks in the Dow appear in January and May and June. The downside projection taken from the neckline of the pattern sets a target at 8,400, or a 25% decline.

A very bearish analysis using the pattern of retreat behavior in 1930 suggests the Dow could retreat to around 7,500 in 2010.

Posted by: Ace at 10:48 AM | Comments (71)
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From late last week but still worth noting.

In reality the proposed cap on school administrator compensation would amount to a pay cut for about 75% superintendents statewide.

"People are bouncing around like free agents in baseball, and getting higher and higher salaries as they go," Christie said at a news conference at a Spotswood elementary school. "What weÂ’re trying to do here is to shift the paradigm."

Maximum pay for superintendents would be pegged to enrollment, from $120,000 for the smallest districts up to $175,000 for districts with between 3,000 and 10,000 students. The 16 largest districts do not have an upper limit, but Schundler said he expects pay to drop there too, as the Department of Education sets criteria tailored to their needs.

The salary limits would also apply to nontenured assistant superintendents and business administrators at the start of their next contract, while those who are tenured and earning higher than the scale would see their pay frozen, Schundler said. Interim superintendents also would be covered by the rules, he said.

..."It seems to be just foolish, because many superintendents would be making less than the principals working in their district," said Jim OÂ’Neill, superintendent in the District of the Chathams in Morris County. OÂ’Neill, who makes $210,000, would see his pay drop to $175,000 for overseeing a district of about 4,000 students.

"I think that if he was on the other side of this, he would call this arbitrary and capricious," OÂ’Neill said.

It wouldn't cover teachers or others covered by collective bargaining agreements so it's not everything one could hope for but it's a start.

As outlined by the million dollar a year city manager story below, right now all the pressure on public employee salaries are biased toward increasing them. This is a great way to start pushing back.

Since administrators are always less popular than teachers, this proposal will get wider support (like this editorial). The trick is, once you get people acclimated to the idea that not only should public employee pay be limited but that it can be, odds are it will start to spread to other job titles.

Once again, Christie leads the way.

*I had this up for a minute or two earlier but took it down when I realized I'd posted at the same time as Ace.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:39 AM | Comments (31)
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It seems like it might be a sort of slow news day, and my email box isn't stocked full with tips.

So... As the TSA says, if you see something, say something!

Posted by: Ace at 10:19 AM | Comments (97)
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No really. From FoxNews.

They should address the question to Barack Obama. He's got the cranky-cootch.

Really, it seems to be mostly about yeast infections, but gotta love the headline.

Thanks to trscop.

BTW: The next video that plays is about a veteran outfitted with the first bionic legs -- prosthetics with powered knees with sensors to detect changes in ground surfaces and adjust the way organic legs do.

Posted by: Ace at 09:55 AM | Comments (87)
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Sherrod, the video informs, is responsible for distributing $1.2 billion in federal grants to Georgia Agriculture.

Faced with a white farmer whose farm was in Chapter 12, she decided she wouldn't do "the full force" of what she could do to help him, because she was concerned about black folks losing their farms. She admits here she did "enough" so that if he spoke to others in the Department of Agriculture, he would have to admit she'd done something. But that's it.

She took him to one of "his own," a white lawyer, regarding Chapter 12. Apparently that federal money was personally earmarked by Sherrod for the exclusive use of black farmers.

Posted by: Ace at 09:49 AM | Comments (132)
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DC's in the business of government, my friends, and business, as they say, is booming.

Only 27 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared with 61 percent who think the nation is on the wrong track. Likewise, when asked whether the national economy is heading down the right or wrong track, just 24 percent chose the right track, compared with65 percent for the wrong track.

Yet among the 227 Washington elites polled, more think the country is on the right track, 49 percent, than the wrong track, 45 percent. On the economy, 44 percent of elites think the country is on the right track, compared with 46 percent who believe it is not.

...

Taxes areanother issue where Washington does not appear to have its finger on the pulse of the country. Fifty-three percent of the general public ranked taxes as a “very important” issue, while 37 percent of elites said the same.

...

In addition, Washington elites have a much higher opinion of those in power than the general public.

No shit, really?

Among the elites, Obama has a 66 percent favorability rating, while 34 percent view him unfavorably. Outside of Washington, only 48 percent of respondents view the president favorably, compared with 47 percent who view him unfavorably.

They're also not believers in the Tea Party, also known as "the competing firm."

Posted by: Ace at 09:37 AM | Comments (57)
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Rather than repaving, many localities are opting to rip up the blacktop and return to a simpler, cheaper, more eco-friendly approach...the traditional dirt road.

...Paved roads, historical emblems of American achievement, are being torn up across rural America and replaced with gravel or other rough surfaces as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue. State money for local roads was cut in many places amid budget shortfalls...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 08:53 AM | Comments (153)
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