OBAMA PROSPERITY BURIES FIRST COAST

[FCTP]

(This news is for those basking in the joy of the president’s ‘Stimulus Plan.’)

By The Jacksonville Business Journal

Consumer confidence, which had lifted in January, took a steep dive in February, The Conference Board said Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Its Consumer Confidence Index now is 46, down from 56.5 in January. It had been improving during the past few months.

The Conference Board, a New York-based nonprofit, has TNS conduct a monthly survey of 5,000 representative U.S. households, which wrapped up on Feb. 17.

“The Present Situation Index, reflecting concerns about current business conditions and the job market, dropped to its lowest level in 27 years, reaching 19.4 compared with 25.2 last month. Consumers’ short-term outlook, reflected in the Expectations Index, also fell, with fewer consumers expecting business conditions and the job market to improve during the next six months,” Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board consumer research center, said in a news release. The index, which had been improving, fell to 63.8 in February, compared with 77.3 in January.

Consumers “remain extremely pessimistic about their income prospects,” Franco said, and the combination of earnings and job anxieties probably will continue to curb spending.

The negative outlook on jobs followed a rise in U.S. mass layoffs in January.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metro area held steady at 11.3 percent in December, which was slightly lower than the state’s 11.8 percent, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

A total of 76,558 people were out of work in December in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties compared with the 50,258 who were out of work one year ago.

Nassau County was the only one in the five-county area to see a rise in unemployment to 11. 3 percent in December from 11 percent the month prior and 7.2 percent in December 2008,

Duval County, which accounted for 52,620 of the laid off workers, had an unemployment rate of 11.8 percent, which was unchanged from November and up from the 7.7 percent in December 2008.

The three other counties in the region actually saw a decline in unemployment from November to December. St. Johns County’s fell from 9.8 in November to 9.6 percent in December, Baker’s went from 11.5 percent to 11.3 percent in December and Clay’s dropped from 10.5 percent to 10.4 percent. All three counties had an increase in unemployment from December 2008, however; St. Johns County from 6.4 percent, Baker County from 7.1 percent and Clay County from 6.9 percent.

Nearby Flagler County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the state at 16.9 percent, which was up from 16.8 percent in November and 11.8 percent in December 2008. Liberty County, located in the Panhandle, had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 6 percent.

Florida’s total non-agricultural employment in December 2009 is 7.3 million, representing a job loss of 232,400, or -3.1 percent, compared with December 2008.

Nearly 1.1 million workers were jobless in Florida in December, which was the highest number in the state since May 1975. The state’s current unemployment rate is 1.8 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate of 10 percent.

The industry losing the most jobs was construction, which was down 59,900 jobs statewide, or 12.9 percent since December 2008.

Health care was Florida’s only growth sector for most of 2009. Health care and social assistance jobs grew by 11,000 jobs, or 1.2 percent, primarily in nursing and residential care facilities, since December 2008.

Courtesy Jacksonville Business Journal

[John F. Mobilian]

The happiest day of this year will, for me be, when I see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi lose their seats in the House and Senate this November. They are the most arrogant, self serving two politicians I have ever seen. Yesterday, Reid started to get very indignant towards all of those "Evil" Republicans who constantly reminded him of the comments he has made about his "Reconciliation" option and how he plans on using it. He said, "Let me first set the record straight, NOone is talking about Reconciliation, only the Republicans". Well last night I was watching Hannity and he showed clip after clip of Reid saying just that........how he planned on using the Reconciliation option. This proves to me how little regard is given by these pathetic excuses for leaders, as to the actual wishes of the American people. Yesterdays "Summit", and I'm beginning to hate that word more each day, was the biggest waste of time and taxpayers money I've witnessed all year. We need to get the word out, "Term Limits NOW"!

[Susan Pitman]

Well I don't think you're wrong! I wasn't able to watch until later in the afternoon...just a complete lack of any progress, denial of reality or truth about what is even in the bill, and posturing for votes. What a sad day for our country.

[John F. Mobilian]

I've been enrapt with watching the Health Care Fiasco, I'm sorry, ("Debate") all morning. I'm amazed at the new techniques being used. "It's amazing at how much we all agree on", is the new line by the Dem's. It seems to me that almost everyone, Repuiblicans and Democrates alike, are doing nothing but developing sound bites for their fall campaign commercials. Nothing is being solved today. Everyone is campaigning. I wonder how much this fiasco is costing the American Tax payer?! Its time to get rid of the waste in Washington. Term limits and house cleaning is in order. Am I wrong?

[Susan Pitman]

I like the way you think, John! It is time to stop compromising our nation into bankruptcy and moral decay. We need statesman who will make the hard choices and not be concerned with re-election or pleasing the anchors on the nightly news.

[John F. Mobilian]

I agree with Susan Pitman. Government does not create jobs. It only provides temporary relief to the unemplyed by taking money from those that have and giving it to those who do not have. It is all make-work. There is nothing substantial about any work the government politicians create. When the money runs out, so do the jobs. Then Obama will be back asking to spread more of our wealth around...AGAIN. The way to fix this problem is to do away with corporate taxes and give small AND big business the opportunity to hire more people. Take the onus off of business by relieving the government imposed tax burdens. When the 39% corporate tax is gone, require business owners to prvide health insurance for their employees. The health care problem will be fixed. Do away with old out-dated social programs, bring out troops home, (if we are NOT going to provide them with what they need to win), cancel EVERY pact we have with nations in the United Nations who vote against us 95% of the time but still want our financial aid. It's a tough job being the big kid on the block, but somdbdy has to do it!!

[Susan Pitman]

Other than temporarily or situationally, government does not create jobs. Commerce and businesses create jobs. The confidence rating has plummeted because inherently, American's realize that the huge, mass spending of future dollars and artificially raising the employment figures is not a recovering economy. I wish the mid-term elections were now before the current elected officials implement any more harmful policies and spending packages.

[Emily Mitchell Belden]

The situation with our country couldn't have been put any better or plainer than John Mobilian has said it!! Thanks for STANDING UP for what I believe all the Tea Party members believe in. Get God back in our government.

[John F. Mobilian]

The older I get, the more synical I get. My passion is politic's and the direction of our country. I am a 60's generation by-product. I saw the whole movement from the belief in ones country to the fall of a President. I saw the character of the press nose dive into the preposterous disgusting shape it is in today. I witnessed the drug culture, the change in attitude towards God, the distrust of anyone wanting to be part of the political system. I've watched to me generation turn our leagl system into a lottery game. I never understood why the kids from my generation became so greedy and selfish. Maybe it had to do with our parents coming from the products of our depression generation grandparents.
But what I do know to be true, is that we became a lazy, self serving, greedy, untrusting dependant generation. We were going to be the "Flower Power" generation. Peace, Love and Rock and Roll. Well that fizzled with the reality of life. The reality that no one is going to take care of us but us! We are responsible for who we become. The government is not going to take care of us. They are only going to control us.
I became a member of the Tea Party Movement because I believed that these people have finally had it with Washington. There are 535 morons in the leadership positions in the country who are members of an elitist club and they feel that once they become a member of that club that rules do not apply to them. THEY ae the ones who have put us in such financial straights. THEY are he ones who have made us all dependant on government. THEY are the ones who have conditioned our way of thinking that make us believe that we have a "Right" to all of these free handout philosophies.
I say it's time to get serious. It's time to turn up the heat on these idiots we call "Representatives". The liberal main stream media is painting the Tea Party Movement as a bunch of "Hillbillies", white trash, morons who don't have a clue. I say its time to show those elitist in New York, Washington and Hollywood that THEY are the ones out of touch with America. THEY are the ones who are ruining the values of our society. They are the ones who have been taking God out of our lives.
The ONLY way we are going to effect change in this country is to convince Americans that it is time to re-carpet the scenery in Washington. It's time to "Vote the Incumants Out". Get rid of them. As Glen Beck said on the Bold Fresh Tour, it is the "Harvards" and the "Yales" and the "Princetons" that have put us in this situation. It's time to maybe put in some "Community Colleges" to fix the mess that the elitists have created.
I am begging the Tea Party to start a campaign towards voting out the incumbants and giving America a fresh start before we lose EVERYthing nthat out families have faught and died for over the generations. This President is so out of touch with reality it is becoming hilarious. Get them out and put some fresh blood in.
God Bless America.

John F. Mobilian