The Electric Slide and Trickle-up Poverty

Listen, I don’t think it’s terrible that the president took a break from undermining economic growth and killing alleged recoveries to throw a birthday party. But what does it say about Obama’s political instincts that he could not restrain himself from having a star-studded bash in the middle the most miserable stretch in recent memory?

Last night, in addition to the Electric Slide, …

Stevie Wonder gave a "surprise" performance during the celebration; his hit "You and I" was the President and First Lady Obama's wedding song. Revelers included Jay Z; Tom Hanks; Chris Rock; hoops legends Charles Barkley and Grant Hill; Whoopi Goldberg; Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith; and actor Hill Harper. He's one of the President's closest chums from Harvard law school, and star of CSI: NY. Jazz great Herbie Hancock and his ensemble played; R & B singer Ledisi dazzled the crowd.

Grant Hill? Really?

I suppose there is one thing we can say for the stars who turned up at Obama’s 50th. Unlike our president they occasionally create jobs.

By the time most of the White House revelers were tucked in for bed, we learned from mainstream news sources that job growth was “better than expected.” Employers had hired 117,000 workers in July, “which could ease fears of U.S. recession.” The unemployment rate had dipped to 9.1 percent.

The numbers the White House will soon be spinning positively were entirely due to a drop in the labor force, not more or new or found or “saved” jobs. This is not the first time unemployment numbers are artificially depressed, of course, and Obama isn't the first president it's happened to, either. But the slight dip in the rate is a result of jobseekers fleeing the job market. That’s nothing to celebrate.

What would the unemployment rate if active labor force equaled the one that existed when Bush left the presidency? Nearly12 percent.

Here’s a closer look at the report by Bloomberg :

The jobless rate declined as 193,000 people left the labor force and the number of unemployed dropped by 156,000. The share of the eligible population holding a job declined to 58.1 percent, the lowest since July 1983.

(The scariest part of the Bloomberg story is the assertion that weaker growth will put “pressure” on the Fed “to try to steer the world’s largest economy away from another recession at a time when inflation is also accelerating.”)

All of this terrible news.

Now, I wonder how many people watching the Big Three networks tonight will be told that the jobless rate dropped to 9.1 percent because Americans stopped looking for jobs? I just hope, at the very least, ABC, NBC, and CBS will let everyone know there was an awesome party last night.

Update: Why wait for the White House when you have CNN?

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