Introduction

I am circulating this plan at this late stage of the health care debate because most of the proposals out there are totally inadequate. This plan is a hybrid of government provided coverage, private insurance and regional and trade association co-ops (Not as public option replacements, but as an additional choice. I'd be very disappointed if the eventual health care bill doesn't include a public option and co-ops are inadequate alternatives).

I originally came up with this healthcare plan in 2005 and never formally put it to paper because I worked for someone who advocated single payer, which I believe is a worthy goal, but impossible in today's political and economic climate.

Plans without a public option are essentially worthless. They will inadequately extend the coverage safety net and will not put adequate competitive pressure on private insurance pricing.  read more »

And so the wheel continues to spin: the Times-Union reports that governor Paterson wants to slash 6% of the state's executive workforce, about 8,900 jobs in toto. The move would save $481 million over two years, and supposedly help the state fix its projected $16.2bn budget deficit.

The move came hours after Democratic leaders said the state budget deficit had grown to $16.2 billion, $2.2 billion more than earlier estimates.

"This is not a decision that has been reached lightly," warned a message sent to agency heads Tuesday from Dennis Whalen, Paterson's director of state operations. The cuts are designed to save $481 million over two years.

Malcolm Smith came out in support of Paterson, but notably softer than the Executive Chamber.

We urge the union leadership who represent the public sector workforce to step up and renegotiate a fair agreement that is consistent with the principle of shared sacrifice all New Yorkers must accept during times of economic distress. Public employees are among the most vital contributors to our workforce, but at the same time, they must also be our partners as we strive to change the structure of our state’s budget and get New York’s economy back on track.

What remains off the table, apparently, are any increases in tax rates for the state's most well-off citizens. This in spite of yesterday's appeal by top earners to raise their taxes.

I really wonder sometimes just how much David Paterson must hate his job.

That's the unemployment rate in New York City right now, having jumped 1% in one month thanks to the AIGs and Lehman's free falling :

The city’s unemployment rate increased nearly one percentage point last month, indicating that Wall Street’s woes are starting to take their toll on the local economy. At 5.8%, New York City’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is still below the national average of 6.1%, but that gap is steadily closing.

The adjusted rate, which only accounts for people actively seeking work, made its largest monthly jump in at least three decades by increasing from 5% in July. It is up from 5.3% in August 2007.

The number of people collecting unemployment, considered by some to be a more accurate picture of economic hardship, totaled 74,795 in August, up 5.7% from 70,700 in July and up 18.2% over 63,298 in August 2007.  read more »

The unemployment rate jumped from 5.0% to 5.5% in just one month, the largest jump in 22 years. Did everyone suddenly get laid off? No. The problem with numbers like this is that they are incomplete.

The one factor left out of the headline is the number of people who are considered to be in the workforce -- either with a job or actively seeking a job. For the past five months, the number of people with a job has declined, but the unemployment rate barely budged because so many people gave up and weren't considered part of the workforce. Last month, about 400,000 people re-entered the workforce; combined with 49,000 lost jobs, that caused the surge.

The real problem is in the long-term numbers. Note the chart below:

This chart shows the percentage of adult Americans who have a job, from 1948 to the present. Notice that the chart generally rises when the economy expands and falls during a recession (with a slight lag). Notice also that every peak over the last 45 years is higher than the previous peak -- except one.  read more »

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their latest employment figures today, and they continue to be disturbing. According to the BLS, the economy only added 92.000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate edged up from 4.5% to 4.6%. But those numbers don't tell the whole story.

Actually, the real clue comes from the job creation rate, which continues to lag behind the number needed merely to keep pace with population growth. So if not enough jobs are being created, why isn't the official unemployment rate higher? It's because fewer Americans are considered to be part of the workforce.

Specifically, 63% of Americans 16 and older are officially in the workforce. That's down from a 64.25% average during the last three years of the Clinton administration -- a figure Bush has never been able to reach. These percentages translate into just over three million Americans whom the BLS considers to be "unpersons." Add those three million unemployed Americans into the mix, and the rate jumps from 4.6% to 6.4% -- and rising.

What's worse ...  read more »