Once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle staff writers Ylan Mui and Zachary Goldfarb are having
trouble distinguishing between opinion and news, among other things. From the front page of today's paper, they tell us:
Washington is finally set to get out of the way of the nation’s
economic recovery in 2014, fueling hopes for faster growth after years
of sluggishness.
No major new rounds of government tax hikes or spending cuts
are on deck. Optimism is growing that lawmakers will forge a deal on the
federal budget next week and avoid the partisan gridlock that
threatened to derail the economy a few months ago. Massive layoffs among
state and local governments have largely ended, with many places now
adding jobs. [our emphasis]
Get out of the way, Washington! Partisan gridlock! Everyone's to blame! (Can you be more specific? No? How about we give it a try: "
Get out of the way, Republicans!" That sounds more accurate. Please proceed.)
Government policies over the past three years have
created the largest drag on growth in at least half a century, according
to his [Moody's Mark Zandi] calculations. There was the end of the federal stimulus program
in 2011, followed by a series of political showdowns that led to budget
restraint the next year. This year, Washington lawmakers sharply cut
back on spending and implemented the largest tax hike in decades,
affecting all working Americans. [our emphasis]
But, wasn't the federal stimulus program a "government policy" that kept the economy afloat prior to 2011? Are we talking about the Democratic policies or the Republican
sabotage opposition? In the next segment, they continue to step all over their
dicks premise:
Yet the private sector recently has come to life. The Labor Department reported Friday that a solid 203,000 jobs were created in November
and the unemployment rate fell to 7 percent. The job gains ranged
across sectors, from construction to health care, and those who already
were employed enjoyed an uptick in hours and wages.
In addition, the drop in the jobless rate was the result of the pickup in hiring. In previous months, declines have
been driven by a shrinking labor force as many discouraged Americans
gave up looking for work.
“This is just a clean sweep,” said
Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group. “It’s a
very good report. It’s across the board.” [our emphasis]
Ignore the man with the facts behind the curtain! Then, we get those darn partisans posturing! Who can tell who's right and who's wrong? Maybe they're both right and wrong! Start posturing!
Still, there was plenty
of room for partisan posturing around even unequivocally strong data.
The White House used the report to highlight the plight of the
4
million people who have been out of work for six months or more. The
administration is calling for an extension of emergency benefits for the
long-term unemployed, which are slated to expire at the end of the
year, but the measure faces staunch opposition from House Republicans.
“It’s
really important to peel the onion to its core to understand that while
we are continuing to move in the right direction in this economy, the
long-term unemployed continue to suffer disproportionately,” Labor
Secretary Thomas Perez said in an interview.
Republicans said the data prove the opposite point: that the recovery is ready to stand on its own.
The
November jobs report “includes positive signs that should discourage
calls for more emergency government ‘stimulus,’ ” House Speaker John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) said. “Instead, what our economy needs is more
pro-growth solutions that get government out of the way.” [our emphasis]
Wait, our intrepid reporters have decided who's right after all:
Government’s fading role as an impediment to growth is only one of
several reasons economists are more optimistic about next year’s
prospects. The housing market, which was ground zero in the financial
crisis, has become one of the bright spots of the recovery. Americans
have dramatically reduced the huge amount of debt they carried coming
out of the recession and have padded their savings. [our emphasis]
Sounds like that could have been written by Mr. Jobs himself, Weeper of the House
John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner. We don't need no more stinkin'
unemployment benefits food stamps Fed easing stimulus Government role! Notice the intrepid reporters allow the modest Boehner to avoid taking credit for Washington's "drag on growth" (via the shutdown, budget cuts, etc.). It's "Washington" that's the problem, dammit, and it deserves a newspaper that's part of the problem.
