Archive for March 21st, 2012

So, is employment up or down since Obama took over?

March 21, 2012

Team Obama keeps crowing about the millions of jobs they’ve added with their trillions of dollars of fiscal and monetary stimulators.

Hmmm.

Here are the facts, direct from the BLS …

In February 2008 — right as the financial crisis was becoming evident — employment was 136.356 million.

Employment dropped by about 5 million between February 2008 and February 2009.

In February 2009 — when Obama took office — there were 131.314 million workers employed.   Real jobs, no seasonal adjustment.

Note: Obama’s Stimulus was passed January 28, 2009

The comparable number in February 2012 was 131,164 million.

By simple subtraction,  there are 150,000 fewer jobs now then there were in February 2009.

Note: During the same period, the labor force (i.e. those folks who are employed or looking for work) grew by about 300,000 … from 153.804 million in Feb 2009  to 154,114 million in Feb. 2012. 

image

* * * * *

Let’s dig a little deeper with another view of the data:

image

Cutting to the chase, “real” employment is back to where it was when Obama was inaugurated … but up substantially from the low point in Obama’s term.

The “issue” is who owns 2009 — Bush or Obama?

Obamites argue that the drop in 2009 is simply a reflection of the momentum coming out of the Bush years … slowed by effects of the Stimulus.

GOPers argue that — since Obama’s Trillion-dollar Stimulus was passed in January 2009 and since the administration made promises re: keeping unemployment in check — that Obama owns 2009.

The answer is probably somewherw in between.

You decide … 

>> Latest Posts

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Employment - Jobs | Leave a Comment »

Wasn’t it cheaper to park here yesterday?

March 21, 2012

Punch line: Airlines have priced dynamically for years — raising or lowering prices depending on how fast a flight’s seats are selling.

Some sports teams have started charging different prices depending on the  day-of-week and and drawing power of the opposing team.

Coke was busted in some locales for electronically jacking up prices when dispensing machines were running low on inventory.

Now, some cities are using high tech meters to dynamically change parking prices.

* * * * *
Excerpted from NYT: A Meter So Expensive, It Creates Parking Spots

As much as a third of the traffic in some areas has been attributed to drivers circling as they hunt for spaces … causing  lost time, polluted air and illegal parking.

In his 2005 book, “The High Cost of Free Parking”, Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at UCLA advocated dynamic pricing of metered parking spots — finding the lowest price a city can charge and still have one or two vacant spaces available on every block.

San Francisco is putting the theory to test.

San Fran is using new technology and the law of supply and demand, raising the price of parking on the city’s most crowded blocks and lowering it on its emptiest blocks.

San Francisco installed high tech parking sensors and new meters at roughly a quarter of its 26,800 metered spots to track when and where cars are parked.

And beginning last summer, the city began tweaking its prices up and down and shortening (or lengthening) time limits — trying to to leave each block with at least one available spot all the time.

Eventually, the metes may charge different prices at different times of the day.

“We only need a few people to see there is a price difference and choose to park in a different location to open up just a few spaces here and there.”

But raising prices is rarely popular … and the program was “complicated on the social equity level” since high parking prices can shut out poorer parkers. 

Thanks to JF for feeding the lead.

>> Latest Posts

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Mktg - Pricing | 1 Comment »