Flying Pink Unicorns

The latest "jobs" report.

At 8:30 this morning, the government announced that a whopping 240,000 jobs were lost in October, and the unemployment rate shot up from 6.1% to 6.5%. The job loss numbers are a staggering number for a single month, and more than 1 million jobs have been lost this year, a big big number. Its now 100% clear that we are in a deep, deep recession.

Of course, anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together has known that for several months, and anyone who really thought about the matter has known that for a few months before that. I was advocating for interest rate cuts and big spending-side stimulus packages for many many months, and was on the early side in terms of doing so. If Congress had passed the kind of massive spending increases that I advocated earlier this year, the recession we are now in would be less deep.

There has been talk of 2 upcoming stimulus packages, a small one in the upcoming lame duck session of congress (the old congress, and president Bush), and a new, much bigger one, with the new congress and President Obama. I am all for both of these.

In fact, I've decided that the first item Obama should take up as President is a BIG stimulus package, centered mainly on construction spending. I'd target around $300-$400 billion over the next two years. Unlike the huge amount spent on the various bailouts, which was stimulative in the sense that it prevented the financial system from hurtling over the abyss, but did not increase government outlay into the economy per se, this new huge spending package (which Speaker Pelosi has alluded to being possibly in favor of) would drastically increase federal spending which would go directly into the economy.

Anyway, this godawful (un)employment report should greatly help the cause of big stimulus packages.