One additional note you may find interesting: a new study finds immigrants in care work leads to a substantial decrease in death in the elderly population. https://www.nber.org/papers/w34791
"...breathing a sigh of relief as the January job numbers came in much higher than expected...."
Job numbers always need revision in the months to come, but I will not be surprised to see extensive revisions of this particular number. In the last few days, Trumps flunkies have been trying to lower expectations, so they saw bad news coming. And if the news was bad enough, then there is a fair chance that they decided simply to lie.
Why not? They lie about everything.
Let's see what independent job reports say in the weeks to come.
MARYSE, 56, HAS BEEN A HOME CARE WORKER in the United States ever since she moved here from Haiti sixteen years ago. Over the years, she estimates, she’s cared for more than two dozen people. Most have been seniors in physical or cognitive decline—among them, a Purple Heart recipient who had served in the Army and a former pilot who had flown missions over France and Africa during World War II. She has also cared for younger people with physical disabilities, including one who had cerebral palsy and another who had suffered severe head trauma in a car accident.
That kind of producerist kitsch could be found in back copies of government issued farming advisories when I was young. It made me properly nostalgic, it did.
Given what happened the last time the BLS came out with a disappointing number oughtn't we be a little skeptical of any numbers coming out of there that come in better than expected.
Thanks for the illustration. I would have thought you made it up as a bad joke but apparently it's real. Not just 1930s but blatantly... what's the word? oh yeah... Aryan. Considering the huge role of cultural themes in politics, this may be the most significant part of your post.
One additional note you may find interesting: a new study finds immigrants in care work leads to a substantial decrease in death in the elderly population. https://www.nber.org/papers/w34791
I had exactly the same thought seeing those numbers, John. It goes to show how utterly quixotic in a way the Trump project is.
"...breathing a sigh of relief as the January job numbers came in much higher than expected...."
Job numbers always need revision in the months to come, but I will not be surprised to see extensive revisions of this particular number. In the last few days, Trumps flunkies have been trying to lower expectations, so they saw bad news coming. And if the news was bad enough, then there is a fair chance that they decided simply to lie.
Why not? They lie about everything.
Let's see what independent job reports say in the weeks to come.
I think they were mostly concerned with how bad the 2025 numbers were gonna look
From https://substack.com/home/post/p-187274058, which I heartily recommend:
MARYSE, 56, HAS BEEN A HOME CARE WORKER in the United States ever since she moved here from Haiti sixteen years ago. Over the years, she estimates, she’s cared for more than two dozen people. Most have been seniors in physical or cognitive decline—among them, a Purple Heart recipient who had served in the Army and a former pilot who had flown missions over France and Africa during World War II. She has also cared for younger people with physical disabilities, including one who had cerebral palsy and another who had suffered severe head trauma in a car accident.
That kind of producerist kitsch could be found in back copies of government issued farming advisories when I was young. It made me properly nostalgic, it did.
Given what happened the last time the BLS came out with a disappointing number oughtn't we be a little skeptical of any numbers coming out of there that come in better than expected.
Trust but verify.
Thanks for the illustration. I would have thought you made it up as a bad joke but apparently it's real. Not just 1930s but blatantly... what's the word? oh yeah... Aryan. Considering the huge role of cultural themes in politics, this may be the most significant part of your post.