LBPOST.com: California Unemployment Rises, Long Beach Remains At 13.9%

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California Unemployment Rises, Long Beach Remains At 13.9%

by Ryan ZumMallen | Long Beach News | 11.20.09 |

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The California Employment Development Department released information today indicating that the state�s unemployment rate rose to 12.5% in October, an increase from a 12.3% rate in September.

The unemployment rate in Long Beach, however, remained constant at 13.9% in October, according to the city�s Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network. The city�s unemployment rate was also 13.9% in September. The statistics are not seasonally adjusted.

In November of 2008, the unemployment rate in Long Beach was just 9.6%. That figure shot up in the following months, and reached 12.5% in June. Since then, the rate has slowed to where it stands now.

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CHARLIE
There's only one way Washington is ever going to solve this problem of joblessness and the economy, but I don't think Obama, Palosi or Reid understands this - Cut taxes on small business which are the major employers and innovators in this Country; All Congress and the Administration thinks about is a big costly no confidence health care bill which the majority don't want!

Anonymous
Charlie, we are in a big deficit hole in this whole nation, and California and Long Beach have to make big cuts. Where do you suggest we get the money to cut business taxes? Should we fire teachers, bus drivers, police officers, or other government workers? Cut their pay? Should we raise taxes on others? Or would you support increasing the deficit further? I would be willing to keep running big deficits until the economy improves, but any of the other ways of saving money will result in either job losses or less money for people to spend at your small business. That's counterproductive. Why shouldn't the government spend some money to hire people directly? Let's employ people to rebuild sidewalks, repave streets, fix our schools. Lets build more electricity transmission lines and (renewable) power plants. Lets hire more security guards and police. That will get people working right away.

CHARLIE
Anonymous, You are so right on all the things you suggest, however, you've got to prime the pump to get the flow started; The correct deffination of small business is 500 employees and up to 10,000. Those are the ones that will prime that pump, rehire and get things moving again with innovative ideas and new products. A tax break will give them the funds, as in the past without a bank loan, to get the economy moving again - That's what all your past successful Presidents did and it works every time. The problem with the President we have now is he is still in the campaign mode and cannot make decisions because of fear - Remember what FDR said: "The only thing to fear is, fear itself."

LB resident
Gentlemen, good political rhetoric. Jobs are created by small businesses but the problem is not income tax as 66% of LB is in an enterprise zone and a well managed firm can arrange credits on state taxes. The City must balance its budget and can't run deficits as does federal gov't. Our problem is uncontrollable pensions and salaries from city workers that focus on themselves rather than meeting the needs of small businesses. i.e. Why are fire stations required to be 100% manned and paid overtime substituting for a sick member when we don't have fires in LB? Is it because unions support almost all council members / mayor and they don't get elected without such support.

Summer
I would be with you on your point, LB resident, if you hadn't used the worst example ever. The Long Beach Fire Department are considered first responders. If the police can't make it quick enough to a 911 emergency, guess who does? Whether it is a fire, car accident, or medical emergency they have to be on call 24/7 (ever heard of the jaws-of-life? Yeah, that's fire department jurisdiction). Not only that, but firefighters don't just work locally. When there is a huge crisis anywhere in the state, as seen by the myriad of fires that have been happening all around California, there is not a single fire station that doesn't have men and women deployed to those areas.

the truth
The Sean Hannity-Rush Limbaugh-Tea Bagging-Corporate Automatons on these sites just spew the Big-Money vomit-talking points of "blame taxes, blame unions and the little guys." They rarely look at the corporate welfare (in the trillions), the corporate tax loopholes (which allow most Billion-Dollar Corporations to pay almost NO taxes), and the insane influence peddling that these corporations inflict upon our political system. To blame unions for the sad state in California (or our nation) is the most preposterous propaganda diarrhea these people have promulgated. The fat-cat, millionaire/billionaire aristocrats in the United States have convinced these low-to-middle class non-thinkers to do their dirty work for them. Meanwhile, the folks making millions and billions of dollars by dismantling manufacturing in our country and moving it to Mexico; the ones that make millions and billions of dollars by avoiding taxes with off-shore scams; the ones that make millions and billions of dollars by short-changing the very country which provided them to opportunity and infrastructure to make their money; continue to shake their heads at their good fortune of having masses of blind, ignorant talking heads, and laugh all the way to the bank. All this, while they gut-and-destroy our middle class, and by that, our nation. We are quickly heading to a feudal system in the country. Don't kid yourself, the war on unions, and the free trade push, and the huge increase in wealth concentration at the very top, and the eroding middle class, are all part of a very deliberate scheme of the super rich and greedy. They only want more and more and more, and unless we wake up, it will soon be too late to stop them. This is unpatriotic. You want to talk about our forefathers and the constitution? Our founders FEARED corporate wealth and power. They formed our government and institutions to STOP THE CONCENTRATION OF WEATLH AND POWER. That IS NOT democracy, that is "Corpocracy," and will soon lead to a very few having all the wealth and power, and the rest of us tilling their fields, and working their land. Look at virtually all of western civilization's history. The "middle class" is rare, and only present in civilizations that have GOVERNMENT REGUALTION that curbs the power of wealth and corporations. I've gone on too long...I'm sure the right-wingers got lost after the first couple of lines. Good luck to you, and God Bless America!!

CHARLIE
Well Mr.The Truth, you do have some points about the Wall Street Pigs, but remember - only in America :). You obviously are a Socialist - You are so far to the left as our new President is, you both make Michael Moore look like a Rush Limbaugh; But that's one of the special things I like about America, we can voice our opinion and state our position by voting without being throwen in jail.:>)

CHARLIE
Mr The Truth: One more thing I want to voice my opinion on, and that is regarding organized labor; They have forgotton their original purpose was to represent and sit down with management at the barganing table to work things out for fairness all the way around to everyones concern, however, starting with Walter Ruther at the UAW, they along with CIO and the AFL have driven major industry right out of the USA and straight into the arms of not only Mexico, but also into the Philippeens and India, and if you don't think so, try calling a telephone banker or customer service rep at any bank or major industries, and who do you get in broken english reading off your answer from a manule, but it does beat talking to an automated computer - I think?

Bob
What Truth did't mention is the reason so much of our manufacturing is going elsewhere is because unions have forced companys to look for ways they can afford to compete.

CHARLIE
You got that right, Bob; The UAW, CIO & AFL has driven business right out of this country for cheaper labor; There was a time when the Unions would sit down with management at the barganing table and work things out fairly for all concerned. Now you have to meet their demands or shut down, but of course they're having income problems now too, which President Obama is contributing to. He's more concerned with flying around the country, campaign mode still, and trying to get Pelosi's & Reid's health reform bill through, rather than work on the economy and joblessness, not to mention his fear to make decisions. However, I do think your going to see a big change in Congress come Midterm Elections - Let's pray so!

abilene
Totally agree with you "the truth"... people putting the blame on unions are deceiving themselves. Union membership has been in decline for decades! We actually need stronger unions that support the middle class.

Charlie Tuna
You got that right, Bob...

CHARLIE
Well, Abilene, into each life some rain must fall, And that's exactly what's happening to the big Unions; Bob's summation is exactly right They're driving business right out of the Country...JOBS!

the truth
Charlie and Bob, you two are just regurgitating the big-business, corporate-friendly lies!! They have sold you on them so effectively, that you don't even know that you are being a mouthpiece for your masters. Trade and Corporations did not flee to Mexico or India because of Unions; they did so because of your right-wing, big corporation friendly scam called free trade. Now whether you worked at a company which was organized or not, I dare say that you made more per hour than our Mexican neighbors doing the same job. Whether you were an unorganized clerk at a gas station, or an engineer, you made more than your counterpart in India. What protected our country's jobs was a reasonable and intelligent trade policy. When Reagan started (with each president following, including Clinton!) was to dismantle this trade policy, to allow companies to move their manufacturing to countries with little or no environmental protection, little or no regulation, and little or no labor protection. They could then manufacture the same product, for much less cost, and then ship it back to our country, and sell it. This may seem like a good idea, but it guts our middle class, makes the super-rich, richer, and rapes our resources. You see, we all pay for the infrastructure of this country through our taxes. Large corporations, arguably, utilize it to a greater degree than normal individuals (freeways, railway, etc), and then pay nothing in return. This is fair, only in the minds of the ultra right-wing, aristocrats. As far as my being a socialist, that is absurd. Read what our forefathers thought. Read Thomas Jefferson; read Thomas Paine. If I am a socialist, then so were they!!

Dennis
What the corporate haters and soak the rich crowd perpetually ignore are the facts: Lowering marginal tax rates always leads to higher tax revenues for the government, raising them lowers the revenues. Someone Google "Laffer Curve" before they throw the prerequisite label at me. As for unions "supporting" a middle class, what they support is a protected and small middle class of their members where they can control membership and exclude others from employment opportunities in the same company/field/industry. Except public employee unions which support unfettered growth of jobs dependent on tax payers. The disconnect would be surreal if it wasn't so prevelant in local/California mindsets as to be frightening for our future. Long Beach and California unemployment will never recover as many companies when the look to expand coming out of this recession will do so in other locales and states that will welcome their manufacturing and light industrial employment opportunities. And then the local left can blame the corporate greed for finding better opportunities elsewhere for them and their employees.

Summer
You're acting as if the CEO's of these companies really wanted to stay, out of the goodness of their hearts, but those "nasty ol' unions" just shoved all their business out of their own country. In reality, the CEO's of these mega corporations are making larger paychecks than ever. So, you you think that somehow American workers can actually compete with a third world country with a plethora of desperate and disposable workers? You are kidding yourself. Not only are these corporations taking advantage, they have their hands so deep into our government's pockets that we are basically arguing about two sides of the same coin. The argument shouldn't be government v. corporation. We all need to step up as Americans and demand more from the entities that effect our society as a whole. More accountability and more transparency, on both sides of the equation.

Dennis
Summer, they do want to stay, most people who leave California would rather stay. We have the weather, the ocean and mountains, access to the world with LAX and SFO, Hawaii is a hop and the desert in the winter is less than a tank of gas there and back. But companies and people with considerable wealth are leaving because it costs them way to much to stay. And if more people could afford to move they would. Even Oprah, the Queen of Love counts the number of days she is in her Montecito home to minimize the tax implications--that says something when she would rather spend more time in Illinois than California. We are losing wealth, creativity, intellegence and jobs to bad fiscal policy that just gets worse because of our elected officials in this state. The California recovery from this recession will lag behind all other states.

Kelly
I think they need to look at halping small businesses to improve the unemployment but the healthcare issue still needs addressing. After spending 12hours+ in an ER and getting a bill for $1500, and the red tape that went with it; I would really like to see some healthcare reform.

SS
@Anonymous: The govt can't spend money to hire people to rebuild sidewalks, etc. as you say. Haven't you been reading the papers? To hire more people will make pension costs go up. When pension costs go up, it costs more to the taxpayers. You have no idea how economics works do you? Charlie's idea of cutting business taxes and your idea of firing teachers are two different things. One is private sector and one is public sector. Anonymous, the revenue sources are different. Get educated first and then rewrite your comment.

Long Beach News

LBPOST.com Managing Editor Ryan ZumMallen keeps up on all the current and breaking Long Beach news.

Ryan ZumMallen is a graduate of the CSULB School of Journalism, writing for the campus' Union Weekly newspaper and serving as Sports Editor for one year. He has written for numerous news and sports websites and magazines, as well as television experience with Fox Sports and ABC Channel 7.