Unemployment dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years, as the number of new jobs surged by 243,000 and the stock market marched higher in its best annual climb in 15 years.
The increase in jobs included 50,000 more in manufacturing and a whopping 70,000 more in high-salary professional jobs.
How Congressional leaders and presidential candidates react to this news will be crucial.
Opponents of President Obama will be tempted to downplay the improvements and loudly deny that the administration’s actions, such as the support of the U.S. auto industry, payroll tax reductions and federal stimulus initiatives have played any role in the recovery.
This kind of partisan response not only would be bad for the economy but should backfire politically.
To borrow from Johnny Mercer, this is a time to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative — on both sides of the aisle.
There is an emotional side to business cycles. When forward momentum begins, everyone should get a firm handhold and push. The response should never be, “this isn’t real and it won’t last.”
Come November, such nay-sayers should be shown the door.
Now that the engine is running, the wheels are turning and we’re headed downhill for a change, let the cry be: “Hurrah! At last! Let’s go!”
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
