Mixed Signals

The economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported today.

But the unemployed probably won't be able to tell that things are getting better for awhile — perhaps for a long while.

Unfortunately for the Democrats, the unemployment rate is how most people can tell if the economy is improving. And the unemployment numbers have not been improving. Optimists may be anticipating modest improvement when the next jobs report comes out next week, but I suspect that, if there is any positive news on employment next week, it will be temporary — as it has been on a few other occasions this year. Hopes may be raised a little — only to come crashing down a month later. Just in time for Christmas.

Silla Brush and Jared Allen are pretty blunt in an article in The Hill: "With the midterm election one year away, Democrats in particular are wary of crowing too loudly about good economic news when many of their constituents are struggling. Underlying that concern is the brutal reality that the nation's labor market is worsening with more Americans losing jobs. The unemployment rate, now 9.8 percent, is expected to continue rising. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the unemployment rate will average 10 percent throughout 2010 and will not return to pre–recession levels until 2014."

That certainly may be true, but it isn't encouraging.

The unemployed need reassurance that their elected leaders are trying everything that is humanly possible to, if not actually end their suffering, mitigate it as much as possible while an answer is sought. But no such reassurance is coming through.

Well, perhaps those who are recently jobless haven't yet lost their faith, but those who have been unemployed for a long time are a different story. Many feel forgotten, especially with their unemployment benefits being taken from them.

The humane thing for Barack Obama and the Democrats to do would be to extend unemployment benefits. They have the numbers to do it without their Republican colleagues, who probably would complain about the impact on the national debt.

Well, many people, on both sides of the political spectrum, now say that a small percentage of the billions that were spent to keep the banks and big corporations going will ever be repaid. The investment that is made in keeping millions of struggling Americans going until they can get jobs will be repaid — in the form of tax revenue.

If Obama and the Democrats truly are committed to the nation's health, they will extend the economic lifeline to the least of these.

Until they do that — instead of insisting on blaming the Republicans — the signals to the unemployed will continue to be mixed.