Sec'y Chao: Lazy Young'ins Causing High Unemployment

Government officials say the darndest things and when you are a Cabinet Secretary in the Bush Administration, that goes double. Idiotic moron Secretary Elaine Chao told the press yesterday that the giant leap in unemployment numbers has nothing to do with Bush's failure of a Presidency, horrific foreign policy or environmental record. Instead, it's those damn kids fault.

From ThinkProgress:

According to new Department of Labor data released today, the U.S. unemployment rate rose from 5.0 to 5.5 percent in May, which was higher than the expected 0.1 percent jobless rate increase. It was also the largest jump in unemployment since 1986. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao put out a statement today, attempting to explain the jump. Her answer? Blame America’s youth:

Today’s increase in the unemployment rate reflects the fact that unusually large numbers of students and graduates are entering the labor market.

Chao is just trying to hide bad news. These unemployment numbers are not good, nor are they normal. As Center for American Progress Director of the American Worker Project David Madland told ThinkProgress, unemployment isn’t just for young people:

The unemployment rate for prime-working age adults – people from 25 to 54 – also increased in May, rising from 4.2 percent to 4.4 percent. In addition, the share of this age group that was employed fell slightly from 79.6 percent to 79.5 percent.

Similarly, Jared Bernstein at EPI noted that “even if we take teenagers out of the data, unemployment still rises from 4.5% to 4.8%, a considerable 0.3% increase, and well above the 4.0% adult rate of one year ago.”

Elaine Chao, like her boss is running out of excuses and this one is just pathetic. If she were more competent, both as a Cabinet member and a caring human being, creating a stronger labor force would have fought back against the demands of Corporate America to exploit as many workers as possible. Also, since this is Chao's Labor Department, who knows if the numbers in the study actually reflect the true scope of the problem?

Another Shocker From The President

The country was riveted to their television screens multiple times in 2006 and 2007 when the media descended upon mines across the country like Sago and Crandall Canyon to see if rescuers could save several miners trapped in what was claimed to be an earthquake (though that is under dispute). When hope ran out people demanded action, they wanted the President to come to the mining community's aid and make sure that the tragedy we saw wouldn't happen again. Remember that? Well guess what's happened since?

From the AFL-CIO:

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao missed the Dec. 15 deadline to issue new federal rules for better trained mine rescue teams at the nation’s coal mines. The Charleston Gazette reports:

The rules are still not finalized and are sitting at the White House, under review by the Office of Management and Budget.

In 2006, spurred by what would become the highest coal mine death toll since 1996—including the deaths of 19 coal miners at the Sago, Aracoma and Darby mines in West Virginia and Kentucky—Congress passed and President Bush signed the MINER Act that mandated several mine safety improvements, including rescue teams.

The June 2006 mine law gave the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) 18 months to finalize the new rescue rules. It took the safety agency 15 months to write the proposed rules and now the Bush administration says it can’t provide a timeline for issuing them.

Are you surprised nothing got done? You better not be when it comes to George Bush protecting his friends in the mining industry. Speaking of those friends who make their money off of the blood of dead miners....

Meanwhile, Bush once again circumvented Congress and reinstated MSHA administrator Richard Stickler to head the agency. Stickler, a former coal company executive, twice failed to win Senate confirmation, but in late 2006, with Congress out of session, Bush used a recess appointment to install Stickler in the post, officially known as the assistant labor secretary for mine safety and health.

The recess appointment expired at the end of 2007. In a somewhat bizarre chain of events, MSHA removed Stickler’s bio from the agency’s website and announced Jan. 3 that Stickler’s assistant was the acting assistant secretary. But his tenure was brief: On Jan. 4, Bush named Stickler the new acting assistant secretary, a move that does not require congressional approval and is likely to last until the end of Bush’s term. After press reports that Stickler’s bio had been removed, it’s now back online.

Yep, that's right, George Bush does not care about those dead miners, their families or the thousands more that are still in the mines day in, day out. As long as people like Richard Stickler can make a profit, no one in George's Administration really gives a damn.

Labor Sec'y Tells American Workers They Stink

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is a piece of work. She had the audacity to tell Parade Magazine that American workers need to be more punctual, obedient and to take care of their personal hygiene in order to compete with the changing world labor market. Grab a bar of soap and some shampoo and see the quote verbatim.

From Parade Magazine:

You could lose your job to a foreign worker—not because he’s cheaper but because he has better workplace skills and discipline. That’s the message Labor Secretary Elaine Chao hears from U.S. executives who are worried about America’s competitive future. While losses are low thus far—one study estimates that only 280,000 jobs in the service industry out of 115 million are outsourced each year—that could change. Beyond the cheaper cost of labor, U.S. employers say that many workers abroad simply have a better attitude toward work. “American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”

Are you kidding? Excuse me while I bristle at her remarks, but she is completely out to lunch. Perhaps if she talked to American workers more than those that make their money in the boardroom, she would hear concerns such as low wages, job insecurity and employers that overwork their staff.

Ms. Chao did respond to the adverse reaction of many readers with a clarification that blamed the editors of Parade Magazine. She also forgot to apologize for her tasteless comments. I would love to see her try and survive in today's labor market without her connections to the Republican party, especially with her husband Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).