Jobless Claims -- Another Disappointing Report

The big story on CNBC is how disappointing the jobs numbers are after this morning's report.

For weeks, CNBC and mainstream media have been looking for any silver lining in jobless reports. Reporters kept putting positive spin on the numbers, and indeed, a couple of times, it looked like there might be a ray of sunshine with regard to jobless numbers.

But today's numbers suggests we are back to square one, and surprisingly, the CNBC pundits are actually talking as if this is the "new" reality.

The reason I harp on this has to do with the frustration I have with lack of vision. I can only imagine a "Ronald Reagan" talking about putting people back to work and meaning it.

I am reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged for the first time. It is very, very painful to read. It was first published in 1957, and unlike Animal Farm which prequeled/foretold/foreshadowed the Soviet Union, Atlas Shrugged prequeled/foretold/foreshadowed the current situation in America. From Wikipedia:

The [female] protagonist sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry. 

Wow, if that doesn't describe America today. It is hard to believe that in the booming post-war years, Ayn Rand could see this coming.