Bloomberg's Stance On Immigration Draws Heavy Criticism

By Adrianna McGinley

Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA, an immigration reduction organization, offered harsh criticisms of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s comments touting immigration reform as the key to job creation.

“He doesn’t seem to have an idea what’s happening to American workers,” Beck said. “He doesn’t seem to know that there are 22 million Americans who are looking for a full-time job, who can’t find one.”

Beck blasted Bloomberg for saying undocumented college graduates should be allowed to pursue employment in the U.S. saying it sends the wrong message to the parents of citizen graduates.

“It’s very offensive to the parents of today’s high school students and college students for Mayor Bloomberg to continually go around and say that these American children are not worthy of getting the jobs when they get out of college, but instead we need to have a whole lot more foreign students come in and take those jobs,” Beck said.

Beck acknowledged that there is a need for comprehensive immigration reform, saying E-Verify should be made mandatory. The NumbersUSA founder added that the green card system should also be reformed, making permanent residence available only to those with “truly world-class skills.”

According to its website, NumbersUSA is a non-partisan site committed to “bringing federal immigration policy back to a logical place.”

Boehner Blames Obama, Senate Dems For Weak Job Growth

By Philip Bunnell

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) took President Obama and Senate Democrats to task Friday following the release of new labor data that shows rising to 9.2 % and few new jobs.  

The Republican leader was quick to point to the several “job creating bills” that passed the GOP controlled House but were stalled by the Democrat controlled Senate.

In an appearance before reporters Friday morning, Boehner and other Republican Representatives pointed to several bills that they claimed could create “millions of jobs.”  Bills to end the drilling moratorium and rid the private sector of government imposed regulations, the House Republicans said, would drastically reduce unemployment.

With regards to the debt ceiling negotiations, Boehner described the situation as “urgent, even dire.”  However, when pressed over how he could “sweeten the deal,” to make the entitlement cuts more palatable to Democrats, the Speaker simply joked “if you have any suggestions, pass them on.”

Boehner and other Republicans will meet with the President again on Sunday to try and reach a deal on the debt ceiling.

Labor Secretary, Congressional Democrats Demand Action On Unemployment Insurance

By Kyle LaFleur

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis joined Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders Wednesday to show their support for extending unemployment insurance.

“In no recession have we ended federal extensions with an unemployment rate as high as ours is today,” said Solis during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

Unemployment insurance expired Tuesday and if left on its own would run out, leaving two million American’s and their families without benefits.

“The word is insurance,” said Pelosi, “This is something that is not only good for these families, it’s the right thing to do in a downturn in our economy.”

House Republicans have vowed to vote against extending the bill, leaving many Democrats upset. 

“Where, I ask, is the moral outrage at policies that are going to allow million dollar bonuses to the Wall Street money manipulators and then give them a tax break so they do not have to pay their taxes but deny unemployment benefits to two million unemployed Americans?” asked Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D). “Where is the sense of moral outrage?”

125,000 Jobs Lost In June, But Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly

The monthly unemployment rate dropped slightly from 9.7 % to 9.5% in June, but the economy also shed 125,000 jobs, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The bureau attributed the lost jobs to the decline in Census 2010 employment. 225,000 Census taking positions and related temporary jobs were phased out last month.

The data also shows that the private sector added an additional 83,000 jobs in June, a circumstance that President Barack Obama trumpeted Friday.

“[The report] showed the six-straight month of job growth in the private sector,” Obama said during brief remarks at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “We’re headed in the right direction.”

Although June’s unemployment rate is the lowest in nearly a year, the new numbers show that 14.6 million Americans continue to be out of work.

May Job Increase Only Nominal

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that employment grew by 431,000 jobs in May; however, 411,000 of these jobs can be attributed to the temporary governmental employment of Census 2010 workers.

"While these are encouraging developments, we clearly have a very long way to go until the labor market is fully recovered," said Christina Romer, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a statement.

In the private sector, there was a marginal increase in employment - 41,000 jobs - but this is only a drop in the bucket for the 15 million still left jobless.

However, hidden in this report is a sparkle of optimism. The number of involuntary part-time workers - those who cannot find a full-time job or whose hours had been cut back - fell by about 4 percent to 8.8 million.

This new batch of information shows that, although unemployment has fallen since April, the change has only been nominal and the rate has continued to rise since 2009.

Romer also emphasized that "it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report, positive or negative. ... Emphasis should be placed on persistent trends rather than month-to-month fluctuations."