We keep reading in the media about how the economy is improving but these latest job opening numbers don't show that.
Job openings are now at the lowest level since early 2021 and below end-of-2018 levels. Openings have been trending down since early 2022, as have quits, which are now at the lowest level (excluding covid) since early 2018. (People hold on to their existing jobs longer when hiring slows down.) Hires increased, but are still within their own downward trend that also began in early 2022.
What does this mean for workers? Their leverage in the job market "has eroded significantly, with the labor leverage ratio (the ratio of quits to layoffs) dipping below pre-COVID levels for the first time since the pandemic recession, falling about 50% since the peak of the Great Resignation," according to Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter in FOX Business.
JOLTS data can be very noisy and see very large revisions (down 16 of the last 21 months) because the survey has a mere 30% response rate. Still, the trend is not friendly and indicates a significant softening of labor market conditions.
Nationwide, polls show voters favor allowing a federal school choice program by about 2 to 1. But when the issue appears on state ballots, it routinely attracts a tsunami of dollars attacking the concept from teacher unions and progressive groups.
In Nebraska, teacher unions are spending millions to overturn a 2023 law creating education scholarships for non-public schools.
In Kentucky, Amendment 2 would amend the state Constitution to allow tax dollars to flow to students "outside of public schools." Two powerful statewide officeholders have taken opposite sides, with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear backing the unions and Republican Senator Rand Paul siding with parent groups.
In Colorado, Amendment 80 would ensure all children have "the right to school choice," including private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling options.
As regular HOTLINE readers know, Unleash Prosperity Now is leading a "25 By 25" campaign with ALEC and school choice groups throughout the country to increase the number of states – currently a dozen – that offer universal school choice programs. We feel confident this group will be joined next year by Texas and Tennessee.
Our big goal is to get to 25 states with full school choice by the end of 2025.
Washington is still in shock, even horrified, that the Washington Post made no endorsement for president. This was a decision made by the paper's owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
No one is angrier with the decision than the newspaper writers and editors themselves. One of our sources at the Post has told us that "as many as one-third of the writers are threatening to quit."
The "woke" newsroom is in open revolt.
But Bezos isn't backing down, he's battling back. The New York Post reports he has instructed his managers that he wants to expand the Post's audience by hiring more conservative writers. Egads!
He points out that a new Gallup Poll finds journalists have managed to fall below Congress when it comes to trust, and are now the least trusted institution. Newspapers must not only be accurate but must be believed to be accurate.
"Most people believe the media is biased," writes Bezos. "Anyone who doesn't see this is paying scant attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion. It would be easy to blame others for our long and continuing fall in credibility (and, therefore, decline in impact), but a victim mentality will not help. Complaining is not a strategy. We must work harder to control what we can control to increase our credibility."
Bravo Bezos.
This comes on the heels of META chairman Mark Zuckerberg announcing earlier this month that his social media platforms need to be more politically balanced in an attempt to court conservatives.
4) The Real Puerto Rico Scandal: A Rigged Referendum
Every time Puerto Ricans vote on changing the island's commonwealth status, they opt to remain a commonwealth territory over either statehood or independence.
That changes next Tuesday, because the latest referendum doesn't offer keeping the island's current status as a choice:
When they walk into the polling booth on Election Day, Puerto Ricans will be offered three possibilities: (1) statehood, (2) complete independence from the U.S., and (3) sovereignty that includes an ongoing association with the United States. What they will not see is the option of maintaining the status quo.
Removing the status quo option effectively guarantees that statehood will win...
A big victory for statehood would constitute an obvious sham to anyone in the know, including Puerto Ricans themselves. The pro-status quo PPD has called the referendum an "anti-democratic mockery," while the leader of the smaller Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) has called it a "plebiscite of lies." Both parties have instructed their members--collectively constituting some 40 percent of the population--to leave the ballot blank in protest.
Bear that in mind when the very politicians who set up this rigged referendum use it to demand statehood for the good of the "democracy," something they intentionally subverted.
What's the hidden agenda here? Is it part of a sneaky scheme to add two more Democrats to the United States Senate?
5) Chart of the Day - Private Equity Closing in on $1 Trillion Valuation
We mentioned yesterday that our favorite class warrior in the Senate – Elizabeth Warren – wants to slam the brakes on private equity funding vital for expanding and sustaining undercapitalized small businesses. Her bill would do this through a witches brew of taxation, regulation and criminal penalties.
She derides these PE firms as "vampires," but this chart sent to us by a reader shows the rapid expansion of PE expected over the next decade if the industry is simply left alone. She wants to suck the profitability out of these rescue firms. So who's the real vampire here?
