A Disappointing Jobs Report

I just have one point to add to everyone’s astute comments on the jobs data:

It’s not necessarily a wonderful thing that the financial-activities sector (banking, etc.) added 4,000 jobs, according to the preliminary report.

Washington has pumped so much artificial stimulus into the financial system that, unfortunately, it’s safe to view much of the financial industry as a drag on real growth rather than a creator of it — just like when the economy adds government-subsidized health-care jobs.

Of course, Washington could not have stood by starting in 2007 and 2008 as the entire financial system collapsed. But government interference as executed by both Presidents Bush and Obama has largely enabled financial firms — and the rest of the economy — to delay realization of their very real losses.

Delaying losses also delays recovery.

Plus, because Washington has so far failed to fix “to big to fail,” we can properly interpret some growth in finance as a future liability for taxpayers.

And yes, many small and entrepreneurial financial firms don’t depend on implicit or explicit government support — but they’ve got to compete against companies that do.

This piece originally appeared in National Review Online

This piece originally appeared in National Review Online