This and That

Little Feat
Mr. Reid’s strategy to break Republicans depends on keeping his caucus unified, which is no small feat in a party as Balkanized as the Democrats can be. (NYT, 10/2/2013)

Another inconvenient truth which slipped by the censors at the Times. 


Shacked Up
Mr. Reid’s upbringing in tiny Searchlight, Nev., where he grew up in a shack, is never far from his mind, even when he is speaking from his mahogany desk in the Senate chamber. (NYT, 10/2/2013)

Yes, Harry Reid, the career politician from Nevada who somehow has managed to become a multi-millionaire on a government salary. 


Omen-ous
Tim Liddle, 53, a Web designer in Nashville, Tenn., said he was frustrated after not being able to create an account on the federal exchange Web site for two days, and called the technological problems “a very bad omen of things to come with this Web site and this program.”

“I can’t imagine Apple or Ford or McDonald’s rolling out any new product before making perfectly sure they first could provide what they promised,” he said. (NYT, 10/2/2013)

What Liddle needs to remember is that we are talking about the government. All expectations need to be adjusted. 

Downward. 


Grab Bag
But to many independent economic analysts, it remains too early to tell how the sweeping Affordable Care Act will affect the jobs market.
...
Anecdotal reports about the law’s effect on jobs have grabbed headlines over the past year. Major retailers like Trader Joe’s and Home Depot said they would no longer provide coverage for part-time workers, instead having them buy it on the exchanges.

Food-service chains like White Castle have said they might hire more part-time employees because of the Affordable Care Act.

“I would like to tell you we’ve continued to open more restaurants in more neighborhoods, providing more jobs, and serving more customers,” Jamie Richardson, a White Castle executive, told a Congressional committee this summer. “I’d like to tell you that, but I can’t. In fact, White Castle’s growth has halted” because of the law, he said. 
...
In a Chamber of Commerce survey in July, about three-quarters of small businesses said the law had made it harder to hire. Of those affected by the employer mandate, half said they would cut employees’ hours or replace full-time workers with part-time. (NYT, 10/2/2013)

It may be too early and the reports may be anecdotal, but there are certainly leading indicators, wouldn't you agree?

Put another way, there have been no reports - NONE - of a company announcing that they are increasing hiring as a result of the new health care law. 


Kneed
With Washington embarked on another of its oxymoronic shutdowns, everyone is giving it in the neck to the Republicans. So maybe someone should give it to Barack Obama in the knees. He's the president. He wanted this job and must bear some responsibility for what has become of politics in the nation's capital. Which is to say, the obliteration of politics. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 10/2/2013)

Good column by Henninger. 

Years from now, will historians remark about how effective Obama has been as a leader?

We tend to doubt it.