HAH! THE WSJ IS A COMMIE RAG!!!

(h/t Wonkette)

The Wall Street Journal states the obvious but will probably be attacked for Wilsonism by Glenda Beck...   I've noted before that state and local governments have been laying off a lot of workers which has slowed down the economic recovery but it's nice to learn that a major paper is spreading the word.

Unemployment Rate Without Government Cuts: 7.1%
By Justin Lahart
May 8, 2012, 10:15 AM
WALL STREET JOURNAL

One reason the unemployment rate may have remained persistently high:

The sharp cuts in state and local government spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the layoffs those cuts wrought.

The Labor Department’s establishment survey of employers — the jobs count that it bases its payroll figures on — shows that the government has been steadily shedding workers since the crisis struck, with 586,000 fewer jobs than in December 2008. Friday’s employment report showed the cuts continued in April, with 15,000 government jobs lost.

The unemployment rate would be far lower if it hadn’t been for those cuts: If there were as many people working in government as there were in December 2008, the unemployment rate in April would have been 7.1%, not 8.1%.