Bay State’s jobless rate higher than region’s..Trouble looms for Patrick

Comments

1. johnk says

   August 30, 2010 at 9:27 pm

   So Massachusetts has the same type economy and Vermont and New Hampshire?  Really?  I guess Baker has go to say something, making sense doesn’t really much matter.

2. johnt001 says

   August 31, 2010 at 1:34 am

   …to try and deceive the public.  

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   p>The only other New England state that even comes close to MA in terms of population and economic activity is CT, where the unemployment rate is a very similar 8.9%.  The other four states are apples and oranges, and facts are still facts – MA is coming out of the recession faster than the rest of the country.

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   p>Sources:

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   p>Population

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   p>MA: 6.4 million, CT: 3.5 million, no other NE state has even 1/4 of the MA population

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   p>http://www.statehealthfacts.or…

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   p>Economic Activity – 2008

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   p>MA Gross State Product was $365 billion, CT Gross State Product was $216 billion, no other NE state even approaches $100 billion

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   p>http://www.statehealthfacts.or…

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   p>I’d try again with a new talking point if I were you – this one is DOA…

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   p>

   • nickp says

     August 31, 2010 at 11:36 am

     The other four states are apples and oranges, and facts are still facts – MA is coming out of the recession faster than the rest of the country.

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     p>Compared to rest of country, it looks pretty darn average to me, and compared to New England, recovery appears slower:

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     p>Mortage delinquencies, how painfully average

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     p>Homes with underwater equity

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     p>Or even unemployment, where the BMG Bluster is that “we’re leading the nation” from recession, you see, we’re just average, and the real mantra ought to be, at least we’re not Nevada, California or Michigan.

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     p>But, like Lake Wobegon where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average, here in Massachusetts, if you say that Mass is coming out of the recession faster, and you say it often, maybe someone will actually believe it on election day.

     • johnt001 says

       August 31, 2010 at 12:17 pm

       I forgot to include a link to the UMass study which clearly shows MA coming out of the recession faster that the rest of the nation:

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       p>http://www.boston.com/business…

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       p>Money quote:

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       p>

       “The state is adding jobs in nearly every sector, tax revenues are expanding again, and the commonwealth’s gross state product is outperforming the nation,” the summary said. “In contrast to previous economic downturns and recoveries, the mix of industries has been an advantage.”

       In particular, the economists said, health care has added jobs throughout the recession, while technology has rebounded quickly as the global economy has recovered.

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       p>I don’t need to say anything often to make it true – I just need to provide links showing the facts, and I should have included that one in my comment.  Again, this post is DOA, and naysaying on your part, even if it’s oft repeated, will not change that.

       • nickp says

         August 31, 2010 at 2:00 pm

         Quotes aren’t really substantiation.  You claim you link to facts, but it’s only a link to a boston.com article.  

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         p>Did you actually look at the data to which I linked?  I don’t see you challenging the data that appears to put Mass in the middle of the pack in terms of unemployment, mortgage delinquency and home equity.  Not leading, not trailing, just stuck in the middle of the pack.

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         p>New data point:  How about let’s look at growth in personal income.  Massachusetts in the 1st quarter of 2010, is in the 2nd Quintile.

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         p>And how would boston.com know that Massachusetts’ GSP has outperformed the US, when the BEA hasn’t released the data for 2009?  Let’s look at the 2008 numbers  Massachusetts was in the 4th quintile.  Higher than most but not the category of Washington or several of the mid-western states.  Kinda like a B student claiming to be valadictorian.

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         p>Kinda like the Governor who boasts that he kept the Mass bond rating AA, when we all know that pretty much all states have AA or better.

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         p>BTW, the article to which you linked is merely a consensus of economists’ opinions dating back to April. Not really data, or even “facts”.

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         p>What say you examine actual data of 1) unemployment 2) mortgages delinquent 3) negative equity 4) personal income 5) the data point of your choosing, to show that Massachusetts is actually leading the nation.  

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         p>I suspect you’ll see that it’s one of many states enjoying a painfully slow, uneven and average recovery from a recession.

3. david says

   August 31, 2010 at 9:59 am

   what John and John said.  I mourn the pixels who tragically gave their lives for this pointless post… 😉