In the not so distant past, for those looking for new employment opportunities it was "...go south young man..." Now, it seems like jobseekers, entrepreneurs, and even large corps are changing that slogan to "...go south young man..." So much for the Golden State huh. So what’s driving employment opportunity seekers to head south? Well for one thing, job growth. If the jobs head south, so too will the people. What about businesses, why would a business from the North or West go south, knowing the history of the south? One word -- taxes. Even better -- three words - "dirt cheap taxes." For business owners, entrepreneurs and large corps the huge reduction in taxes adds up to millions in savings. Think about it...why else would anyone want to live in Alabama versus say New York or California? Bottom line is cheap taxes for business means jobs growth in the south -- especially in Alabama and Georgia. The flip side [there's always a but] is that such a move may not be so good for job hunters, who often have to trade in certain rights found in more progressive states such as New York or California, to have a job in the south. Oh well, guess that's an individual decision...maybe a job with no rights in the south is better than no job in New York with rights.

Although unemployment is trending downward, it is still not enough and not fast enough. So what's the problem? The economy itself...the private sector is simply too private to fix. Deal with it people. This is democracy at work. Isn't that what the masses wanted...to be free of government control? Well here you have it. That's not to suggest that having the government control every element of what employers can and cannot do and when they will do it. Conversely, it is simply a reflection of reality. It is what it is.

Why then do so many people fault the government when jobs are not created fast enough? Unfortunately, too many people are misinformed, miseducated, and others just simply brain dead. The private sector is called private for a reason. The Feds have little control over what goes on in the private sector. Guess what? The private sector knows that very well. Moreover, high or higher unemployment is good for the private sector. People who have jobs are scared to death to quit and put up with a lot of crap to keep a job. Wage increases are virtually unheard of during high unemployment periods. On the contrary, salary cuts are popular during high unemployment periods as is increased levels of unpaid overtime. All this translates into higher profit margins for companies at the expense of workers; most of the time middle class workers.

Wake up and smell the coffee. The private sector has little incentive to post a lot of jobs and hire a bunch of unemployed people when their doing just fine with the workers already on the payroll. If the whiners and complainers really wanted change then they would not have voted the wealthy special interest favoring officials into office during the most recent mid-term elections. Therefore, the real problem is the none other than ignorant voters. Now factor in that the private sector is simply too private to fix and you have a recipe for bad employment news for a while to come. Maybe voters will get smarter -- one day. Keep hope alive!

From the looks of things there is a glimmer of hope that the housing market is poised for a turnaround which suggests that jobs are looking up as well. Since you kinda sorta need a job to buy a house, the idea is that homebuyers must be gainfully employed if they're willing to sign on the dotted line for a 30 year mortgage. While that logic is sound, [at least somewhat] it doesn't, exactly, explain what's causing the increase in employed versus unemployed. Which industries are hiring? What's prompting hiring by such industries? Is the hiring seasonal, permanent or temporary?

In the absence of hard data, it's a little hard to get on the jobs jobs jobs bandwagon. At least one explanation for the what appears to be a housing market rebound is that some buyers aren't sitting on the sidelines waiting for a "green light." With the gross number of foreclosures, across the country, there are plenty of deals out there. In some cases, with a marginal downpayment one can literally walk into an equity situation. With a deal like that, it's a little hard for either a potential homebuyer or bank to walk away, waiting on a guarantee. If the economics of the past represent a guarantee, than that is a thing of the past. Nowadays, with two incomes even if part-time waiting on full-time and a solid downpayment [from savings over years], it's not hard to persuade a bank to go along with selling one of several hundred foreclosed homes within the bank's portfolio. So while a housing market rebound could likely point to jobs and a stabilizing economy, it could also point to emotional buying decisions. The jury is still out.