The economy is still struggling. True. Everyone and the dog is ranting about jobs and hiring. True. Aah, but wait - can manufacturing provide an economic boost or is it just a drag and burden on the economy? If the numbers tell the truth, manufacturing has been a job killer for years and years. What else would you expect from a mature economy? After all, the USA already manufactures the best planes, trains, and automobiles right. When you are on top like that, there is nowhere else to go but down before going up again.

Ask GM about the up and down seesaw thingee. They know it oh too well...and guess what, it wasn't until the massive multi-billion dollar auto industry bailout under Obama until GM actually started to do silly things like...hire employees, make a profit and well manufacture quality cars again. Of course, we can, also, thank the Japanese automakers for putting pressure on the Big Three to step it up a notch. Competition is a huge incentive to efficiency in a capitalist society. No argument there but really, besides better automobiles what else is there to manufacture that isn't already being done -- and done well. Hummh, maybe trains? There is a thought. Not only would manufacturing mass transit commuter trains be a huge step in the right direction, doing so would create jobs (lots of jobs), lower energy consumption and dependency and better people’s health. Ever been to LA? Try breathing in the extremely poor air due to the ridiculously high levels of smog.

Once more, LA incidentally was slated for a mass transit bullet train connecting to San Francisco. What happened to that project? How many jobs with that create? Consider what happen if similar projects got off the ground within other metropolitan areas. So is manufacturing a boost or economic burden? Well that depends on the approach. Speaking of which, what's the plan?

The Feds move towards more efficient defense operations means someone isn't going to get paid. Despite the stiff defense budget cuts Boeing is still flying high. Still innovating. Still visionary. And still hiring. At least shuffling people around to make sure people keep their jobs. Boeing's superior position in aviation has earned them the reputation among everyday American flyers, "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going." That's a great reputation indeed but it doesn't stop there. Boeing, up until Obama's announcement, just the other day, produced B-52 bombers and tanks out of plant in Wichita. Now, wave bye bye to that plant. It is no more.

Like most companies, Boeing could have used the Defense Department's budget cuts as an excuse to get rid of jobs and sweeten the pot for the big bosses. Nope, not Boeing. Instead, Boeing decided to move some people around from the Wichita, KS plant to the Oklahoma City, OK location. On top of many workers keeping their jobs, the move to Oklahoma City will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the local economy there. Soon to be, Oklahoma City residents, employed by Boeing, have been spotted talking to realtors for new home purchases.

For those of you that don't know, this kind of cash influx typically has a trickle-down effect, in that additional service jobs are created. Think about it, the house sitter, dog sitter, landscaping and gardening, house cleaning, HVAC service, and so and so on. Moreover, young workers can fill some of these offspring jobs, which is a good thing considering young workers (under the age 30) are the hardest hit by the current economic situation. So needless to say young workers and the local Oklahoma City community altogether is glad to know Boeing is still flying high even in the face of Defense budget cuts. Bravo. Bravo. Well done Boeing.

The slow turnaround of the economy is painful on pretty much everyone except big corps. That couldn't be more true for any one group more than Hispanics who face alarming high rates of deportation and, for those that slip through the cracks, no jobs but yet Hispanics stay loyal to both the Democratic party and Obama specifically. Go figure. Under the Obama administration, more Hispanics have been deported than under the Bush era and the jobs situation stinks badly for those Hispanics that stay in the U.S. illegally. Man -- it's as if Obama can do no wrong in the eyes of Hispanics. After all, it's not like Obama has created many jobs [although quite a few were saved mostly in the public sector] and Hispanics site the number one reason for supporting the Dems and Obama as -- jobs! It's an absolute enigma.

On the other hand, perhaps Hispanics are a little smarter than expected. Even though the Dems job creation record has been pretty bleak the last 4 years, Hispanics know they stand a much better chance at becoming a legal citizen of the U.S. by supporting the Dems [DREAM act] than with the GOP. Ever wonder why Bush hardly deported any Hispanics under his watch? Could it be the cheap and sometimes free Hispanic labor? Why provide a pathway to citizenship when you can get the labor for little to nothing and do not have to worry about labor lawsuits [labor laws protect citizens]. Perhaps it was under the Bush era where the mantra, "immigrants are stealing jobs from Americans" became popular. To Obama's credit, at least he is trying to fix the illegal immigration problem. At the same time, the jobs situation is still pretty bad for millions...yet Hispanics are still loyal. Sounds like Hispanics are maybe a litter smarter than some think.

One month the job report numbers are down and now the numbers are up. While I'm no economist, that doesn't sound like a stable economic rebound to me. That in turn raises the question -- what happened to the job security safety net? Historically that has been the Feds, but while we're trumpeting an increase in private sector hiring, at the same time the Feds are axing jobs like it's Armageddon or something. What's that all about? Hummh, maybe it's the narrow focus of bean counters at the expense of the big picture i.e. economic stability an d national security.

What do jobs have to do with national security? Well, its a little hard to ensure national security when the Pentagon is up for big budget cuts which mean massive job losses in defense. Make no mistake about it, those cuts will hurt and they will hurt badly. It's a simple reality, many US military bases are located in cities in which those bases are the primary source of revenue flow. Now what do you think is going to happen to those cities when the cash stops flowing? You guessed it, many of those towns will be hit hard economically. It's a little hard to figure out how a measly increase up to 200,000 or so private sector jobs [for November] account for the tens of billions of dollars of revenue loss for many military towns and states. Sounds like a classic case of one step forward and two steps backwards. Needless to say it just begs the question, what happened to the job security safety net? Maybe that's something the Occupy DC movement can better ask.