So, new claims for unemployment rose this week and freaked everyone out.  Yet the numbers of people continuing claims dropped unexpectedly (no one heard about that).  Our staffing business has openings for entry level people – we have recently found it challenging to get the spots filled.  We continue to hear the unemployed workers say that they “make more on unemployment”.  I have work for them but our Government would rather they stay on the welfare system.  This is crazy.  Stop extending the unenmployment benefits and watch the unemploment numbers drop!  This will result in more positive news which will cause consumers to start spending which will cause the factories to start producing and put more people to work (a virtuous cycle).  Instead we are battling our own Government which is fueling this  “doom loop” when it could save money and create a “boom loop”.  The upper end jobs won’t come back until the boom loop is allowed to happen.