(ThyBlackMan.com) Recently, the new job numbers were published for September by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). There is still great uncertainty surrounding whether interest rates will be increased in December. An upward increase in interest rates as many of you now know, could have an adverse impact on job creation and the job numbers. The African American unemployment rate dropped from 9.5 percent to 9.2 percent while the white unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent. The national rate was unchanged at 5.1 percent. However, the undisputed message in these numbers is the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) through monetary policy is reaching the limit of what it can do about unemployment. Interest rates are near zero and they will “only go up” from here. That will undoubtedly send the AA unemployment rate higher.
Monetary policy encompasses among other things, increasing and lowering interest rates, flooding the banking system with cash by buying government bonds as the Fed did with its quantitative easing (QE) program, advising central banks in other countries to adopt QE as a means to stimulate their economies, and influencing investment markets through making timely comments about its position on interest rates, as Janet Yellen, the Chairwoman of the Fed is doing now. She is suggesting December might be the lift off date for higher interest rates. If it happens, it will be a very unpleasant holiday gift to African Americans!
The BLS report also shows there was a disappointing number of jobs created by the national economy demonstrating the weakness of this economic recovery. High job creation numbers keep recessions at bay. Job creation numbers like the 142,000 for September are not enough to prevent the economy from sliding into a future recession. Economists are finally reaching the conclusion, reached by me long ago, that there is a need for fiscal action to stabilize this economy and put it on a solid path of positive growth. https://thyblackman.com/2014/11/10/3-reasons-why-the-current-economic-recovery-will-fail/.
Fiscal solutions involve the use of government revenue. Republicans for example have over the years advocated tax cuts for the very 
wealthy and businesses as a fiscal solution to job creation. Democrats on other hand are advocators of infrastructure spending, tax cuts to the middle class and direct and indirect spending on various programs that help lift citizens out of poverty. Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said it best regarding fiscal action in an opinion piece written for the Wall Street Journal on 10/05/2015. He said “… the Fed will continue to do what it can, but monetary policy can no longer be the only game in town. Fiscal-policy makers in Congress need to step up.”
What is truly needed however, is synchronization between monetary and fiscal policies. A strong fiscal plan that makes common sense to the public and creates jobs, could allow the Fed to raise interest rates (monetary policy) without fear of increasing unemployment rates and hurting job creation.
To drive change, here are 3 things the African American media can do to help African Americans in these troubling times. These suggestions are not exclusive to the AA print media. Radio and television need to weigh-in along with political pressure groups and politicians.
1) The majority press are writing articles about the limitations of the Fed and are presenting articles on fiscal solutions. Given that the black unemployment rate is the highest of any worker group , it would appear to be a no-brainer for publications like Ebony, Essence and Black Enterprise to be out front in featuring articles on possible fiscal solutions. This should be a natural domain for them. This is an enormous opportunity for them to present fiscal policy solutions that are positive for the AA community and the nation. The Davis Deficit Neutral Job Creation and Stimulus Plan is one such plan. Otherwise, millionaires in Congress will make that decision, perhaps leaving the African American community once again out in the cold.
2) Where are the articles regarding how AA communities are truly surviving under these oppressively appalling Great Recession era high unemployment rates? Cities like Baltimore, Chicago and Detroit come to mind. What are the local conditions like and unemployment rates in these locales. Stories of this type are informative and will give the AA community a heads up!
3) Janet Yellen, the Fed Chairwoman is always talking about “slack” in the economy. Many economists take that to mean that the BLS official unemployment rate is not accurate. If she is pushed through a question at one of her news conferences to actually put a number on “slack,” what would that number be, as it relates to the unemployment rate? Estimates I have been using suggest the official unemployment rate is 2 to 5 percent higher. Wouldn’t it be nice to know from her what she actually thinks the slack number is? Even if she thinks it’s one percent, then the true unemployment rate for African Americans based on this month’s number is 10.2 percent. It begs the question, why than would she raise interest rates when she herself is saying blacks are experiencing Great Recession era unemployment rates?
Finally, thanks to all of you for partnering with me and pressing these publications in regard to my last article,
https://thyblackman.com/2015/09/28/ebony-black-enterprise-and-essence-magazines-are-hurting-african-americans/. I really appreciate your involvement and enthusiasm. Black Enterprise’s reply was a little disingenuous as they e-mailed an article dated September 17th when it was clear the ThyBlackman.com article referenced September 24th as the day of the last comment made by Yellen about raising interest rates by the end of the year. http://www.blackenterprise.com/money/federal-reserve-votes-no-on-raising-interest-rates/. In conclusion, one of you put it this way, “BE’s take appears to be: “Don’t worry, be happy.”
For those of you who are offended by the status quo of these publications, this is an opportunity for you to evoke a response and cause a break through in regard to them helping us in our time of economic need. Please kindly tweet them; write them; e-mail them; say bad things about them, but get them to react to this piece and the suggestions above! If we do nothing, the wealthy and powerful will dictate “our future” through their suggestions of what the fiscal plan ought to be. Friends, countrymen, brothers and sisters, I beseech you, seize the moment and make this outcome work in our best interest!
Staff Writer; James Davis
This talented brother is a graduate of Florida A. and M. University(FAMU), a former stockbroker, and a human rights activist who resides in Sanford, Florida. He was awarded the prestigious Governor Haydon Burns Scholarship to attend FAMU and while at FAMU was awarded the first Martin Luther King Scholarship. He is also author of three books, among them are “The Fix This Time,” Expanding Social Security Benefits to Create Jobs and Spur Demand( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MI3PD2M ) and “Hey…God’s Talking To You,” The Study Book ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GYI3VQW ).
He can be reached through his blog @, (http://www.thefixthistime.com).