Government and Wall Street--Love the Way You Lie

"Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is interesting. But what they hide is vital."--Aaron Levenstein

Today was a special statistic. Unemployment is at the lowest level since 2008. And the crowd roars. The stock market rallies. It's all good in the US of A.

Conventional stock market wisdom says to "buy the rumor, sell the news". So is unemployment down?

I suppose if you spin the numbers enough. If you exclude those no longer eligible for unemployment benefits. If you exclude those who aren't on the rolls anymore because the government counts them as people who are no longer looking for jobs. If you include the underemployed who got hired on as seasonal workers for the last two months. I suppose you can make those numbers say whatever you want them to say.

I was never a conspiracy theorist, but...I now have this idea that we, the American public, have been played. And the government and Wall Street are just one big playa' calling us up in the middle of the night for a booty call. They gotta keep stringing you along, being just nice enough...so you will ignore the fact that you aren't the only one they're screwing. We will all be fine as long as we don't ask too many questions.

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well, that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well, that's alright because I love the way you lie
--Eminem