leroy petry, and then sarah gibbons on climate changing natural disasters. going with your phone calls, comments, messages and tweets. host: good morning welcome to washington journal. the new jobs are as americans elected about the state of our country and economy. the number of jobs at it was just pointing and lower than what economists hope. wages are going up for those who have jobs. president biden blames the covid-19 delta variant says better times are ahead some people are worried the means going in the wrong direction.

what is your opinion? if you are optimistic about the way the economy is going, we want to hear you at (202) 748-8000. if you are pessimistic about the economy, your number is (202) 748-8001. you can always text us your opinion at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media, on facebook at facebook.com/c-span, on twitter @cspanwj, and you can follow us on instagram, @cspanwj. the new jobs report that came out yesterday has many great about the state --has many worried about the state of the economy. i will preview a little bit about what the wall street journal has to say. "u.s. firing slowed sharply in august as the surging delta variant slowed the pace

of the recovery. the u.s. added 235,000 jobs last month, the labor department reported, falling short of the estimate. jobs growth was down from upwardly revised monthly payroll gains of 1.1 million in july and 962,000 in june. those job gains are slowing. demand for workers persists. the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 5.2% in august from 5.4 in july. wages increased 4.3% from a year ago. industries including warehousing, manufacturing and finance added job solidly in august." that report seems to be down the middle, where job growth is not increasing but pay and unemployment is going up.

president biden came out and reacted to the report friday. here is what the president had to say. [video clip] >> as we head into labor day weekend, we have more evidence of the progress of our economy from last year's economic calamity. the economy created 235,000 new jobs in august and the unemployment rate fell to 5.2%, the lowest it has been in 18 months, but despite the impact of the delta variant, and i will talk more about that in a minute, we are seeing an economic recovery that is durable and strong. the plan is working. we are getting results. america is on the move again. today's revision of the previous month's job gains, with the revision of the july numbers, this report means we have been adding an average of 750,000 jobs per month on average during the past three months.

in the two months before i became president, we were adding 60,000 jobs a month. total job creation in the first seven months of my administration is nearly double that of any prior first term president. what we have seen this year is a continued growth month after month in job creation. it is not just that i have added more jobs than any other in the first year of any president, wages are going up. some jobs, some months were fewer, some more, but always adding jobs. this is the kind of growth that makes our economy stronger and consistent and not the boom or bust. host: let's go to the author -- one of the co-authors of that

story i read to you, the labor, economics and policy reporter for the wall street journal, here with us this morning to break down that report. , eric good morning -- eric, good morning. guest: good morning. host: give us the bottom line on the jobs report. was it bad, good? guest: you have to put it into perspective. compared to june and july, where almost one million jobs were added, it is disappointing. quite a bit of slowdown in the hiring, but in 2019, i would be talking about, wow, what a good report. it is all about perspective. the clear take away was you do see the effects of this delta variant in this report. why did we move so much more slowly than early in the summer? restaurants cut jobs, retail cut

jobs, those places that were hiring at a faster rate, especially restaurants earlier this year, in person services, we might be seeing a slow down after a rapid rebound. host: what does this say about those who have jobs? the unemployment rate is down, wages are up, so some people are doing ok in this economy. guest: some people are certainly benefiting. if you have a job that you like now, you should feel good. you should feel pretty secure. we see a lot of evidence that employers are holding onto workers. layoffs are really trending down especially from a year ago, so i think employers want to hold onto workers, but some are starting to show caution about adding that next worker. host: what sectors are doing well in our economy now and what sectors are falling behind? guest: yeah, so the professional

and business sectors look to do pretty well, finance, those areas. leisure and hospitality has been the real roller coaster during this economic crisis and recovery, the hardest hit last year. people stopped traveling, stopped going out. the fastest growing we saw for the past year. we have the brakes on that you saw job growth down. and public schools, a decrease last month after record gains in july, so think that's i think that shows how uneven that is, more summer school teachers but maybe we are not back to where we were, you know, pre-pandemic.

host: what does the future of the economy look like right now? guest: the prediction is for growth but at a slower pace than economists are predicting. they are forecasting about 6% for the year, which would be continuing the pace of growth we have seen in the first half of the year. that is rapid growth for the u.s. we are talking about growing almost three times -- almost three times as fast as before the pandemic. we are going to get all those job back and we are still million short from where we were

in february of 2020, so that is frustrating for people, that we are not back and probably not be back based on the trend for several months or a year. host: jo if -- the governors are indicative

more broadly is people back to the labor market, people staying on the side of options, but the concern is the stimulus money. it cap ever made it's be seen with -- it kinda remains to be seen with the delta variant. host: how much further will we see wage growth as businesses try to get people off the sidelines and to come back to these jobs they say they want? guest: you hit the nail on the head. it depends on how long it takes for people to come off the sidelines. we have seen over the past year pretty strong job growth. we have seen the unemployment rate fall by a lot, but the share of americans working or looking for work, the labor

force participation rate, hold flat from last august. a lot of americans hit the exit during the pandemic. some of them retired and they are not coming back. some of them are sick, cannot take care of their children and it cannot be in the labor force. if the labor supply remain short -- if there a shortage of cookies in the cafeteria, people might be willing to pay more. host: where should we keep our eyes this week for those of us following the economy? guest: there is interesting data coming out. one is the number of job openings, so, like i said, we have not had a lot of layoffs. we have seen slower hiring.

the record high in june, we will get the number for july, i will want to see if employers are still posting jobs. i will keep an eye on the jobless benefits. this will be the last week where people are seeing benefits, so interesting to see, our people not applying? -- see, are people not applying? host: we would like to think the labor, economics and policy reporter for the wall street journal for being with us this morning and walking us through the drops report. guest: thank you for having me. host: we want to know what you think about the u.s. economy. are you optimistic or pessimistic about the way the economy is going? let's go to our phone loans -- our phone lines and start with charlie from ohio. good morning. caller: good morning.

thank you for taking my call. right now, i am fairly pessimistic. i am looking at this crisis we have created at the border and afghanistan and i don't see how these crises are helping the u.s.. it seems like obama's third term and he is doing anything he can to bring us down to the community of states, not a superpower. i am pessimistic. if trump comes back, i will be off -- be optimistic again. host: how are you doing as far as jobs and finances right now? caller: i am doing ok. the stimulus helped me pay my taxes, so it was good. i do check, month-to-month, i leave a lot of money in the bank, but i am hanging in there. i just don't feel this administration is interested in

america bouncing back. i think they want us to come down to a level that we are just not a superpower anymore. host: what do you think president biden and congress should be doing to get the economy back on track? caller: first thing, close the border. we have a crisis down there. we have millions of people coming in who are unemployed. they will lower the wages and take other people's jobs, so that's a huge crisis. i do not know what to do about afghanistan. it is going to be years of hearing about hostages and negative stuff coming out of their,, refugees, more refugees. it is not anything to be optimistic about in the long-term. host: let's go to ron, calling from monroe township, new jersey. ron, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

i am pessimistic. i think we desperately need both president biden's infrastructure bills, the supply chains seem to be broken, and we need a realistic way of raising interest rates. the interest rates are way too low. there's plenty of money. the insurance companies can supply all the money we need for the economy. they only pay out about 1% on their premiums, and there is no shortage of money. i wish us the best and i think we can do much better with the biden plan. host: ron, you are in new jersey. that had lots of flooding and

damage from hurricane ida earlier this week, a lot of infrastructure that will have to be replaced in your state and in the northeast. do you think that as that is rebuilt, that will help the economy? caller: absolutely. yes. i think it will also help for the future to decrease expenses in the future that will have more permanent -- that we will have more permanent assets instead of usable assets like going out to dinner and things like that, we will have permanent assets that will keep giving back for generations to come. host: all right. some republicans are saying that the new jobs report proves that president biden is not being a

responsible steward of the american economy. gop representative kevin brady put out this statement yesterday. "there's more than just covid behind this terrible jobs report. president biden's workerless look every is hampering -- is hammering main street and families as businesses fight to fill jobs and families struggle with rising prices. higher wages in august will almost certainly be followed by higher prices due to government spending and lack of workers, which will only get worse if the democrats trillions in tax hikes and welfare spending is rammed through congress in september." that is a statement from kevin brady, republican from texas, the top republican on the ways and means committee. we want to know what is your view of the economy now. are you optimistic, pessimistic? let's talk to gar, calling from

decatur, georgia. caller: i am optimistic, with the end of the 20 year war, we can spend money on peacetime goods. you get a greater return on investment from peacetime goods the more time goods. china, in our 20 years in afghanistan, brought 850 million people out of poverty. they don't have homeless. they set the bar high. they have set the bar high on bringing people out of poverty. the capitalists cannot deal with it and they don't want to bring americans out of poverty. the thing about it is is i hope joe biden takes that investment and puts it in peacetime goods because that is where you get your greatest return on your investment, peacetime goods. look at amazon, peacetime goods. look at ups, peacetime goods. the countries doing good,

peacetime goods you -- goods. you have defense contractors sucking up all the money. with the end of the war, i am optimistic. host: let's talk to diane in ohio. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. first of all, the only reason, or most of the reason, i think i am pessimistic is because people are not taking the shots and they are afraid. it has nothing to do with the people coming from the southern borders. in fact, i love the fact that they are here because they are going to take jobs that people in the united states don't want. and let's say, also, the economy, if the employers would only pay what the people are worth, this low income -- it doesn't work, and i know for a fact that employers, most

employers, do not care about you, because i used to be an investigator for workers comp. they would talk about you bad. if things could change, i know biden can do it. he has done a good job and i don't care what anybody says. thank you. host: let's look at the jobs gains and losses that came out with the august jobs report. here, professional and business services went up 74,000 jobs in august. transportation and warehousing jumped more than 50,000 jobs. manufacturing is also up 37,000 jobs. but where we saw the job losses were in retail trade, once again, which went down 29,000 jobs, and food and beverage stores, also down 23,000 jobs.

so jobs where people are out in public and having to buy and sell and purchase things, those are down, while professional jobs and transportation, housing and manufacturing are up. so we want to know how you are doing. what is your view of the u.s. economy? are you optimistic or pessimistic? let's talk to scott in georgia. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. go ahead, scott. caller: i am optimistic because i think it is darkest before the dawn. i think for the last several years, we have lost our work ethic as a whole. we do not teach our kids to work anymore. it is just always time to do the least and get the most and i feel like americans are going to find out they are going to have to work to make money, and that means doing something you would not otherwise do, even if it

means getting paid less, because over time, if you work hard, that works out. i am pessimistic. i think we are going to hit rock bottom but then we will come back. host: what do you mean by rock-bottom? what do you think rock-bottom is going to be? let's go to timothy, calling from harpers will -- harper's bill, new york. good morning. caller: yes. i am very pessimistic about the future right now. i am on social security and disability and the president has lied to me about raising up my social security/disability and i am just badly -- just barely making it, just barely making it. it is ridiculous.

if i was able to work, i would work. i have a disability and health issues that i cannot work. and it is kind of ridiculous. and the price of everything has gone up three times as much as people are saying on tv. thank you very much. host: let's talk to james, who is calling from west point, mississippi. james, good morning. caller: good morning. i am optimistic. i think that things will begin to go up in the u.s. with us getting out of afghanistan and i think the two areas where we have a negative in the jobs rating -- host: james, are you there? caller: yes.

i thought i was cut off. host: no. keep going. the two areas you thought we were negative in job ratings? caller: they are directly related to the failure of those people to take the covid vaccinations and that is hurting those areas that depend upon the public to go out and trade with those particular businesses. had people got out and gotten their vaccinations, i think those areas would have been up. and if people would go ahead and get there sensations, that would improve -- and get their vaccinations, that would improve. and one thing we are not talking about is the former trump administration and the republican party added to trillion dollars to our deficit and did not do anything to help

the working people in america. they basically gave tax breaks to the wealthy and to the corporations, so the working people are hurting as a result. i thank you for taking my call. host: let's see what some of our social media followers are saying about their view of the u.s. economy. here's a quote from facebook that says "let's add more unemployment so the fed can stabilize the economy, increasing the rates and slowing spending." here is a tweet that says "we have built an economy that cannot sustain itself. we have neglected the majority of the population in favor of a handful. while socialism may not be the answer, capitalism is certainly the problem." a text says "my daughter's daycare up, gas up, heating oil

up. new jobs are not new jobs. employment still lagging due to workers receiving free government benefits." another text that says "good morning, america. have a great day. i am pessimistic. inflation is crushing. you can see it in the faces of people in the grocery store. locally, our electricity is up due to the storm. gas is up again. just cannot catch a break. good to know the american people's bailout was nothing compared to the auto and banking bailouts." another that says "houses are selling 10% above asking price in a matter of days. businesses now realize they can no longer offer minimum wage. people can pick and choose to seek employment in entry-level jobs because of wage wars." we want to know what you think. what is your view of the economy? are you optimistic or

pessimistic? let's talk to larry, calling from sunderland, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i am pessimistic because joe biden's socialistic, communistic policies are -- look at food. given the payments for not going back to work, at certain businesses, and those talking about afghanistan, we are going to face nuclear terrorism because pakistan is connected to the taliban. those of you who want socialism, we will have another global depression and a thermonuclear war. host: let's talk to marie, calling from fremont, california. marie, good morning. caller: hi. i am very optimistic. we have a lot of positive things going on now. we have new leadership in the

white house. we have a vaccine. we are out of afghanistan. we have infrastructure jobs. all you have to do is hang on. it is going to get better. host: friends of joe biden came out friday and touted the gains in the economy that we have seen since he became president. here is what the president had to say. [video clip] >> the first half of this year had the fastest rate in about four years. we are the only developed country in the world -- i will say that again -- we are the only developed country in the world whose economy is now bigger than it was before the pandemic. because of the groundwork we lay because of the american rescue plan, we are seeing an economy and job market that can weather the ups and downs of the delta variant and anything that comes our way. we have more work to do, as i will discuss shortly, but the facts speak for themselves. think of where this country

stood on the day i was sworn in as president and compare it to where we are today. the number of people filing new claims for unemployment each week is down 57%. down 57%. child poverty is down nearly 50%. we are no longer seeing long lines of people waiting for boxes of food to be put in their trunk after waiting for hours, or sometimes up to two hours. the unemployment rate is down from 6.3% to 5.2% and i believe it will continue to go down. it is no wonder that last week's gallup poll found 72% of americans think now is a good time to find a quality job. this time last year, that number was 30%. that is the mark of an economy where people can see a place for themselves in the economy. host: many people have talked about the federal benefits that americans have been getting because of the pandemic.

for quite a few americans, those benefits will end next week, and the washington post has a couple of paragraphs on what is going to happen next week as the unemployment benefits begin to in. -- begin to end. "unemployment benefits are typically paid by the state but the federal government stepped in with enhanced benefits last year when it was clear so many lost their jobs because of the pandemic. they have previously lapsed only to be renewed because so many americans remain out of work. anticipating a backlash to the expiration next week, the biden administration two weeks ago said states could, on their own, extend the jobless benefits using leftover state aid from biden's stimulus bill in march. not a single state appears likely to do so, at least as of friday. as a result, roughly 10 million people are set to lose

unemployment benefits on september 6, including 7 million people who will lose all benefits, so next week -- all benefits." so next week, we can expect 7 million people to lose all l unemployment benefits. a lot of those people will be losing their benefits. we want to know your view of the u.s. economy. let's go to aquanetta, calling from maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i am pessimistic about what is going on. when i look around, back in the 60's and 70's, they began to take manufacturing jobs out of the city. when they begin to take our jobs and send them somewhere else, it was a problem then, but

biblically, i feel it will never get better. the covid is going to get worse. people will start robbing, killing in our neighborhoods. and no one is going to be hungry anymore. what is going to happen, there will be more women than ever before and they will get younger, 10, 11, 12, 13-year-olds, because if you can build prisons and don't have enough jobs and housing that people can afford, what do you really expect? god is disappointed. when i read the word of god, it says wars and rumors of wars. we will have nuclear warfare. i do not want to see anybody hungry, but when you come over -- it is not that we do not want

to take the jobs -- they don't want to take the jobs because we have been mistreated so bad, and we basically deserve $20 an hour years ago. in my mind, i believe we would not be -- how can you have a black neighborhood where you have drugs on the corners, liquor stores on the corners where we live, and you go further up, and it is not like that. we don't have recreation. back in the 1960's and 1970's, we had recreational things for children to do. there is nothing for kids to do but be on the phone and do twitter all day. host: let's go to nathaniel in arlington, virginia. good morning. caller: i am optimistic about the future. i believe that if we were to do everything that we can do to advance and help ourselves and improve the lives of others that we have an optimistic future. that is my belief.

host: all right. let's go to dee, who is calling from vero beach, florida. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. thank you for taking my call. i am a senior citizen and i appreciate the fact that wages are going up for the working people, but mine is a fixed income, so when things go expensive, get higher and higher in price, i have less every month. it is a choice of buying my prescriptions or eating. i mean, it is really a hard time for senior citizens, and i hope that our president can kind of look into that area of social security because we need help too. and i know things are a little bit better, but i cannot be

hopeful when i see my bank account go down, down, down to next to nothing and i need a caregiver and i cannot afford one. it is a difficult life, jesse. host: let's go to eddie, calling from cartersville, georgia. eddie, good morning. caller: yes. host: go ahead, eddie. caller: can you hear me? host: yes. caller: i am just sitting here listening about the people complaining, especially the republicans. you all complain about joe biden and work and what is going on in the economy and in afghanistan. if the republicans would help with the democrats, everybody get together with the democrats and pass the bills that need to be passed, this economy will get better, but people just want to

complain about everything. it is not going to get better. i am just saying let's all work together and put our trust in the economy, just like when donald trump was in office a few years ago. they wanted to complain about the food. the food was up already. inflation was -- they let them come in and rob. and all the people complaining about what they got and ain't got, that goes back to donald trump. host: let's go to jonathan, calling from canton, ohio. jonathan, good morning. caller:.good morning i appreciate being able to speak this morning. i am optimistic about the

economy. i am optimistic things are going to work out. the changes, people are stuck in a form of society written from the constitution. however, there is change coming and it is going to happen. you know, bush came to canton, ohio and seen how much money people were making it hoover, the hoover company. they made sweepers. and they closed it down. that was one company, the one company in canton, ohio where they made big money. a lot of people worked in manufacturing, on infrastructure, and it is ok, though. it will get better. biden has our back. everything will be ok. host: well, the hill had a story earlier this week where they talked about a gallup poll on american's opinion of the economy and i will read a couple

paragraphs. "americans confidence in the economy has dropped amid the nationwide covid surge driven by the delta variant. in the latest poll, 60% of respondents say they think the economy is getting worse, with only 37% saying it is getting better. gallup's economic confidence index, which summarizes americans views of the economy, also dropped from negative six to -12, putting it at the same level it was in february. the scale goes from -100 to 100, with -100 occurring if all respondents ranked all economic conditions as poor and getting worse, and 100 if the opposite, according to gallup. we see here this gallup poll -- according to gallup" we see here this gallup poll

says only 37% say the economy is getting better, so we can say people are pessimistic about the economy. what do you think? let's start with michael, calling from new york. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. i want to make a comment about employers who are hiring. a lot of them are part-time positions, and they are only offering the bare minimum as far as health insurance. in fact, some do not offer health insurance for upwards of 90 days you are working, so there are different types of jobs offered for people returning to work, and our economy, the numbers we are getting with returns of jobs and job numbers, look very good on paper, but in actuality, we are having jobs without the benefits

and i will tell you something now. our health insurance situation is dire. we don't have health insurance for people working part time. this is what is wrong with the economy now. they need to focus on insurance, health insurance, and benefits for people returning to work so they can actually make it. it is like that senior citizen said. her account keeps dwindling because the cost of goods and services is going up. corporations got a huge tax cut under trump and now they are reaping in that tax cut. we are paying for that. host: let's go to james, calling from virginia beach, virginia. james, good morning. caller: good morning. good morning. i am optimistic. i will tell you what. like previous callers have said, we are in the darkest part.

if donald trump did anything, he revealed america for what it is. and a lot of people, some of my friends, i was not aware of their thought process and how they really felt about certain things, and right now, america is running around crazy. people are talking about unemployment. getting things for free -- free labor, free land. once this is revealed, we can fix it. so i am optimistic america will be a better place. thank you. host: let's look at the racial and gender break ground -- gender breakdown from this most recent jobs report. we saw twice the unemployment rate for whites was lower than everyone else at 4.5%, while the

unemployment rate for blacks was at 8.8% and for hispanics was 6.4%. the unemployment rate was the same for men and women across the board, with men unemployed at 5.1% and women doing a little better at 4.8%. all of this comes out of the job report that came out on friday. let's look at what some of our social media followers are saying about the economy now. here is a text that says "wages are going up. old jobs coming back. not new jobs. people are afraid to spend and they are afraid of the direction this administration is taking and the likelihood that taxes and inflation will rise, leaving us in worse economic positions." another text says "we shut down the economy. many states remain highly restricted with policies not designed for growth. california's governor -- if that

economy begins roaring, the boom will begin." another text says "optimistic. you can still drive over 100 miles for under $20." another text that says "i am pessimistic about the economy. here is why. i have seen food, utilities, fuel and my taxes go up since biden was elected. it will get worse if he raises taxes on the wealthy and corporate america because those taxes will be passed onto the consumer." one last text that says "there were no jobs added at all. all this is is our people going back to work after the government shut everybody down." we want to know what is your opinion, your view of the u.s. economy. are you optimistic or pessimistic? let's talk to john, who is calling from hampton, connecticut. john, good morning. caller: how are you doing?

host: just fine. are you optimistic or pessimistic, john? caller: i am pessimistic. this problem is a lot greater than we can wrap our heads around. since the founding of this nation, we have had this problem where we have had free labor from the blacks, free land from the natives. well, this little coupon has run out a long time ago. it is artificially based. and we consume a lot more than our planet can give out and the united states, along with china, india, they are all on a train -- on that train, and we need to have the youth come up with a different system because this is

not going to work anymore. you are just going to have a few at the top with money and the rest of us are going to be broke. host: let's go to robert, calling from clearwater, florida. robert, good morning. caller: thanks for talking to me. i am optimistic, with all these people coming from afghanistan, wherever there -- they are from. host: are you there, robert? caller: i am optimistic because of all the stuff going on with afghanistan, people coming over here, the floods destroying the north. it is like something in the bible or something. that disease going around here. it is terrible. host: all that makes you optimistic, robert? caller: yes. it makes me optimistic and a lot of other people too. this economy is not going to go right with biden.

it would be better -- i don't think it would be better with the other guy either, but -- of course. host: let's go to john, calling from portland, oregon. john, good morning. are you there, john? all right. let's go to jeremy, who is calling from new jersey. jerry, good morning. are you there? caller: good morning. yes, good morning, jesse. i am optimistic because i believe, in 2020 two, the republicans will take the house and senate and we will get sanity back. i don't think the blacks realize that, with these open borders, you will have a real issue because they will be taking the jobs the blacks would have taken. they will get hit the hardest. i feel bad for them. i need you to do me a favor. i see other commentators correct

people when they say something wrong. please let the democrats know that the fed -- that they have passed the bill. it went to the house and nancy pelosi will not pass it. host: president biden came out on friday and made the point that while the stock market is doing well and billionaires are doing well, he says that's not an accurate reflection of how the american economy was doing. here is what president biden had to say. [video clip] >> 55 of the largest corporations in america last year paid zero federal taxes. i do not care what your position is. it seems to me it is time they start to pay their fair share like everybody else. just pay a little bit here and it comes out to billions of dollars that they pay. the irony of ironies is during the recession and the pandemic, you have heard me say this

before and i apologize for repeating it, when the vast majority of americans are struggling just to hang on, the number of billionaires in america actually grew. i want to hold here for just a second and, you know, there have been so many records the stock market has hit under my presidency. imagine if the other guy was here. "we are doing great. it is wonderful. the stock market is surging. it is gone up higher under me than anybody." but that doesn't mean that that is what is best for the economy. host: the wall street journal has a story that says the federal unemployment benefits that will end next week does not necessarily mean there will be more employment in those places in which that unemployment benefits have stopped. i will read from that.

"states that ended enhanced federal unemployment benefits early have so far seen about the same job growth as states that continued offering the pandemic related extra aid according to a wall street journal analysis and economists. several rounds of federal pandemic aid boosted the amount of unemployment payments, most recently by $300 a week, and extended them for as long as 18 months. the extra benefits are set to expire nationwide next week. but 25 states ended the financial enhancement over the summer and most of them also moved to end the other pandemic-specific employment programs. economists who have conducted their own analyses of the government data say the rates of job growth in states that ended and states that maintained the benefits are from a statistical perspective about the same.

if the question is, is unemployment insurance a key thing holding back the labor market recovery? the answer is no, definitely not, based on the available data, says a university of chicago economist, referring to unemployment insurance." this comes from a story in the wall street journal as we will see some of those enhanced benefits and around the nation -- benefits end around the nation next week. we want to know what is your view of the economy. let's talk to jeff, calling from new york. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to echo comments made by the caller from connecticut earlier, who i think hit the nail on the head. you could ask the same question 20 years from now, 40 years from now, 100 years from now and the answer is going to be the same. the economy of the u.s. has

always depended on exploitation. that began with enslaved workers who built the united states. it continued with immigrant workers who built the united states for next to nothing. and it continues today. ask the people who drowned in their home in queens this week living in a basement economy whether the economy was working for them. as the people living in grocery stores dealing with unmasked customers whether it is working for them. ask the people working in restaurants dealing with unmasked, potentially infected customers whether it is working for them. without exploitation, the u.s. economy does not work. host: let's go to rita, calling from alabama. rita, good morning. caller: i want to say good morning to everyone. i think biden is doing a very good job. i have heard too many people make the remarks about the man,

telling lies like trump. he told 1000 and something lies while he was up there, and good old alabama having him come to alabama. if you want to stop the covid, make people stay at home. thank you and have a blessed day. host: let's talk to mitch, who is calling from city of industry, california. mitch, good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to comment that i am pessimistic because all the mandates with the covid, i believe the government is overreaching on that, and the free giveaways our government has been giving. i think aman has a right to scratch out a living in this country -- i think a man has a

right to scratch out a living in this country and work for themselves and be responsible for themselves. thank you. host:'s talk to james, calling from georgia. caller: yeah. i think i am optimistic about the president. he is doing a pretty good job. he is doing the best he can do. you have to understand he has only been there eight months. i think president joe biden is doing a pretty good job. i mean, he has only been in there eight months. you have to give the man time to clean up the mess that trump left there. you have to remember, he would not even negotiate with trump when he got into office. trump would not talk to the man. he would not brief him on anything. what do you expect the man to do? host: let's talk to winston, calling from durham, north carolina. winston, good morning. caller: good morning.

i am very, very optimistic about what is going on in the country, because, first of all, we have to stop looking at this man. we have to look at who is really in control. i am grateful. i am sitting down to get my treatment this morning, but i am so glad that i have been able to get on the show because i watch the show every, every morning. and thank you, jesse. host: let's go to allen, who is calling for manchester, tennessee. alan, good morning. caller: good morning. i am very pessimistic for one reason. we have shut down a major oil pipeline, which generated many, many jobs. and we are allowing people off the southern border and now the people from afghanistan. who is going to support these people? it is going to be our federal

government and the american taxpayer. well, we don't have as many taxpayers as we used to to support our government. and we are losing them daily. host: let's go to carl, who is calling from chicago, illinois. carl, good morning. caller: yes. good morning. how are you doing, jesse? the question i think is somewhat irrelevant. personally, i am optimistic, but this question that you asked this morning, i don't think we can really get a truthful evaluation. most of the people calling in say they are pessimistic. they are from supporters. -- they are trump supporters. they want to see things get bad to say how great trump is.

basically, one of the complaints, they say everything is going terrible in order to prop up trump. i have been looking at gas prices. where i get gas in indiana, gas prices and their state, firm more than a month. i have been looking at my meat prices. they have been stable for more than a month. i'm not saying everything is wonderful, but i think it is a little early to be asking for this evaluation when people on the others do not want to be honest. they cannot be honest with themselves and they will say anything terrible just because they want, you know, they are still supporting trump. thank you this morning. host: let's talk to christopher, who is calling from dexter, maine.

christopher, good morning. christopher, are you there? go ahead please. caller: yes. i am pessimistic because i think they did a big mistake of keeping the unemployment going. i know a lot of people who are just staying out of work just because they are getting that unemployment, and it is really tension a poor -- and it is really a poor judgment i think. host: r8. let's go to anne, calling from sugar grove, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. i have an interesting story. my landlord is a trump lever and he knows i voted for biden and he is raising my rent $100 a month. to the guy, charlie from ohio,

who said he pays taxes. so do i. why are you paying taxes if trump's tax hike was supposed to benefit us? i am staying optimistic, but i just had to tell the story of owning the libs, what trump cult members are all about. my landlord claims to be a christian. have a great day, everybody. host: let's look at some of our social media followers and their opinion on the state of the economy. "how can anyone say the economy is healthy when it needs to be propped up by the federal reserve?" another text that says "i am retired and pessimistic.

when you consider the very long chain from farms to grocery or fast food stores, there are hundreds of low-paying, unseen people who cannot live on their pay but cannot quit." another text that says "optimistic. we can still find --" here is another text that says "too -- they want -- will increase the cost of living." let's talk to tony, calling from flower town, pennsylvania. tony, good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling in feeling a little pessimistic, but i wanted to clarify. i am by no means a trump lever. the things that have me concerned are half the country is kind of like one paycheck away from poverty and

struggling. that is half of our people. i also live in the northeast, so we got hit by that crazy storm. climate change has me really worried. endless war. we were at war for 20 years and there was no formal declaration and war continues. were continuing to murder people overseas, so that is a concern. five, the covid situation in this country is really troubling. the numbers are rising and we are staying open. and then my last concern is about the media, and even the show. i like it a lot. but when i see these people from think tanks, from the american heritage foundation and these lovely sounding names act by awful billionaires and you present them without really a dissenting opinion and sometime you have two people on who are

pro-war, it gives me pause even about c-span. c-span is like these monopoly cable companies that get together and put this on, so i guess the money comes from people, so i guess how good can the product be? it is the best thing on television and it is questionable. if you have people on from think tanks, talk about where the money comes from. host: shirley from columbia, missouri. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: yes. they need to leave president biden alone. he is trying to do the best he can do. trump was a dictator. and mccarthy -- mitch mcconnell, all of them are trump's puppies. so they need to sit down, and shut up. trump killed over 600 million

people in america. host: tim from arkansas. are you positive -- pessimistic or optimistic about the economy? caller: pessimistic. any economy that is based on the destruction of the planet is doomed to failure. we have reached the apex where the environment is becoming toxic. host: are you still there? caller: yes. i am sorry. let us face it, i am an old man and i have seen a booming economy and the more the economy booms the more destruction i see. now we are told that the planet is becoming heated up to the point where life is going to be impossible. so, we have to do something

different. this world cannot handle more people, more pollution, more toxic air being spewed into the atmosphere. well, you know, i am sorry to say it, but it will be a sad future. host: steve from noblesville, indiana. good morning. caller: hello. i am very optimistic because we have a democrat in office instead of these dictator republicans. and, people, wake up, that your covid shot, and get rid of this pandemic. you're being ridiculous. host: george from houston, texas. george, good morning. caller: good morning, i am definitely pessimistic. i think the democrats and open borders will destroy this country.

i think latin americans made it the greatest country on the planet and i can explain why, and that is all i want to say. host: let us go with john from texas. good morning. caller: hello there. my name is mike, actually. but, i am retired, 66 years old, have a disabled daughter and a working son, and i hate to say it but mr. trump and his republican lackeys are going to run this country into the ground if they do not burn it down first. trump has done more to hurt this country and divide this country with his cruelty, snide demeanor, and policies, unbelievable. give his tax buddies a $3 trillion break, but can we do anything for the people in infrastructure? climate change?

no, that is too much money. i hate to say it but mr. manchin needs to get off whatever he is on and take ms. sinema and get on the road to good days because there are good days ahead if they would vote some of these bills passed. i appreciate your show and you do a great job. host: kathy from tennessee. kathy, good morning. caller: good morning. i am pessimistic and i do not see any optimism because i am not sure that people understand that nato and the united states just got their butts handed to them by barefoot, horseback riding -- 20 years and we are supposed to be optimistic, and i do not see it. thank you. host: let us go with terry from new paris, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: how are you?

host: just fine. caller: i think that the republicans blame the democrats and the democrats are blaming the republicans and everybody needs to quit acting like kindergarten kids and come together with a compromise. it is ridiculous. i did not want -- i did not like how trump did things, and i did not want him reelected, and i think biden is doing the best he can do. i would not have picked either of them if there was another choice. and, i got mad when i went to get gas and i heard some lady say if it was not for biden gas would not be going up and i said you did not hear that there was a hurricane? it does not have anything to do with him, it is a hurricane. people needs to keep like there -- need to keep their opinions like that to themselves because you cannot enjoy the day without somebody blaming somebody for something.

if they elected these people that are blaming everybody, than it is just as much their fault as whoever was elected. host: let us go to robert from -- i'm not going to attempt to pronounce the name of your town. you are from texas, pronounce a name for me. caller: nacogdoches. host: go ahead. caller: yes. i would like to say here that people need to do what trump is doing. they need to get through the door, pretend they are trump supporters, and then once you get in through the door and then you do your own thing. but, if you step up and say i am

for biden, you are not going to get through the door. so, you just have to fight fire with fire. host: let us go to john from langley, south carolina. john, good morning. caller: good morning. i am very optimistic. we do not -- you realize if the wild pigs kill us, we do not have to worry about the economy. pay attention, people. host: let us go with jim from -- jen from silver spring, maryland. caller: unfortunately, i am pessimistic because of, as the guy said earlier, the population of the planet is too many people, and i know this is a hard thing for most people to

comprehend and accept, but i think after a certain age, if you suffer a catastrophic incident, and your quality of life is not going to be -- if you are going to be vegetated, i need -- i think we need to start pulling the plug on cases like this. it is a hard subject and it is hard for me to say it. and, it is a consumption. we consume too much, and how we get rid of the containers that give us the stuff that we need. the boxes need to be sent back -- i am emotional about this. large containers like laundry containers, they can be refilled, this is hard plastic. we can refill those. host: mike from cary, north carolina. mike, good morning. caller: good morning how are

you? host: just fine. caller: i have been around long enough, generally long-term i am optimistic because the american economy is just such an angina productivity and innovation, technology and so forth. it is a short-term that gets us. we get snagged up in taxation and so forth. a lot of people are calling you, we all just need to get along. there are basic disagreements between the right and the left on the role that government should play with the economy. ok, taxation, regulation, government programs and spending. you cannot keep throwing money at things, ok? i am happy that joe manchin is doing what he is doing, but money is no different than any other commodity.

if you have an overabundance of currency, circulating through the economy, it devalues it and creates inflation, which is why prices go up. this has been proven in numerous economies for many many years, especially over the last century. throwing money and growing government, it has got to come from someplace, and where does it come from? we can sit back and listen to callers berate billionaires and so on and so forth, but at the end of the day i never got a job from somebody who was unemployed. they are not all people, they create wealth, they create jobs, they do pay taxes, ok? maybe not as much as somebody would like, or some people would like, but i think long-term we are ok. short-term i am still worried that massive spending bills --

that money has to come somewhere, it has to be printed as fiat currency, or borrowed so it creates more debt which means we have to pay down the debt out of our budget every year, it is just like if you sit down at your kitchen table and you go our credit cards, we have to pay this much this month on our credit cards. where does that money come from? it comes out of the grocery budget. host: benny from ocala florida -- ocala, florida. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i want to say what that gentle and just said, the caller before me was absolutely right. how much money is the government going to keep on spending and giving it to this and that one. people are not working because if they are getting paid more than what they are getting them if they were working.

and the incentive is just human nature -- nature, they will not work. they will sit on their butts and not work. common sense tells you this. where are these people going? wait -- we are paying the bill. the united states citizen is paying the bill for everything. the war in afghanistan, i am very pessimistic because what is going on? i think everybody is going crazy. it is unbelievable. thank you. host: let us see what some of our social media followers are saying about their opinion and view of the u.s. economy, here's a post from facebook that says crumbling small businesses, floundering job group -- growth and steadily increasing inflation, everything the democrat orders, but hey, no more mean treats -- tweets. "when you get free money, why work is the attitude out there." another that says "too many

getting paid to do nothing and too much inflation. handouts for people who want to believe breathing is a markable scale." "bidenomics at work." "not feeling too enthusiastic about joe's economy." we need to know what your view is of the u.s. economy, optimistic or are you pessimistic. let us talk to nelson from new york. nelson, good morning. caller: hello. host: are you there? caller: i am here. host: go ahead. caller: yeah. well, i am optimistic, i feel like -- yes i am here. host: turn your television down and go ahead. caller: i am optimistic.

joe biden is doing his best, giving it a chance and everything. you know that he loves this country, i believes that he loves this country more than the prior guy who was in the oval office. i am on a fixed income and i work part-time. and i feel like i said, he loves this country. he has a good man, a christian man. i do not care what anybody says, he is a good man. that is all i've got to say. host: in "politico" they have a story about what president biden is saying about the economy and how he is spinning the story from the august jobs report. i will read a couple of paragraphs. "biden laid blame for the sluggish growth on the impact of the delta variant of the

coronavirus, but he also claimed that his american rescue plan and vaccination strategy have helped buoy the economy even as the delta variant spurred a resurgence in the covid-19 pandemic. "because of the groundwork relayed with the american rescue plan and are vaccination strategy, we are seeing in economy and job market that can weather the ups and downs of the delta variant and anything else that comes our way," he said. biden largely focused during his friday remarks comparing on how well the economy is doing compared to last year as well as how many jobs have been created overall. he touted the more positive aspects of the august report such as the unemployment rate dropping to 5.2% from 5.4% and the decreasing number of people slyly -- filing unemployment claims each week." we want to know if you agree with the president, what is your view, pessimistic or optimistic? brent from oregon.

good morning. caller: good morning. i am 64 years old, i worked for commercial fishing. i ended up on social security. everybody's wages have gone up, unemployment $300 extra a week. what has been done for the people on social security trying to live on $1000 a month and the rates being raised yearly with no salvation, no hope? is that supposed to make someone optimistic? host: let us go to betty from palmetto, florida. good morning. caller: good morning and thank

you for answering my call. i love the way president biden is running the country, but my main thing is that i am 89 years old. i raise four grandchildren who have gotten on medicaid and on food stamps -- without medicaid, food stamps, or child support. you can do it if you want to, i never got no government handout. another thing is i have not taking the shot and i do not intend to. the main thing is that you have the microwave and the computer in the house, and you went to the moon, our elevator is so messed up so our body is not in tune to hear from the virus and nothing else. you can make it if you want to. i do not have a handout, i got a

social security check. i was 50 years old when i had to take it. i turned down a government job, and i knew six days a week was too much and raising four grandchildren. i am happy with my life. my house back -- burns down last year but i am not back in it because i did not have enough insurance. you can make it. we need the government to stop handouts. if i can live off $1000 a month, everyone else can. host: let us go to vic from windemere, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i think one of the biggest problems we have is the national debt, $28.5 trillion and it was $5.4 trillion when george bush took office in 2001. it is out of control. that has to be paid, and that is

going to eat up a lot of debt and interest on that debt has to be paid. that is a big problem. the second big problem is congress does not do their job. they need to bring down the cost of health care. it is 2.5 more than any other country in the world. people cannot afford these co-pay prices. some people die because they do not have the money to pay for prescription drugs. those are the problems. compared to other countries, we are a lot better off. biden is doing a big job. unemployment is down to 5.2% and he is right about what he is doing. a lot of women need help, they could go to work if congress would fix the school system so they would have places to take their kids while they go to

work. they need proper childcare. there are a lot of things to be done by congress but they are not doing anything. one blames the other and nothing gets done. infrastructure, nothing gets done. we have an inept congress and a supreme court that makes bad decisions. host: charlie from trenton, florida. are you optimistic or pessimistic? caller: i was kind of optimistic until i heard some of these people calling earlier that have the same old tropes about people getting free money and not working and all of the great jobs that have all -- that the people have all the money create when they sit on it all and keep the economy from expanding because their money is off on the sidelines, it is not in the economy. you have to understand that kind of stuff. we are dealing with a republican party that is either know nothings or do nothings.

the do nothings would rather give tax breaks to people who have all the money instead of, they could have infrastructure going four years ago but did they? they came up with one thing to give tax cuts, and then you have the know nothings that do not have the common sense to go and get a vaccine to make sure that the process that the government was trying to get us through, the pandemic would work. so they decide they do not want to get a vaccine so we have wave after wave of covid coming back, cannot open the schools. they were giving money to people for childcare so they would not have to pay for child care, they do not want to have everybody gathered around. here they are, we have the same problem because people did not get vaccinated. host: steve from elmont, good more -- new york. good morning. caller: good morning.

that guy before me stole my thunder. he was spot on. there should not be only one -- there is only one party holding things back, the republican party. i am optimistic because so many industries are starting up. most of them start out in california. they know something about tech, but there were just so many things, and the republican party would let the government do more private and public partnerships, we could start hundreds of new industries and employ millions of people in high-paying jobs as well. i am pessimistic about these people who are not getting vaccines because they think it is a plot like john kennedy, the kids who died, they are just in shame and they are holding things back. that is why people are not going back to work. it is not about unemployment

insurance because it will be gone. when you have unemployment insurance you have money pumped into the economy so they are spending it, which creates job. that means welfare and food stamps, but the guy said before me, they do not want to do anything except start wars and give tax breaks to rich people. host: earlier we spoke with eric , the labor epic -- economics and policy reporter for "the wall street journal." he broke down the new august jobs report that you see on screen with u.s. unemployment being at 5.2% and only 235,000 jobs. eric explained what those numbers really meant. here is that conversation. [video clip] >> give us the bottom line on the august job report. was it bad, good, somewhere in the middle? what should be think about it? >> first you've got to put it in perspective.