Dear John: On the off chance you thought the Bureau of Labor Statistics was apolitical, they’ve been sharing advance unemployment data with elected Democrats for years.
See the attached article showing how the BLS was sharing data with the press staff of the Democratic National Committee co-chair (and North Carolina governor) Bev Perdue.
[The article can be found at http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8578%5D
As you know, such early sharing is illegal.
Looking at some of the New York State Department of Labor press releases during the summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was happening here, too. They keep saying that the unemployment rate is going up because more people are looking for work. JGC
Dear JGC: First, thanks for the article. Second, I think you misunderstand.
The unemployment rate will go up when people start getting more confident about the economy, and the reason is simple. The way the federal government calculates the unemployment rate — now 7.9 percent nationally — people don’t count as being unemployed if they have stopped looking for a job.
Once they start telling the surveyors from the Census Bureau who compile the report that they are again looking for work, they jump back into the unemployment statistics.
On to the other matter — the labor numbers being leaked to the Democrats.
While the article you cite implies this is happening on the state level — and it wouldn’t surprise me if that was true in all 50 — I am confident it doesn’t happen with the monthly national numbers.
Why? Because the people who put these numbers together and analyze them are career civil servants who continue working in both Democratic and Republican administrations.
And if someone told them to change the numbers or leak the numbers, this information would get to the media immediately.
There is a greater possibility that someone tinkers with the seasonal adjustment formulas that go into these reports. But that’s not what you asked about, so I’ll stop here.
Dear John: I have been buying charitable gift annuities from large museums and universities. I’m in my 80s and am pleased with the income and the tax deductions.
How do they invest the money? Is it safe? I remember one that went bankrupt a few years ago. Is the larger payout because they keep the money when I die? Barbara.
Dear Barbara, If you give me a bunch of your money, I promise that I will pay you an annual sum of money that exceeds the amount you are receiving from any of the universities and museums.
This investment is safe unless you are giving it to a charity that goes bust. And charities do go bust.
And they are paying you an attractive amount because they are really only giving you back some of the money you gave to them.
Quite bluntly, they are hoping you die before your money (and the money they are earning on it) runs out.
But you seem happy with this arrangement. And I’m sure the charities are happy. So all’s well.
Send your questions to Dear John, The NY Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.