Whatever Congress is doing, it's not working: Jobless claims reach 9-month high

All during the debate in Congress whether to extend unemployment benefits to those without jobs, there was an 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody noticed: The fact that you can't find a job if there are no jobs to be found.

The lack of jobs creation -- private and public sector -- has been the great sinkhole of Obama's economic stimulus plan. Sure it's been swell to get those federal tax credit on home purchases, and his energy rebates if you install solar panels atop your house have been nifty as well. But let's get real folks. Show me the jobs. There aren't many. A few teachers got un-pink-slipped because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. And I'm delighted for the guys working on the public works project that is tearing up my recently repaved street to install a drainage pipe that should have been installed before the street was repaved, but whatever. (Memo to CalTrans: Think it might be possible to stop closing the road during peak commuting hours? Those people who still do have jobs occasionally like to get to them on time.)