Third and State

On Friday, we got a disappointing jobs report for May in which unemployment ticked up slightly and non-farm payroll growth came in below 100,000 jobs. The volatility of the numbers may reflect unseasonably warm winter weather rather than a fundamental slowdown in the economy. That said, the economy continues to grow at a pace too slow to bring down the unemployment rate quickly.

The Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Maria Panaritis has a biting commentary today on the impact of economic austerity on Pennsylvania schools.

• Maria Panaritis, The Philadelphia Inquirer — Austerity isn’t helping Europe or Pennsylvania schools:

The math of the Corbett administration, quite simply, is a starvation diet for school districts. An austerity-driven policy that caters to ideologues and business interests in much the same way that austerity politics in Europe (near-failing, thus far) have pandered to banks and some voters at the expense of European unity and global economic health...

Corbett has slashed hundreds of millions in taxes on businesses rather than retain and channel that much-needed revenue to the engines of economic growth that educate generations of entrepreneurs.

Speaking of the trickledown effect of economic austerity, the Parking Authority in Scranton has missed a bond payment.

• Paul Burton, The Bond Buyer — Scranton, Pa., Parking Authority Officially in Default

The National Labor Relations Board has ordered the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem to begin bargaining with its security guards who have formed a union.

• Matt Assad, The Los Angeles Times — Security guards form first union in Las Vegas Sands' empire

And this week, the General Assembly is back in session, and the House is expected to take up amendments today on House Bill 2191 which would legalize predatory payday lending. If you haven't let your representative know how you feel, please do so!