Where Are the Jobs?

The Labor Department released its latest jobs report this week. It's dismal, with no new jobs added in August. Unemployment remains at 9.1 percent. The report fueled fears of a double-dip recession, sending stocks tumbling when the market opened on Friday. This news comes as President Obama prepares to address a joint session of Congress next Thursday, September 8, where he will lay out his policy proposals for adding new jobs and boosting the nation's struggling economy. There was a partisan squabble this week about setting the actual date of that speech. House Speaker John Boehner rejected President Obama's request to deliver his speech on Wednesday, September 7, the same evening as a GOP presidential candidates' debate. (KCRW will carry the speech live on September 8 at 4pm.) Also this week, the New York Times reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, is preparing to file lawsuits against more than a dozen big banks, including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. The suit, which seeks billions of dollars in compensation, accuses the banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities which were sold at the height of the housing bubble. Finally, our panel discusses some stories from Dick Cheney's new memoir, which was released this week.

Banner image: Job seekers wait in line to meet with employers at an outdoor job fair at the Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles August 31, 2011. Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images