Billy shuts the door on the Billy Long Auctions Llc; MO jobless rate now 9.5%; 26 million people under 35

don't want health insurance and Obamacare might have killed his mother back in March, 2008.
From KSPR comes this story —

U.S. Rep. Billy Long was expected to sell his auction company but instead he decided to just close the doors.

After 29-years Long closed the doors on his auction company and according to his former vice president at Billy Long Auctions Llc. Long sold the company's assets to competitors.

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House rules prohibit representatives from owning a business while serving.

But Long could re-open his business when his service in congress is done.

Long consulted with an ethics committee on what to do with his company.

"He really wanted to clear the books of his business and focus one hundred percent on his role of representative." says Eric Olson.
They said Long couldn't sell the name of the company so Long sold off the assets.

I seem to recall a radio interview Long did where he told the DJ that without him his auction company was worthless. Looks like he was right. Now the question is, when will he get rid of this 1/3 interest in Murney Company?


IN other news, Missouri had third-worst job loss rate in 2010

A year-over-year 0.6 percent decrease in employment put Missouri third-worst among states in percentage job loss last year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that Nevada suffered a 1.5 percent employment decline in 2010, followed by New Jersey, down 0.8 percent, and then Missouri.

The unemployment rate went up in 20 states last month, the bureau said, down in 15 and stayed the same in 15.

On the flip side, Kansas ranked in the top 10 states for low unemployment rates compared with the national average. Kansas ended the year with a 6.8 percent jobless rate, compared with the national average of 9.4 percent, seasonally adjusted.

Missouri’s jobless rate was 9.5 percent.

The bureau reported this year-end data:

•For Missouri: A civilian labor force of 3,003,800, with 2,647,400 on establishment payrolls, and 285,100 unemployed job hunters.

•For Kansas: A civilian labor force of 1,502,400, with 1,330,200 on establishment payrolls, and 102,600 unemployed job hunters.

| Diane Stafford, stafford@kcstar.com