1) The self-employed are not calculated into the 2.6 million jobs lost since 2000. 1.7 million are said to be a consequence of 9/11. The rest in my opinion are a product of the internet bubble bursting, not outsourcing. That figure is a survey of employers, asking them how many people are on their payrolls. Then there’s a household survey, asking people if they’re working. That reports that about 500,000 jobs have been created since 2000. That number includes those “low paying” self-employed.
2) If the numbers were wrong, they could be proven wrong. And our political opposition would nail us on it. (If not the Democrats, the Greens or the Libertarians) Here in the Florida Keys, it’s nearly impossible to find a good contractor. Everyone who’s occasionally sober works. But it’s not a magnet for depressed areas because housing prices are too high to buy something more than a trailer on a $70k salary. The numbers are right, but if you listen to enough losers and Democrats, you’ll buy their swampland.
2. See number 1.