Bad News for America’s Workers

Project Syndicate ^ | DEC 19, 2016 34 | Joseph E. Stiglitz

[bk1000]

Well, this one made it to the second paragraph before calling Trump a Nazi. That’s progress, I guess.

[bk1000]

By contrast, when President Barack Obama took over in 2009, he inherited from George W. Bush an economy sinking into a deep recession.

Recession as a result of the Reid/Pelosi cabal of 2007.

[DoodleDawg]

The level of Americans outside of the workforce last month — due to retirement, education, discouragement, or otherwise — represented a substantial 446,000 increase over the month of October.

The labor force is defined as any individual 16 years old or older who is not in the military and who is not institutionalized. Those outside the labor force are those not looking for work. So your 95 million figure includes my 71 year old retired parents, my niece in high school, my niece and nephew in college, my cousin in Chicago who is a stay-at-home mom, and anyone else in a similar situation. So you can look at the unemployment figure as 40% if you want to. But just how much lower do you expect it to get under President Trump?

[jospehm20]

It is not my figure. I told you I was doing simple math. I would like to see a believable number for starters. 40% is no more ridiculous than the 4.6% unemployment rate our gubmint claims. 4.6% is considered pretty much full employment according to what I have read from people who are knowledgeable in this area. I do not believe we are at anywhere near full employment, but you can go ahead and do so if it pleases you.

[DoodleDawg]

And I think the idea that we’re at 40% unemployment is just as ridiculous, but you believe that if you want. The question remains, what do you expect it to be at when President Trump leaves office in four or eight years?

[jospehm20]

I answered you. I do not know what the real number is now. How do you expect me to tell you what it will be later? Our government needs to post a real, believable number and not the full employment BS they are posting now. 4.6% would be super groovy if it were real. You may think 40% is ridiculous but the fact is that this is the number of adult Americans not working now. They are all eating and living and are being supported by somebody. Perhaps this has something to do with he rapid growth of programs like SSDI in the last decade or so?

[hinckley buzzard]

Stiglitz, like Paul Krugman, is a winner of the Nobel prize in economics. And also like Krugman, he seems to believe that honor frees him to untether his thinking from reality. He can say whatever his aging brain heaves up and expect it to be given credibility because, well, Nobel, you know?