Since Republicans now control congress, why can’t some Representative draft a bill that says: “from now on, here’s how we are going to count unemployment in the USA, because the way we’ve been doing it is misleading.”
It’s really important to do it now, because when we control the Administrative AND Legislative branches (1/20/17), we need that number to be accurate (high), so that we can show huge improvements after we reduce federal regulations, spending, and taxes.
Republicans can’t complain about this stuff anymore. It’s on us to change it.
The unemployment number was developed in the 1930's because nobody knew the depth of the depression. Adjustments had to be made, which might have made sense during the 1930's, but in today's economy, make very little sense.
(not in the book)Maybe in the 1930's it made sense to eliminate people not looking for work. There was a segment of the population that drifted and did not look for traditional employment. The West at this point is not "wild" but it is definitely not tame. But today, people not looking for work are millennials unequipped for the work force or adults that live on welfare and/or disability that are really able workers. This is clearly a drag on the economy which is not reflected in the unemployment numbers. In other words, the unemployment number looks fine, but structurally, the labor market is weak.
As as example of unemployment rate not meaning much, many third world countries have very low unemployment. Government policies create a hiring environment rather than economic efficiency. This leads to low wages and less investment in infrastructure. Policies that encourage hiring cause very unsophisticated economies.
Our elected officials have disappeared into the maw of Washington where they always seem to become deaf and dumb when it comes to the interests of their constituents.
You’re absolutely right. It’s up to us to make ourselves heard and to motivate them to carry out our mandates now that they hold the majority. They work for us.