An unemployment number you can believe

[AllenDullesMJ12]

I love how everyone is an "expert" after tragedy occurs, but those few who were warning others of the impeding economic problems were accused of being "conspiracy theorists." This is what you people deserve, and believe me things will get so much worse later on.

[HappyTexan]

No one quoted shadowstats.

Unemployment according to them is at about 22% as of 8/5.
They use 1994 calculating methods..right before "discouraged workers" were calculated out of existence by the BLS.

Alternate Unemployment Charts

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by Arjay51

Be prepared to be personally attacked and have your source attacked, since it disagrees with what the 0bama administration has proclaimed.

Remember, if you have a different opinion you are not to be listened to in their climate of lies.

And yet large numbers of these unemployed will vote for Obama in 2012. They have what they deserve.

[AllenDullesMJ12]

Originally Posted by nicet4

And yet large numbers of these unemployed will vote for Obama in 2012. They have what they deserve.

Those people were unemployed or underemployed even when Bush was in office. So its not like voting R or D will make a difference to them, they might as well pick their favorite.

[GuyNTexas]

Originally Posted by C.C

So you think it makes perfect sense to count convicts??? And I suppose we should give them UE benefits too??? Not to mention the "marginally attached" who really really really want a job so bad it hurts, just not bad enough to spend 5 minutes filing even one online application once in the last month???

Actually, when it comes to convicts, it's worse than just being counted as "unemployed". First, they cost the Tax Payers money to keep locked up, which vastly exceeds costs of unemployment benefits ... and secondly, many of them are actually taking jobs from the private sector, and are being used as virtual slave labor. A captive audience that never shows up late and can never call in sick or take vacations.

Here in Austin, a company called LTI who repairs circuit boards for companies like IBM, Dell, Texas Instruments and others, closed .. laid off all 150 employees, and moved it's operation inside a private prison located in Lockhart TX (run by Whackenhut). There, the prisoners now do the labor the 150 unfortunate unemployed Austinites used to get paid to do. The owner of LTI got it's new shop built for free by prison labor, pays $1 for rent ... gets a tax break .. and gets labor at minimum wage ... Whackenhut then takes 80% of the labor dollars paid to the prisoners as a fee for housing the inmates, plus the money it gets paid to house them from the State of Texas. Isn't that "special" ? Actually, it's an outrage.

And this is happening all over the country. Soon, there will be three options for the unemployed .... get a government job, join the military, or get locked up and work for $1 an hour.

So, it's not actually absurd to count prisoners as unemployed ... it's simply inaccurate ... they are employed, but have put someone else out of work in having these prison jobs.

But for accounting purposes regarding the unemployment numbers, the situation is actually worse. Impact wise, they really should be counted TWICE, given that they are taking jobs away from free citizens and costing tax payer dollars for housing them at the same time. It's a double whammy.

God bless America, where no opportunity is too devious and destructive to let pass. We're now the United States of Exploitation, where only criminals make money ... those in Washington DC, Wall Street ... or your local penitentiary.

If you are an honest, hard working common citizen ... tough. You day in the sun is over. Until we all stand up and say no more to this BS.

Prison Labor: Workin' For The Man

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

No one quoted shadowstats.

Unemployment according to them is at about 22% as of 8/5.
They use 1994 calculating methods..right before "discouraged workers" were calculated out of existence by the BLS.

Alternate Unemployment Charts

Excellent link. Thanks for the info!

I find it funny that some of the press report about jobs being created in some parts, etc., trying to make it seem like the economy is being turned around.

It's not.

The unemployment rate is going to keep going up because we aren't creating high quality jobs and we aren't creating enough jobs to keep up with the pace of graduates entering the workforce. And then on top of that, they aren't trained in the skills they need. For example, forklift driver in small company in Georgia was needed, about 50 of them for an upcoming business.

Dude who ran the business said he was having to look abroad to Canada, CANADA, because people entering the workforce just didn't have the reading and comprehension skills. Even those that did, he couldn't afford to educate all of them in how to drive them, each one has to pass six or so safety courses before being allowed to drive them, and trust me, driving a forklift is difficult because it demands concentration and demands awareness of your surroundings. Canada offered much better skilled tradesmen.


Another example: both of how good jobs were lost to Canada and better educated workers. Toyota wanted to make a brand new factory in Georgia one year, forgot which one. Well, after they did it, they ended up closing the plant because the workers were too stupid to follow the written instructions. They moved it to near Toronto because they didn't need to retool their training regimen to include picture books.

I was blown away. FREAKING PICTURE BOOKS!

I think the lesson to take away here is that education is key, but the RIGHT education is what will forge your future. Not everyone needs to go to a 4 year university. Wanna dig ditches, go to trade school. Wanna work on cars, trade school. Wanna work on airplanes? Trade school. Run a business? Trade school PLUS basic accounting and business finance courses. Make smoothies? Better learn your FDA approved and state-approved food safety courses.

And none of that education comes with purty pictures.