1-I don't have an army of friends but about 25% of my friends (from 30 people) are unemployed for 4 years) and are looking for a job but it seems that they have lost their hopes. 2- Based on the calculations that one of the folks did that unemployment rate is based on unemployed people in the last 6 months,I don't see how the new grads fit in this calculations!!. I believe his theory and that is why I say the unemployment number is fake. 3- Some other folk said the price of milk is up. I should say, the price of bread is up, everything is up except the price of DVD player is down!! if that is the main portion of your expense. Generally the price of consumer electronics are down but I paid the highest gas of my life today.$2.32 in NH.I know in CA and other places it is much higher. 4- Social security tax bracket is up compared to 2001 by about 20%, that makes middle income class poorer. Now my question: Is it possible that economic data like unemployment rate, CPI ,... are manipulated by the government for some reasons like not to make the market to crash?
The US is basically a playing field for big corporations... Small businesses of any kind do not meet peak efficiency standards... Big companies just want to sell more product...they do not care if its US labor...they just want to sell more product for more money...so that the earnings can be capitalized in their stock values...so that the elitists can make more and more money.. US Corporations could care less about employment levels...in fact they are always looking to create more with less labor... And look it has been the excess labor that has always brought them over the top...and it is always the fringe labor that is cut first... To have numbers manipulated but not manipulated is ok with politics...and companies that have gotten more out of people than before... Look you have a head of state that just needs better newspaper headlines..to further the approval to carry out corporate agendas... Everyone in the US knows that CAFTA is a US job loser...but you still see it being pushed as a good thing...yeah..for who.. CAFTA will be a disaster for the Central American countries labor...particularly farm labor...they will be eliminated... Needed drugs will go up over 500% for a population that does not make much money to begin with...while their taxes will be going up 20 to 25% to make up for big corporation products... Good...???Good for who ???? Why big corporate America of course.... As I have stated many times in previous posts...US leadership is direly lacking....very sad...very sad indeed... And of course the US government is not going to be open to the public about how the statistics department massages numbers.... Hey they are as accurate as the fact that IRAQ had huge stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction... The US was a great country...it just needs to elect good leadership...which it just does not have....
The U.S. has the most resilient economy in the world. And that's becoming clearer. The Muslim terrorists keep proving who they are, and we keep proving who we are, with items like the low employment number.
There has been a boom recently in my area. Every second car on the road has one of those temporary license plates meaning its brand new. The careers section of the paper seems to be getting larger and larger each week. I personally would fully believe those economic numbers. It's the same method of calculation being used today as for the past 5 years or more. I find it interesting however that perhaps other areas of the country are not growing as fast as Florida and other economic hotbeds.
I don't know what part of the country many of you live in but I know knowbody unemployed (unless they want to be). Things are only as bad as you want them to be. Yes, unemployment numbers are better, Yes many of the previously employed are now self employed, Yes many of those that are not employed are that way out of choice, Yes many jobs are filled by immigrants (because there are so much work)
Good point... McDonalds and Burger King are always hiring. It could be that some people have too much pride to work at such a place and would instead rely on government handouts than be employed. To pick up a government check all you have to do is walk to the mailbox....
There has been a boom recently in my area. Every second car on the road has one of those temporary license plates meaning its brand new. The careers section of the paper seems to be getting larger and larger each week. Don't you think that has nothing to do with booming economy? It might be related to GM's and later Ford's employee's discount program that was very successful and many people got into more debt. I believe you should be in a very good financial situation to go under new debt just for a car. Cashing out and getting second mortgage is also another possible future economy danger.
don't know what part of the country many of you live in but I know knowbody unemployed (unless they want to be). Things are only as bad as you want them to be. If you were a senior software engineer specialized in java programming and you were paid 160K a year, will you be ready to work at burger king flipping hamburger? at least you will be looking a decent job in engineering area with much lower salary. I don't believe things are that bad but not that rosy that 5% unemployment shows. I see a little bit of problem that the unemployment number can not cover.
If they don't want to work they can starve. You have to do what you have to do to survive. Even if it means being underemployed for a couple months. Millions of low-income familes and single mothers do it... why should people who formally got paid 160k be treated any different.