When we see the numbers of unemployed reported we also see the number of people who simply have given up looking and evidently no longer want a job. Where this nonsense came from is anybody’s guess but it is a simple way to explain there are people unemployed but are not looking for work. Now common sense would tell you that anyone who had been looking for work for 33 weeks ( while drawing unemployment they are supposed to be looking for work) and suddenly stopped getting unemployment would not just give up looking for work or would turn down a job as the 33 week unemployment category came to an end.
This category of “gave up looking” must mean that if the economy perked up and jobs became available these people who gave up would no longer be eligible as workers because giving up means you’e all done and you’ll live off your brother-in-law from now on. How silly is this idea?
Would anyone all of a sudden give up looking for a job under any circumstances? If you were unemployed and you needed money to live on would you suddenly announce you were just too fed up to stop looking fro work and starve to death? Even the hobo’s of the 30’s looked for work dally to get food and lodging. They didn’t just announce they were giving up. They travelled to places where work might be found. The labor boom in North Dakota indicates many who couldn’t find work in their previous location decided to pack up and move to the location where work was available. How many of these people had been categorized as “giving up”?
In reality there is no category of “giving up. There is only the government “explanation” of no longer receiving unemployment benefits which is politically dangerous to announce. There is no investigation of who has declared they are no longer looking for work. If you asked anyone out of work if they would take a job if they knew where to get one you would not get the answer, “ No, I have officially given up looking for work and I am absolutely committed to remain in the given up category.”
When this information is reported is the American public so uncritical of what is being reported that they simply accept a made up category and never question its validity? As this has been going on for several years the answer would indicate a yes.
While we are on the subject of accepting what a reported as true we should also consider the inflation reporting distortion and the acceptance not only by the public but by the financial institutions and people who should know better. The food and fuel prices are rising yet since they have been excluded from the inflation index inflation is not a worry. This false reporting by the government makes their situation temporarily look good for them but in the meantime the people on fixed incomes see their buying power diminish, all workers see their wages buy them less and businesses are forced to raise prices to maintain profit levels. This from an agency we have entrusted to protect us, which we pay through the nose to fund and which is expected to be honest with us.
The tea party movement has shown there is a discontent in the land centered on politicians and their spending and regulation tactics that are detrimental to citizens. The party that has accelerated this discontent is in power and will soon be out as November arrives. But nothing fundamental will change as long as Americans accept government reporting that is dishonest. Nothing will change with a shuffling of politicians of whatever party as long as the new politicians act on the same ideas we have grown to accept. For instance, the notion of a “safety net” provide by government. How can you have a safety net when it is funded by an out of control printing press running off money that loses value with each dollar printed? Where is the safety net for the inflation that makes money worthless and standards of living minimal? Only surpluses can provide safety nets and the government has no surpluses. This would tell you that the private sector should be allowed to gather surpluses ( by way of profits) to avoid the need for a government safety net where charity would be encouraged instead of relying on a bankrupt government.
This blog started with an obvious example of a report that is obviously bogus. That should only arouse the reader to consider if such a simple piece of nonsense can be foisted and prevails what of the more complex reports that claim the same veracity? The advice just as for the exhausted job seeker is the same for the reader who has just given up seeking the truth. The jobs and the truth is out there for those who are willing to persist.
Tags: journalism
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