Does anyone – besides Barack Obama, his acolytes, and the low-information crowd that is – think the bogus 5.6% unemployment level being floated these days means anything positive?
I would hope not. But just in case, Jim Clifton, the Chairman and CEO of Gallup, has written a terrific essay showing it up for the rancid pile of mung that it is.
You can read Mr. Clifton\’s entire piece by clicking here – and I urge you to do just that. But, for the moment, here are a few excerpts:
Here\’ssomething that many Americans — including some of the smartest andmost educated among us — don\’t know: The official unemployment rate,as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.
Rightnow, we\’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White Houseand Wall Street about how unemployment is “down” to 5.6%.
Noneof them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone isunemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if youare so hopelessly out of work that you\’ve stopped looking over thepast four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn\’t count you asunemployed. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out ofwork or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of themaren\’t throwing parties to toast “falling” unemployment.
If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in aweek and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow theirlawn — you\’re not officially counted as unemployed in themuch-reported 5.6%.
If you have a degree inchemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it isall you can find — in other words, you are severely underemployed –the government doesn\’t count you in the 5.6%.
There\’sno other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, whichcruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and oftenpermanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed,amounts to a Big Lie.
Thank you, Mr. Clifton, for saying out loud what so many of President Obama\’s Accomplice Media most certainly know, but somehow keep neglecting to tell their viewers/listeners/readers.
Funny, though: if a Republican should happen to win the 2016 presidential election…..I\’ll bet that will jog their memory about unemployment. And a lot of other things besides..
