Jim Hightower: Chilling Reality--America's Worsening Jobs Crisis

[eridani]

Last edited Thu May 16, 2013, 06:58 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.nationofchange.org/chilling-reality-america-s-worsening-jobs-crisis-1368624212

Well, as dry-land farmers can tell you, thunder ain't rain. Read beneath the joyful headlines hailing April's uptick in job numbers, and you'll see the parched truth.

For example, more than a third of working-age Americans are either out of work or have given up on finding a job. Also, last month's hiring increase was almost entirely for receptionists, waiters, clerks, temp workers, car-rental agents and other low-wage positions with no benefits or upwardly mobile possibilities. On the other hand, manufacturing — generally the source of good, middle-class jobs — did not add workers in April and has cut some 10,000 jobs in the last year.

Especially problematic was the continued rise in underemployment — people wanting full-time work, but having to take part-time and temporary jobs. Underemployment is also pounding college graduates. While they've been more successful than non-grads at landing jobs, they're not getting jobs that fit their career goals or even require the degrees they spent money and time to obtain. Indeed, many of those rental agents and restaurant employees you encounter hold four-year degrees, forcing everyone else to scramble for the few, even lower-paid jobs further down the skill ladder.

<snip>

More than a third of our working-age population is no longer even in the job market, and only 58.6 percent of us are employed. Put the opposite way, 41 percent of the potential workforce is not working — about 102 million people. One more statistic, and it's a chiller: More than one out of five American families report that, last year, not a single family member had a job.

[chervilant]

1. Every time I see an article trumpeting economic recovery

I shudder. The corporate megalomaniacs and their M$M lackeys clearly think the vast majority of the Hoi Polloi are stupid.

[Laelth]

2. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[HiPointDem]

3. kr

[MannyGoldstein]

4. And again: Hoover policies beget Hoover result.

We need FDR policies and FDR results, instead.

[ananda]

8. Well, as much as we may like Michelle Obama...

... she ain't no Eleanor Roosevelt.

Not even close.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. And where's our Frances Perkins? Henry Wallace?

Far, far away.

[byeya]

25. Henry Wallace? He was red baited and then ignored. What a better country, potentially, if FDR

hadn't been persuaded to drop Wallace as VP instead of Truman.

[MannyGoldstein]

30. But Wallace was in FDR's cabinet from the start

So he was able to do a lot of good.

[byeya]

33. And he did do a lot of good. I would have liked to see him given the chance to continue.

[WinkyDink]

14. Ain't Beyonce and Jay-Z ENOUGH?!

*sarcasm*

[L0oniX]

29. +1

[fasttense]

5. 102 million people are Not working.

Wow, that's over a third of the US population.

But I read that the US is recovering? I guess it's another one of those so called jobless recoveries.

It's amazing how the unemployment numbers hide this fact.

[SheilaT]

11. How many of that 102 million are under 18, or even 15?

How many are over 65, or even 70?

My point is, that some significant percentage of the population are either too young or (more or less) too old to be in the workforce.

So to say that a third of the population is not working is a bit misleading.

[newmember]

16. The numbers are working age

I don't think his numbers are far off.

No stat counts people in over 65 or in their 70's
It's bad for the unemployed , when unemployment runs out they get on state aid and the numbers
seems to disappear from the actual unemployed.

[winter is coming]

17. The OP says more than a third of our *working age* population. n/t

[SheilaT]

36. 105 million is about a third of our current population.

I don't think all 300 some million of us are of working age.

[Skittles]

37. whatever the number is, it is TOO MANY

the jobs situation in America is STILL DISMAL

[Ikonoklast]

24. That number includes retirees, children, people that are not in the labor force.

We do not have 33% unemployment. There are only 245 million people in this country that are considered to be employable.

Do you want babies and octengenarians counted in the employment statistics?

The BLS does not 'hide' anything.

Educate yourself.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&ved=0CGEQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fweb%2Fempsit%2Fceshighlights.pdf&ei=X_CUUeD0KIHnqgGOtoHABA&usg=AFQjCNGLzo8ay9qI5qWGw7ZXTa5N_PmOHA&sig2=i0ZIvyUshaicyjsgQ4Gu4A&bvm=bv.46471029,d.aWM


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&ved=0CGkQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fnews.release%2Fpdf%2Fempsit.pdf&ei=X_CUUeD0KIHnqgGOtoHABA&usg=AFQjCNFzloU0TYyxyw-yv6dI51s0y7d2rQ&sig2=ljhvOMZnIhc3U_8d2sIWtA&bvm=bv.46471029,d.aWM

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

[KG]

6. well, wall st has recovered its losses, and after all, isn't that what's really important?

Last edited Thu May 16, 2013, 10:45 AM - Edit history (1)

[Octafish]

20. Thanks to the U.S. taxpayer.

While I don't believe the bailout was something the taxpayers supported, they heard it was vital for saving the economy.

Who knew they were only giving more money to the same thieves who emptied the banks to begin with? Small world.

[Rex]

23. SO much for their hyped form of 'capitalism'

As if we still live in a competitive market.

[Octafish]

35. They've socialized the risk and privatized the reward.

How NAZI is that?

[Rex]

38. So true!

There is nothing there as a deterrent to their crimes, just more handouts.

[reformist2]

7. We don't have a jobs crisis, we have a stupidity crisis - give people money!

Remember that future of labor-saving devices that we were promised, that would free more and more of us from work? Well that day is (kind of) here. The only problem is our economic system is so arcane it has no formal way of distributing the wealth properly amongst those who still work and those who don't. I propose a two-tiered system - market-based income for those able to find full-time employment, but a government-based basic income for those who don't. In other words, permanent unemployment insurance.

[byeya]

26. It used to be said that in the USA the only thing rationed is money.

[magellan]

9. I don't disagree with the OP, but it'd be nice to know how they calculated the figures. n/t

[newmember]

12. You know what the future is for jobs in this country? it won't be manufacturing

Massachusetts is creating another 30,000 jobs for it's state.

You know how?

3 mega casinos are being built

[mountain grammy]

13. I dont' think it's as bad as Jim says, but we're getting there.

I have friends who are underemployed or unemployed, but they work; a part time job on the books here, a part time job off the books there. We are primarily a summer resort, so after Memorial Day everyone works, but April and May are cash in you change jar months, and winter employment gets leaner every year.
I'm collecting my social secuity retirement benefits, but still manage a small condo building and a couple of nightly rentals, so I'm able to offer a few odd jobs for cash, keeping the heat on in a few households the last few months.
The money hoarders need to be accountable! Minimum wage must be much higher and Medicare should be offered to all Americans as an alternative to private insurance. Most important, unions must find their voice and use whatever muscle they have to get Congress off their dead asses to bring us back.

[WinkyDink]

15. You don't think JH did his HOMEWORK ON THIS TOPIC?? Personal anecdotes aren't refutation.

[mountain grammy]

19. I know that, and I know Jim does his homework. I'm not refuting Jim Hightower

whom I've admired for years and have had the pleasure of meeting. He's beyond reproach. All I'm saying is people find a way to survive and may be part of the unemployment statistics, but they are working! Of course, there is no job security and no future, but they are working. These are not just my personal anecdotes, this is the reality of life in America for too many people.
Jim knows as well as anyone that unemployed and not having a job does not translate to not working.

[byeya]

27. One thing the above posts bring out is the gray economy or the off-the-books economy

where people earn a few dollars here and there but nothing is reported to SSA or the IRS.
In the end, it's bad for the country as a whole.

[Yo_Mama]

34. The statistics I cited are from the Household survey

which counts you as "working" even if you are picking up cans for recycling money, or mowed a lawn for $5 dollars. The real picture is WORSE.

This is a link to BLS data not carried on St, Louis Fed Fred:
http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab8.htm

Check the box for non-seasonally adjusted non-ag wage and salary workers (which pulls out all those considered working who are looking for scrap, etc). Scroll down and click "retrieve data". You will get a table. Look at the number of the jobs in April 2007. Note that we have not come back to the levels of 2007. Six years and still a decline in jobs. Now check the graph indicator and change the start date to 1948 and then click the "Go" thingie. We have never had a post recession period where this number was so long in returning to the prior level before.

This hasn't happened since the GD.

This is the civilian labor force:


We need to have wages rise, but they don't rise because we have so many unemployed and underemployed people.

We are getting poorer because of the the lack of jobs:


And this has never happened since the GD either.

[Safetykitten]

18. This person is obviously not on board with the things are going great story.

[mountain grammy]

21. No, "the things are going great story" is, of course, a lie.

What it meant during the Clinton administration boom was a person could find 2 or 3 low paying jobs to keep going, but they were "real jobs" paying into social security and medicare, giving that person some kind of future security.
Now the "things are going great" myth is you can maybe find one "real job" that pays into your future, but any other work is cash for the moment, no future.
All I really want to say it, the poor are working! If you don't think the poor work hard, try it sometime.

[Egalitarian Thug]

22. K&R Find & vote for new candidates that support sensible economic policy.

There is no way to change the system from within, I think it's past time that we admitted this and start looking at alternatives that actually work. The coop model is making some serious progress in places all across the nation.

[bhikkhu]

28. The lack of perspective makes this more like a RW hit piece

...and it repeats much of what I hear at my Obama-hating workplace every time a good economic report comes out.

So, for instance, what is a normal number for labor-force participation? And what direction is it expected to go, regardless of president, politics, or ideology? This is a good page on the subject: http://objectivistindividualist.blogspot.com/2012/05/retiring-baby-boomers-and-dropping.html

As far as the epidemic of part-time jobs, the best measure for that is the "hours worked index", which you can look at here: http://marketrealist.com/2013/03/average-hours-worked-per-week-rebounding-to-07-highs-which-is-good-for-lower-jobless-claims/

Other problems are real enough, but anyone who's been around for along time knows that it has always been a problem getting the job you want when you graduate college. Its never been the case that it happens right away, even in a good market. The republican obstruction that's led to the decrease in government jobs might be enough in itself to account for the difference there.

Not that anything is actually rosy, but things have been improving since the stimulus package turned the recession around. One thing that really would make a big difference is an increase in the minimum wage, which the president has been stumping for.

[Yo_Mama]

32. No, it's real

The core participation rate is way too low.

The overall is somewhat related to aging, but still, we haven't aged out that quickly:


College degree holders are in trouble:


While there has been improvement in full-time jobs, it isn't even keeping up with the population increase:



Which means that many more people are forced into part-time:


We are succeeding in making those old farts work longer (or at least try to find a job):

[Yo_Mama]

31. Kicking for truthiness

Everything wrong with the economy is due to lack of jobs and wages. Instead of giving more money to rich people, we need to adopt other strategies.

[AdHocSolver]

39. The elimination of jobs is how the corporations reduce the power of the middle class.

The main source of corporate power is the control they have over economies.

This corporate control is derived from Trade agreements such as NAFTA, and the WTO, and control of finance through institutions such as the World Bank, and the IMF, and control of various central banks such as the Federal Reserve.

The big commotion by the right wing over federal deficits is a distraction over the real problem, namely, the loss of manufacturing jobs and the resultant trade deficit.

The endgame is the total impoverishment of America and its reduction to colonial status to the multinational corporations.

The modus operandi: Outsource manufacturing jobs to low wage countries, such as China, creating a trade deficit. Since the outflow of money to places like China exceeds our exports of manufactured goods (because our factories that once made the goods that we now import are closed), we borrow money from those countries (such as China) to continue importing those goods on credit.

Then the interest rates to "savers", like on bank deposits in savings acounts, CD's and money market accounts are kept artificially low by the Fed, while the banks charge comparatively hioh interest rates on loans and credit card balances to consumers who buy the overpriced imports from low wage countries.

The corporations, banks, and Wall Street make out, literally, like bandits.

They transfer middle class earnings and savings to the banks and Wall Street and the public is unaware of the danger like the proverbial frog in the pot of water that is slowly being brought to a boil.

Wait! There is more. At one time, America was self-sufficient in raw materials to feed the factories that provided jobs to its citizens. However, those jobs are now overseas. So there are less markets for American raw materials. However, there are huge markets for raw materials in China.

So the corporations want to refine tar sands oil, "frack" natural gas, and mine minerals in open pit mines and ship it to their factories (now) in China. The corporations will make super profits at both ends of the economic pipeline. They promise the public lower gasoline prices (fantasy), a relative handful of jobs, and promise complete environmental safety in recovering and transporting these raw materials across America. (Anyone remember Exxon-Valdez, Gulf of Mexico, and dozens of other "minor" mishaps.)

The main problem is that the corporations have gotten the public into accepting their propaganda about the economy. They use nonsensical buzzwords such as "free trade", "free markets", "global economy", "job creators", and harp on non-problems such as federal government deficits, while ignoring or belittling real problems such as unemployment, and trade deficits.

Reality is not that difficult to understand. The problem is that the public is easily distracted, and clings to its false notions of economics provided to it by self-serving corporations and their shills in the media and academia.

The "de-employment" of Americans is not some happenstance due to economic factors gone out of control.

It is a conscious plan to turn the U.S. (and eventually the planet) into a corporate feudal estate.

[eridani]

40. This should be an OP n/t

[SoCalDem]

42. Amazing, isn't it?

When I was young, we did not have hoards of naked, shoeless, people wandering about.

We made (in the USA) enough sheets, towels, shoes, clothes, toys, tvs, washers, dryers, cars, tires...you name it..we made it..

We managed just fine, making stuff that our workers were paid to make, transport, & sell to all the other workers in other fields.

The extra we sold abroad.

People had pensions
People had savings
People dis not have credit card/college debt.

What changed?

We were sold out by people we elected to work FOR us.

They took our money and worked AGAINST us, and for their own little closed society

and they used media (and our complacency) to convince us that this was good for us..

[SoCalDem]

41. One of my son's friends quit a $16.00 hr job to valet park cars in Vegas

He has a degree in marketing & business, but could never find a "good" job that would allow for a real life, so he and his wife packed up their 3 yr old and moved to Vegas.

She also has a degree, but is now working part time as a teacher's aide (until a permanent spot for a teacher opens up & she can apply).

He makes enough parking cars at a nice hotel there, gets lots of exercise (also gets to use the resort's gym facilities). They have health care benefits too.

They are renting now, but soon will be able to actually buy a house, since they are paying ahead on his student loans (she did not have any)