General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I keep hearing the economy is booming? [View all]JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)I never thought about someone not wanting to work, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I've never heard of anyone being disabled, or in school or being a stay at home parent.
Actually, my mother was a stay-at-home parent, but that was seventy years ago, and it has been a long time since one person working could support a working class household. The participation rate has historically been well over 70% for several decades. Economists have been saying since 2000 that the rate is depressed by workers who, "are discouraged and have quit looking for work" and by "unemployed whose benefits have expired and who no longer have an incentive to report that they are seeking employment," so the participation rate tells us quite a lot. Today's economists just don't want to hear it.
As my grandmother used to say, "Don't teach your elders how to suck eggs."