Psst, the economy isn’t as bad as many think

[BlueStreak]

5. Do you understand that statistic includes

seniors, infants, students, adults that choose not to work, and prisoners?

That isn't a measure of the economy.

The "economy" was never that bad, taken as a whole. We had a few quarters of flat or slightly down GDP, but mostly our economy continued to grow.

The problem has been the unevenness. Individuals are not 8% unemployed,. They are mostly either 0% unemployed or 100% unemployed, and for millions, there just wasn't any practical way to move into a new position that was anything like their former work.

Throughout all of this, there were plenty of shit jobs -- dehumanizing jobs that paid far below the poverty level. And even with this "recovery" that is mostly what is out there. That's the issue. GOOD jobs. And that is why there is so much discussion about minimum wage now.

Cheap Labor Republicans {tm} love it when we are between 7% and 8% nominal unemployment. That's not so high that society collapses, but it is high enough that workers will beg for every job and not get uppity. The bargaining power of the American worker goes way up as we approach "full employment" (about 5% nominal unemployment. We aren't too far from that point now and we need to use that as an opportunity to reverse some of the serfdom that has been visited on the American population the past 30 years.

Support the minimum wage -- a living wage.
Oppose all trade deals.
Oppose all entry visa programs designed to undercut American workers.