By now, you've already heard that the unemployment rate as of the end of October has topped 10 percent. Officially, the rated is at 10.2%.
Officially.
What that number doesn't tell you (and what the mainstream media won't tell you) is that it represents only those who are actively looking for work. According to official stats, only about 150 million of the over 300 million Americans living in this country have a job. That means, those of us who ARE working are supporting at least one other person who is not working.
What the 10.2 percent does not include is those who would work but have given up looking for work and are no longer seeking unemployment benefits and no longer looking for a job because they have given up. That rate is actually over 17 percent, a number we haven't seen since the 1930's and '40s.
The difference between this jobless recession and the bottom of the Carter recession (which spilled over into Reagan's first two years) is that Reagan had already begun implementing policies that were business-friendly and American workers and American businesses were optimistic. The unemployment rate topped out at around 10 percent and then the economy took off.
The current administration has implement policies that are anti-business and are planning more taxes and policies that punish businesses, especially businesses that increase their payroll. While the increase in unemployment numbers is slowing down, it is unlikely to drop like it did in 1983 and 84. In fact, it may continue to gradually rise through next year.
Let's not make the mistake of thinking that Obama "inherited" this problem. Clearly the unemployment rate has been made worse by Obama's policies and the rate of those who have "given up" is higher because Obama has given them no reason to hope they might find a job in the near future.
The Obama "War on Wealth" is exactly what he promised during his campaign. The American voters just weren't listening.
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