There is a slew of reports this week that paint a pretty bleak picture. The Labor Department has placed the unemployment rate at 9.4 percent (the highest since 1983), If you add “temp workers” the rate is higher. In the meantime, another report indicates that over 16% of personal income of the United States is now coming from the government.
while
With jobs cuts continuing, we are now at an unemployment rate of roughly one in ten Americans — not including temp jobs or low wage service jobs.
The good news is that the loss of jobs is slowing.
However, we are now seeing the impact of our crushing deficit spending. The government has been pouring out money and it is now endangering recovery according to the Chinese who hold $768 billion in our Treasuries, here.
I’d keep on writing but the combination of these reports and the invention of a new robot teacher has led me to start a subsistence garden.
For the unemployment story, click here.
How is it that these statistics are a surprise to anyone. From his very first press conference, the President has consistantly said this problem isn’t going away any time soon. Perhaps folks are beginning to understand just how deep a hole Bush & Co. put us in. Being critical at this point is like walking into a caterer’s kitchen while preparations for a large party are underway and asking why the pots and pans and food are all over the place.
We’re only half way through 2009. Indicators are that the year will finish in far better shape than it started, but it’ll be well into 2010 before we can see the effects of recovery efforts.
spend spend spend spend
32 months of Congress running the checkbook and we are bankrupt.
Well then, good luck and please keep your own website going to take your mind off some of the pressures. You obviously have a good sense of humor as exhibited on your site and also a few weeks ago when you posted here and responded to me that I wern’t nigh as much a hick as you wuz.
Keep tillin’ that garden.
It wasn’t really funny then and it sure ain’t under the particular sentiment of this post.
You have no idea how bad things are for me and my family right now. This subject is no laughing matter to me.
Later
Hey Buckey, are you down to yourn last Billy Bob beer can? You cain still crush it like a man, doncha know.
Lighten up BuelahMan, you ‘n I done us some hick-talkin’ ‘afore and ya shudda knowed I wuz a’joshin’ y’all.
Seriously, if things are worse than you are letting on, then good luck to you and remember that I am *not* blue blood protected either and I am more blue collar than white collar.
FFL,
Something tells me you are a major asshole.
I don’t like assholes.
Hey B-Man, Buck-it-up Y’all! Hicks cain survive in ‘ A Country Boy Can Survive’ fashion. Save me at least one turnip from yourn depression garden so’s I aint like ‘ol Scarlet O’Hairuh in that scene from ‘Gone with the Wind’. Hey, pard, ifin’ nothin’ else, we cain refilm them ‘Grapes of Wrath’ in a yar or less…
GWLSMom: When you were discussing your child’s law schooling, I was wondering how viable that might not be. The best of good luck, Ma’am.
Buelah
its kind of nice to not be alone but I wish that neither of us is where we are and that we can get back to some sense of sanity soon because I don’t know how much longer I can pretend that this is some weird sick nightmare that will end before I’m living in a hospital.
keep smiling.
GWLawSchoolmom,
I am in the same boat.
I never dreamed that my foresight, planning, education into robotics and high-tech manufacturing would lead me to the poor house, but alas, it has.
I have also considered EBAY and selling various crapola that even I would not buy (if I had money to buy anything to begin with).
My heart goes out to you and all of us.
Mike S YOu wrote: We are in a depression and are heading for desperation.
me: that depression started at my house 7 months ago and I have no idea when it will end. I also have no idea where my kids tuition is going to come from and classes start again in august. I never thought in a million years that I’d be living this life. Not once. Not ever. We did it all the right way. We got the right educations, the right jobs, advancement, way better than average pay. We were affluent. I haven’t sold my shoes on EBay yet but I am considering some of my nicer handbags.
One finds out pretty quickly what desperation feels like when they have a strong 20 year resume of c-level management and are doing meet ups at local Starbucks instead of getting real interviews for real jobs.
I like to swim laps and sometimes I have to quit because my goggles fill up with tears. Ever cry while you swim? that’s what desperation looks like for me.
FFN,
Here is a link to the story. It was also on the in-between news on NPR.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5423650/Geithner-insists-Chinese-dollar-assets-are-safe.html
Sorry for the Fox link. Go to minute 6.
Try this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSPEK14475620090601
or
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/rutabaga_ridgepole/2009/06/chinas-best-and-brightest-laug.php?ref=reccafe
You are a little late, Mr Turley, in establishing your garden. Not TOO late, mind you.
You are welcome to share the bounty from my Wicked garden:
http://buelahman.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/bmans-wicked-garden-half-way-planted/
As for Geithner being laughed at by the Chinese:
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/22418099/geithner-gets-laughs.htm
Jill,
With regards to your first post:
As Wikipedians would say, [Citation Needed]
As Lolcaters would say, I can has linkz?
Jill is correct about the “official” unemployment number. I believe that it deems anyone who hasn’t found a job within six months as no longer looking for work, thus under counting the true amount of unemployed people.
This is the number one issue in this country today and despite protestations to the contrary, a big part of it is the under taxation of the corporations and the wealthy. Dredd is also quite correct about our military spending, which needs reduction. However, part of the problem is if we downsize the military, we put even more people out of work. One solution I think is to remove our bases in places like in S. Korea and
Germany and at least have that money spent back into our own economy.
We are in a depression and are heading for desperation. Like FDR, Obama is doing his best to keep hope alive and we should all support him in that effort. Am I enamored with all his choices? No, but then there is no one that would be President, except myself, who would act exactly as I wished.
I don’t want the job and I honestly know that from my working days, while I was very, very good at my job, I made more than a few mistakes and bad decisions.
I don’t think that we needed this report, to tell us what we all probably see in our daily travels.
Traffic is much lighter,stores are less occupied, etc.
A.Y.,
What you said is true. Also, the way the unemployment number is calculated leaves out a lot of actual unemployment. The calculation was changed under Regan (I think). The actual number is almost double the “official” count. And we haven’t even started with the ripple effects from GM’s bankruptcy.
What is not part of the equation and therefore not of a statistical value is when the UE Unemployment benefits run out and they no longer are a recipient. They have no value and do not count. But try and tell a person that is hungry that they are not.
The issue that “over 16% of personal income of the United States is now coming from the government” is telling, but does it include military?
We spend more than all of the rest of the nations of the world combined each year. Somebody has to pay for the soldiers, their housing, their food, their weapons, and their forts around the world.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/04/economy-of-destruction-reaps-poverty.html
When Tim Geithner went to China and told the audience that our govt. was on top of the crisis and our T-bills are a safe bet he got laughed at. That says a lot.