Shame On ANYbody, From ANY Party, That Does Not Address This Immediately !!!

The job picture in America certainly isn't comforting, and the mounting ranks of the jobless may lend some support to Krugman's pro-stimulus thesis. This chart, from the Saint Louis Federal Reserve, shows that long-term unemployment is skyrocketing::



Krugman isn't alone in his fear that the world economy is becoming increasingly precarious. The Wall Street Journal noted that members of the Federal Reserve are in private planning for the possibility of a double-dip recession in America -- a concern shared by MarketWatch's in-house economist.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/paul-krugman-why-we-could_n_627452.html

I don't give a SHIT about anyone's excuses... FIX THIS!!!

:mad:

That's the NORMAL time one's benefits would run out if one could not find a job.

We (Congress) just started cutting off the 99ers!!!

They've been on Unemployment for just about 2 YEARS, and have not been able to find work.

I process unemployment forms for a living, and we are starting to see the extensions disappear.

It's frightening, and it truly sucks!

:banghead:

Used to be 26 weeks and then people fell off the books as "no longer in the market". Now we have the 99ers.

Makes one wonder if the motivation for cutting off the benefits was to lower the unemployment "number" (as useless as that statistic is).

You can be "unemployed" for purposes of U-3 and not get benefits.
You can also be not "unemployed for purposes of U-3 and get benefits.

U-3 is simply a survey.

The govt calls a random sample asks them some questions and based on their responses categorizes them as:
a) employed
b) unemployed
c) not in labor force (disabled, retired, discouraged worker, etc)

they want to make the people angry so that they will vote against the Dems..and they want more tax cuts even though they have put them in every bill that has come up for a vote..

They have been planning this all along its all about power and them winning so that they can take the country back to making $2.60 an hour..

Dynamite book, dynamite girl. Only problem here is that it's an awfully loooooong shock.

Ms. Klein is a woman, not a girl. Do you refer to yourself as 'orbitalboy?' This is sexism. Please refrain from calling a grown, intelligent woman, a girl. It is similar to referring to a black man as 'boy.'

thank you, in advance.

:)

:(

I've been unemployed since May 2009, have extended my job search nationwide, and still can't find a job. I'm very scared. Without an extension, I have six weeks of benefits left. Then what? Sleep under a bridge?

and the more jobs you can personally create the better

It's above my pay grade, which I'm sure your well aware of, but I'd go after those that have done so well for the past ten years, and tell them it's time to get back into the game and help their country out.

Then... I'd start a modern WPA and start fixing every damn thing that needs fixing in this country...

The Gulf Coast, Detroit, Nashville, every urban and rural blighted section of this country... just to name a few.

What's your solution???

:shrug:

of starting "a modern WPA and fixing every damn thing that needs fixing in this country...

The Gulf Coast, Detroit, Nashville, every urban and rural blighted section of this country... just to name a few"

:woohoo:

A 30 year war on workers has not served us well. Time somebody fought on our side.

So now we all will pay more in taxes, and you seriously think that the wealthy and the businesses are going to "Pay their fair share" LOL thats insane. They will increase prices for goods and services to make back the difference in the taxation, so our prices will go up and our taxes will go up and those of us that can barely make ends meet now will collapse under the weight of these increases and the rich will go right along getting richer all the time.

The only real way to fix this is to formulate a fair tax i.e., Wealth people want a gallon of gas it should cost them $1003 per gallon.... the $3 goes to the oil company for the product and the $1000 is tax paid to the government. Wealth people want a cell phone they pay $100 per minute $99.90 goes to the government in tax....

The problem with taxation is it is extremely unfair at the lower end it cost me the same for lifes necessities as it does the uber rich that has got to change and then we will start getting somewhere.

Thats a page straight out of Hoover's playbook and I am disgusted that the G20 PTB are pushing it.

They suck like a hoover.

-Hoot

popped from my head when I read that they wanted to cut deficits by more than half by 2013. :wtf:

People will be dying in the streets. Is this really what the 'Build-a-burgers' want? I believe the Political minions take orders from this group. And didn't they just meet in the early part of this month in Spain?

and everything will be fine won't it? Get your head out of clouds,take off the rose colored glasses and face reality. We can't just keeping digging the hole deeper by printing more money and expect that things will somehow turn around. Take a course,economics 101 will fill you in on the basics.

This thinking got us out of a similar situation:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=545217&mesg_id=545217

Even Bernanke has had to come out and say it would be a mistake to cut spending right now. The deficit hawks won't be happy until 1/2 of us are starving in the streets.

Government is not some wing of private enterprise and the analogies to running a business or a household are false.

Prosperity can only come from investment of public funds into public infrastructure and the public welfare.

Here is how to wreck a country: allow more and more concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands; fail to collect back any of that accumulated wealth by cutting taxes on the wealthiest; privatize all resources and operations; crush the Union so that wages can be lowered; enact "fair trade" polices so that the wealthiest few can pursue the cheapest labor and escape taxes and regulations; eliminate all public programs so that workers are desperate and vulnerable.

You are promoting pure unadulterated trickle down Reaganomics, by the way.

What the Hell are they teaching these days in "economics 101?"

Taking an economics class and thinking that it helps you understand the actual marketplace, is like pretending a degree in Theology doubles as a degree in molecular biology.

Including schools.

Can't have all that wasteful spending on "entitlements"!

Must cut deficit!
Must cut entitlements!

for let the rich people keep all the money and let's drive the workers down to slave wages. Keep the women pregnant and out of the workplace so they produce more serfs for the rich people to squeeze dry.

should personally be able to solve the problem at hand is absurd. This is a national security issue, not something going on on that poster's block. It just gets old hearing such utter crap snapped off as if it had any credible contribution to the discussion. What is your point? What is the reason for such a comment?

Not that they ever respond when you provide answers to their goofy straw men.

Three proposals that can immediately turn the tide and get us back to full employment and prosperity:

1. A full payroll tax (FICA) holiday

2. $150 billion of Federal revenue sharing to the States on a per capita basis

3. An Federally funded minimum-wage job for anyone willing and able to work to facilitate the transition from unemployment to private sector employment.

:evilgrin:

BTW - Fantastic suggestions!!!

:yourock:

:hi:

32 hour = full time, to, BTW.

That extra day will require some hiring.

14-16 hours one day then 6-8 the others...sorta blows my OT outta the water.
But I AM grateful I have a job, so many don't
My wife just lost her unemployment, been out since Jan. of last year.

Hang in there, it's gotta get better, don't it?

I was a delegate to the 1996 Iowa City Conference that adopted the Shorter Work Time Resolution and established the present organization. I would personally rather see a 28 or 30 hour week as full time -- and see hours indexed to allow more free time with increases in productivity. I believe that sharing the work should be used so as to eliminate unemployment, and therefore, full employment should not depend on economic growth as much as social need.

But, of course, taking things to that extent will necessitate the replacement of capitalism as a societal paradigm. Loads of implications here.

A friend has a son graduating -- no jobs --

her daughter's in college -- no summer jobs --

My son was laid off in May --

Repugs are stopping extension of unemployment benefits!!

Let me know when this is fascism?

Also, why not MAKE something in this country like we used to? I have followed 'country of origin' on everything since 1989 due to the squashing of the democratic movement in China. Hell, just in the past couple of years, the U.S. (the rich white boyz) have sent the manufacturing of toothpicks and straws to China.

Why can't we set up Co-ops or non-profit manufacturing in this country? Oh, I know....the rich, white boyz wouldn't like it. That would be COMPETITION to them...and they don't want that. We are right back in the days of the Robber Barons and someone needs to bust up their trusts!

Manufacturing wind blades, solar panels....anything that will get us off oil. And I still don't understand why we can't grow hemp...it just backward, fundie thinking that keeps us from making advancements.

edit for spelling

Here's some relatively small ones that would solve so very many problems -

End all the Bush tax cuts for anyone who makes over $200,000/yr.
Social security paid out by every single working person, no income exlusions
End all preferential taxing status' for people who make more than $200,000/yr. this figure is to include all income, including non-monetary
Reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine
Immediately end all oil company payments

and very importantly
End both wars - all combat troops out within a year.
No voting without verifiable results - must have paper trail. That would end the Repugs dominance immediately and some sanity might return?

Ignore it. it isn't helpful or informative or useful in anyway. Wasted words, wasted typing.

people can call attention to a problem without being God herself and coming down from on high to fix it.

so that others can come up with the solutions.

:think:

Time to let the rich know they are not going to get away with it.

... shouldn't you et us know first how to fix this first before asking questions or voicing a critique?

other monopolistic entities.

Pump billions into the renewable/unlimited energy industry.

Tax the uber-rich and end the pointless wars for profit, tax big oil and big banks - and break them up too.

I will be donating $5 until I see some real results.

So, of course, they will never be implemented.

:kick: :fistbump:

meanwhile, answers are there and have been for decades.

Simple first step; cut off corporate welfare and divert that money into small businesses and start-ups. This simple step will not only turn the economy 180° but will create an American renaissance of innovation and productivity. An economy must be based on producing things.

Step two; abandon the Fed and withdraw from the FRCBS entirely. Banking is vital to our national interest and therefore must not be left in the hands of those with no interest in the nation beyond how much wealth it can extract.

We're still giving tens of billions in incentives every year to the oil industry!!

We should be nationalizing the oil industry --

on and on --

Who is blocking all of this?

hmmm...

largess to his "handlers", at the expense of everybody else.

I just wanted to record a response to this hit-and-run cheap-shot artist.

Most of the time I write for the lurkers, they greatly outnumber posters and I wanted to add another response to this "question".

And another:kick:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=545217&mesg_id=545217

It would mean a battle with the right but if this isn't the time to fight when would that time be?

and right wing spent every moment of the last 70 years trying to overturn it!!

Where is the Democratic Party agenda to restore it?

We need it YESTERDAY. The old jobs are not going to come back and plans need to be made for creating ones which will be in new sectors and take us into the next wave of growth, but ones based on MADE IN THE USA.

:kick:

:applause:

:hi:

It can be done, it's just our Congress is too behold to corporate interests to do anything that would threaten their precious profits.

and vote out the good ol' boy network who are stuck on cars and building highways to nowhere.

and Strong Reps. and Senators to start this. In short, we need FDR.

:patriot:

Please?

Really?

Shit.

PB

:sarcasm:

I love Yahoo finance but Tech ticker was predicting a stock market crash during the time the Dow went all the way up to 10,000.


Tech ticker is a joke and also a right wing source, but the majority of the articles on Yahoo Finance are balanced in my opinion.

more important things. Oh noes ...we got to have a fucking military that is way over board in size so we can save the world from Martians. ....pffft!

:applause: Most Logical Post on DU. Ever. :applause:

Cut military spending, and the South and parts
of the west go the way of the Rust Belt.

:hi:

:shrug:

:evilfrown:

After the fall of ACORN, I have an aversion to quoting anything from this paper with one exception, this series of articles from the summer of 2005.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/national/class/HYPER-FINAL.html>

Other interesting work to check out comes from UMASS Economics professor Richard Wolff and his 'Capitalism Hits the Fan' lecture and of course the documentary 'The Corporation'.

I contend the wealth of any nation is measured by the viability of its public, clearly the wealthy see that another way. The model we know to follow is not the one we need to work from to remedy the situation.

For Willy T: K and R

1. new energy program, like Brazil, immediately, solar power in desert california, arizona, new mexico etc....

2. vat tax on 'rich' items, such as luxery cars etc...

3. let bush tax cut for rich expire

4. get out of iraq and afghanistan as soon as we can.

5. 20% military cut across board...

6. punish companies that move overseas, with jobs, and or tax loopholes

7. establish research committee on mfg job expansion for america ...as we cannot survive on sales
jobs alone or service industry..

8. a REAL stimulus package.....$5billion to each state for infrastructure roads, schools etc..

9. cut waste in government...and military

10. no more pork projects...scrutinize every dollar spent..

:hi:

You put down in words what I hoped for and wished Obama would have initiated upon the oath of office.

Step one - Roll back the tax cuts for the rich. No, not just Chimpy's. Reagan's too. JFK's would be even better. And reestablish the Estate Tax as follows. 50% for everything over $5 million, for the immediate descendants of the person who earned the money. 100% of it for anyone who has been living off something their great grandparents did (gotta take out the Bush Crime Family somehow)

Step two - End the Iraq AND Afghanistan occupations NOW.

Step three - Put every dollar resulting from steps one and two into new public works infrastructure programs that will both employ people AND strengthen this country. Green energy, high speed rail, fixing/replacing roads & bridges etc. This would include a national broadband system NOT controlled by the likes of Comca$t or Time WHOREner.

Great ideas. :thumbsup:

:kick:

And include all phases of such a large-scale program, including accounting, transportation, computers, as well as construction. Provide training in all those different types of jobs so that when the program ends, people have valuable skills in many different areas.

... that it does not lead to massive benefits and profits for the people who set up the system to reap massive benefits and profits from it to begin with.

Shadow Government Statistics

Unemployment: 22%

Inflation: 9.5%

:hi:

:hi:

Shortly after the end of each of those recessions, the gray bits, you see long-term unemployment shrink dramatically. That being said, it looks as if it shrinks to a new, higher baseline level every time. Even if it drops precipitously, as it did in the early 1980's, we would enjoy what, three million, two million, people unemployed on a long-term basis?

But, it seems to me that since SCROTUS, I mean, SCOTUS and the neo-cons have determined that corps have the same rights as citizens, all these ideas will be attacked as anti-American and anti first amendment. How will we be able to get any of these ideas into play and presented as pro-American. This seems to be a very large obstacle to our desires. I believe there are many great thinkers on the DU site and maybe we can come up with some marketing ideas to get the word to the masses.

Not trying to belittle what it says - just want to make sure that it is accurate.

It is accurate.

... maybe a baby boom we are not aware of?

:-)

:(

times....there is NO shame. I believe it to be all part of 'behavior control' by TPTB utilizing the MSM.

Once I saw the Jerry Springer Show, I knew we were in trouble. And then of course, the 'leadership' of W set a tone of being bullies, never apologizing, being rude and stupid....just no shame, whatsoever.

knowing full well the radiating effects on local economies will lead to more job cuts, more business failures, more decline in local and state tax revenue forcing governments to raise taxes or lay off even more. They want to spur a deflationary spiral hoping to gain seats as the populace loses faith with the current administration. When hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh say they want the president to fail they mean it. That is what all the obstruction is about. That is why republican governors in states threatened by the oil spill go on TV and lie through their scumbag mouths about the federal government not doing enough when they themselves have opted to NOT deploy the national guard. They know the solutions being proposed: stimulus, jobs plans and most importantly an energy bill will create jobs and reduce unemployment. That is why republicans stand in the way. We need to support our candidates and work to vote in more democrats who will vote with them, not accept the notion republicans will make gains. Giving up and giving in to such a stupid notion dooms those unlucky enough to be unemployed to continued unemployment and risks the livelihood of those fortunate enough to still have work. You want this to stop? Help elect more democrats.

"Trickle Down" didn't work. The lowest percentage of unemployed following Reagan's election rival the highest percentages preceding his administration.

The UAW just about had it in 1979. Soon after that everyone would have had it. If we had there would be plenty of jobs right now.

Then came the anti-union propaganda. They told everyone they needed to be independent. No need to become unionized or support union workers we were told. Many people became convinced that they were better off on their own rather than becoming unionized.

We are now seeing the result of that propaganda.

Stand together or hang separately.

Don

The introduction of new, more efficient technologies and business and work methods (outsourcing work to markets where labor is cheap for the most part) increases productivity per worker (as well as more efficient and less expensive use of natural resources) and eliminates jobs.

In our system, the wealthy alone have benefited from the increased profits that result from the increased productivity and efficiency. The middle and working classes, those of us with low and moderate incomes have lost due to the increased productivity and efficiency.

The wealthy have more money than before. The poor and middle classes have less money than before.

We see that on Willy T's charts above.

The imbalance results in a lack of demand. When there is less demand, employers can't sell their products and services no matter how efficiently they are made. More jobs are lost. It's a cycle. The outsourcing has accelerated this process. We need to reduce our dependence on cheap foreign labor.

We are supporting a huge military machine -- and we don't have the income to do that. It is as though we had a house that was falling apart and spent more than half of our income on our alarm system. That's precisely what we are doing. Defense (weapons) and food production -- those are about the only industries left in our country that actually produce anything. The fact that the financial industry appears to be such a large part of our economy is an indication that we have lost all our muscle and are down to bare bones.

We are on a path to disaster. I think we have only started down that path.

And the Republican call for less regulation and lower taxes will absolutely do us in as a nation.

I just wish Obama could understand what is going on and explain it to people. But he has surrounded himself with a bunch of fools.

From unemployment to the first article linked following the featured article by Krugman.

"Related News On Huffington Post:
Wall Street Hiring Is Booming -- And Guaranteed Bonuses Are Back
June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Leverage is back on Wall Street -- and this time it's the bankers who have it. Firms are adding jobs for... "

Click on the link and see for yourself. ( Link repeated:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/paul-krugman-w... )

We are in the midst of a major theft. Some of the people in this country are married to others around the world who in their multi-national relationships are half way through the grandest theft of the little people in all of man's history - relative to population.

Next step - a reduction of population. Don't act surprised. It's inevitable.

What are our rights as human beings. Zero?

Just like they did in the late eighties--deregulation has a purpose, and it is no good purpose for the majority of the people. I laugh every time I hear a repug faking a concern about the deficit. Reagan was not concerned about increasing the deficit and neither was *. As a matter of fact, I perceived him and his cronies attempting to take anything that wasn't nailed down. All the money that is unaccounted for-trillions missing from the Pentagon, from Iraq, and funds given to war profiteers (overcharging). And now, we got the repugs concerned about the deficit--I call bullshite!!!!! To me, in their seedy little minds, is the thought of how now is a great time to get rid of all of those pesky programs that actually help people. And since there are many people in a world of hurt right now, what a great way to further help their global corporate greedbuds to expand a slave labor force-something that the industrialists were salivating over in the last great depression.

My solution to the economic problem is to tightly regulate the banks and wall street, create massive public infrastructure projects (which we need since Little Boots could have cared less about our decaying infrastructure), create public transit, rail programs, invest in energy green projects solar, wind, and tide generation. Take away all tax breaks to corporations sending jobs overseas-give tax incentives for hiring Americans and for new innovations. Increase loans to small businesses--and PRE-REAGAN tax on the wealthy. And, while we're getting these programs in place, extend unemployment!

Also it's time for us to get out of Iraq-it's time for Iraq to stand on it's own and for us to stop protecting corporate interests-let the corporations protect their own interests without our money or our children. And in Afghanistan, I think they need a less corrupt government-I heard the money is flowing out of Afghanistan to parts unknown-remember Karzai was appointed by *--Karzai was a corporate oil man-and he's still the leader in Afghanistan-what gives?

STRIP CORPORATIONS OF PERSONHOOD!!!!

See it sounds so much less threatening....

The most awesome part was that the WallStreet bailout of 2008/09 was the single largest instantaneous transfer of wealth on record. And it was done without a single shot fired, a single revolt, or a peep from any major news organization. The word "sucker" does not even begin to describe the modern American middle and lower classes.

One has to give the devil his due, and these f*ckers are smaaaaaaaaaart (smaaaaaaaaaaht if you're in Boston, which I heard is where a lot of these f*ckers go to get an education).

one of the tight grouped so-called Republicans start whining, we should get 10 inches from their face and ask them to get their corporate friends to bring back the jobs and factories from overseas. To ask the wealthy that they associate themselves with to bring back their money from the foreign banks where they are stashing it. Everytime any mention of government takeover is mentioned, we need to tell them to demand that corporations re-register their businesses BACK INSIDE the US so that they are subject to the same working, compensation, environmental laws as small businesses, so they don't get to avoid US law because they are registered outside the US, by design - for profit.

is really true. It sure seems that way. But, people can stop this if they want to. Simplify our lifestyles so that we are not too dependent on corporate interests. Boycott. These are good first steps. Easier said that done, but I do believe that we have to do them.

:hippie:

NT

Just pick up a newspaper or watch the news. That's what the pols are telling us.

At least that's what the pols are telling us.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :rant:

THIS, more than anything else could determine the outcome of the 2010....and maybe even the 2012 elections.

I don't expect anything out of the republicans. There's been a democratic congress for years now. We have a democratic president. I want something done and I'm not accepting excuses and diversions. People are hurting and deperate and I don't hear our people talking like Democrats.

They'd better wake up and do something which will help people get employed!!!!

Where is the investment in jobs?

Where is the overturning or amending of the Trade Agreements?

Where is the end to these two wars bankrutping our Treasury?

Where is 2012?

Gee, I wonder.

i got my grad degree in that time, student loans and other bills came due, but the job never came. it might as well be 170 weeks. there's no help, and no one really wants to hear about it. everyone with a job wants to believe it's because they are industrious, or talented, or that it could not happen to them. sometimes the fear of me is visible in their eyes when i tell them i've been out of work for a year a half. they have to believe it's due to some shortcoming of mine. they HAVE to believe it!

:hug:

You seem too self-aware to lose faith in yourself.

:hug:

Things change.

:hug:

Keep trying and something will work!

1950 population was 152,000,000
1970 population was 205,000,000
1990 population was 250,000,000
2010 population is 308,000,000

Absolute numbers are abhorrent, but in a relative sense, the graph makes it look more dramatic than it is.

Not really... :evilgrin:

But I would prefer one based on percentage of population.

I'm not sure why people even link the Wall Street Journal that is owned by Rupert Murdoch to DU. I don't believe a thing that comes out of that paper.

I buy stock, and I think the Wall Street Journal is trash.


I do however think unemployment should be extended because if there are no jobs then benefits should be extended. However, I don't prescribe to doom and gloom predictions because no one really knows.

Why the reliance on a private sector which refuses to help unless it is on the most reactionary of terms?

Where is a WPA or a CCC?

What is the purpose of government? To promote the commonweal or to support the Capitalist class? (a rhetorical question that might be answered by our lying eyes)