Full Employment

No, we’re nowhere close to it:

Measured against where these people expected the economy to be at this point seven years ago, the economy is indeed awful. Millions of people who should have jobs don’t, and those who do have jobs are working for much lower wages than would be the case in a healthy economy.

This is the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. For most of the same reasons.

Note, I don’t agree with Baker’s recommendations, though.

[Update a few minutes later]

Of 3000 counties, only 65 have recovered from the recession.

4 thoughts on “Full Employment”

  1. The author’s perspective is an odd one. He states:

    Measured against where these people expected the economy to be at this point seven years ago, the economy is indeed awful.

    But a couple sentences later he notes:

    The people extolling the virtues of the economy today were too blind to see the $8 trillion housing bubble that had been driving the economy before the downturn.

    So he’s measuring today’s economy against a benchmark — expectations circa 2007 — that he himself condemns as a bubble-based illusion.

    1. “Measured against where these people expected the economy to be at this point seven years ago, the economy is indeed awful.

      But a couple sentences later he notes:

      The people extolling the virtues of the economy today were too blind to see the $8 trillion housing bubble that had been driving the economy before the downturn.

      So he’s measuring today’s economy against a benchmark — expectations circa 2007 — that he himself condemns as a bubble-based illusion.”

      Nothing illogical about that….

      Sentence #1 – the economic morons thought everything was going to be ducky, 7 years ago, and it isn’t.

      Sentence #2 – and the reason they didn’t see it is because they were blind to the bubble and what it would do; and they are extolling non-existent virtues.

      Clearly they were blind to the bubble and it’s effects…and they still are since they’re riding hell bent for leather to createe an identical one.

  2. ‘Full employment’ is one of those things that only happens on fairy tales or when people lie with statistics.

    Employment is increasing overall AFAIK and should increase more now that the oil has come down. A lot of people don’t know this but high unemployment, especially long term unemployment, is a great way to conserve oil during times of high oil prices. People who stay in their houses don’t spend oil driving to work every day. When oil is expensive people also refrain from traveling long distances as much as they can. With cheaper oil prices it becomes easier for people to work further away from the place they live. Cheaper energy costs also make a lot of economic waste and cosmetic jobs more tolerable. That is where the concept of ‘energy slaves’ comes from.

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