Nick Anderson for January 12, 2014

Just a mask over the real face from 2012 and going back at least 200 years.

Good one, and dead on accurate. Besides the corporate giveaways, check the states that get more from the feds than they pay in taxes, they’re red, but aren’t blushing about it.

Good job Democrats! You own the White House and the Senate, yet………More Americans than ever before are not working with 92 MILLION people out of the workforceThe share of Americans in the workforce has sunk to its lowest point in 35 yearsRead more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537585/More-Americans-not-working-92-million-people-workforce.html#ixzz2qAQS08hF

We should get rid of the real moochers and takers:https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/23

Then maybe we could actually get ahead.

Behind the “mask” of outrage – at exorbitant Government spending – is the face of corruption.

@MikeFive – Maybe I don’t understand your post but it looks like you are trying to say that 29 Million is about 29% of the total population. If the Total population is 317 Million (as you stated) and I multiply that by 29% I get 91.93 Million or about 92 million.

And the 92 Million out of the work force INCLUDES those who have stopped looking for work that removes them from the unemployment figures. That 6.2% that you cite only includes those that are on the unemployment roles (Going to the unemployment office filing for benefits and asserting that they are actively seeking work).

You might ask yourself “Well if they are out of the workforce then where did they go?” And the simple answer is that they are working in the gray economy i.e. Paid in cash and not paying taxes. Not all of them are a drain on society but they are certainly not contributing either.

I think you will see the unemployment rate drop even further when the long term unemployed can no longer receive benefits. They will stop showing up at the unemployment office and drop off the roles.

But they, too, will have to find income or perish so they will join the gray economy also.

Folks, there is no way that there are 92 million people out of work unless you count every child in the country as workers. Admittedly, there are Republicans who want to go back to child labor (e.g. Newt Gingrich), but so far it is still illegal. Ditto retirees, which are increasing as the Baby Boomers age out of the workforce. The Daily Mail is another Rupert Murdoch monstrosity, and is hardly an unbiased source.They clearly mismultiplied their numbers.The Labor Participation numbers are still disturbing, but here’s a more nuanced view than the “they’re all moochers” GOP meme:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/10/the-biggest-question-facing-the-u-s-economy-why-are-people-dropping-out-of-the-workforce/

“Letting corporations and business keep their profits and put them back into the economy by hiring people, creating jobs and providing goods.”Corporations and the so called job creators have enjoyed tax cuts since the early days of the GW Bush Administration. They pay the lowest tax rates in 30 to 40 years. They continue to move manufacturing jobs overseas.

Um. the 29 is the opposite of 92, therefore it must be a simple typo! If we even start to disregard posts because of simple typos, we might as well no linger post at all!!

Feel free to disprove the “partisan rhetoric” I posted…….

^Ah, but Rush also said 65 million lost their health insurance under ACA, another “interesting” number indeed!

Lowest % of Americans working since 1978 kiddo!You know, back when your other favorite prez Jimbo was in charge. Barry has matched his Misery Index!

@Reflex – I fail to see how you can claim that we have halved poverty. What numbers are you using to make that claim?

I also think that a trillion dollars spent on: Foodstamps, SSDI, AFDC, Unemployment, et. al. Is money well spent. Remember – That money was taken from honest taxpayers that could have used that money to invest in their own communities rather then putting it through the inefficient federal government.

The War on Poverty was a bust. It was one of the most glaring examples of Government over-reach ever.

OK, do let us use that figure. In the first place we will still use the 165 million possible workers (instead of the entire population of 317 million). Then we take the participation rate and subtract it from 100% to get the non-participation rate. That is 100% – 62.8% = 37.2%. This percent should then be multiplied by the 165 million, which then equals 61.3 million. Admittedly a lot closer to the 92 million, but still no cigar.

But, you know, something that is being missed here is not even a problem correctable by the politics of either the right nor the left. That is simply that the greater majority of those no longer participating in the labor market are NEVER going to be employed again!

I will give you a simple but true example: Large steam railroad engines wer quite probably one of the most difficult and complicated pieces of human designed machinery ever to be built. In WWII There were some 60,000+ of these machines in the US. There were over 1 million American workers employed in simply building and maintaining such machines. At this time I doubt if there are more than 50,000 doing the same kinds of work (and this is not due to cheaper Chinese labor, or unions either for that matter). This is mainly due to both the grater efficiency and less mechanical complexity of the diesel locomotives now being used. And this does not even take into account modern automation in such areas as industrial robotics. And eventually this affect is going to be multiplied in far more area. All electric automobiles are going to eventually be far more efficient that any improvements (which are at best incremental) in internal combustion engines. Fine, so just what do we so with all of those people that used to make the parts for internal combustion engines?

I must admit that I do not know the answer to this kind of very complex problem. But, just calling the laid off workers in this kind of situation lazy or even non-productive is certainly not helpful, and I truly wish that some of our more conservative types here would stop doing such name calling. If you have any actual and real answers to this kind of thing, then please speak up, but otherwise try to put your brains in gear before putting your hands on your keyboards. Or am I being too obtuse again?

@Robert and Trusted – Those that were displaced from their previous employment because their jobs were outsourced or eliminated through technology have my compassion. But that doesn’t let them off the hook for being responsible adults. They have an obligation to do what is necessary to get back in the workforce. Because the alternative is that they expect me and my fellow workers (And all of our children and grandchildren thanks to the debt being racked up) to support them while they lament the loss of their job.

Textile mills have gone away in the US and they aren’t coming back. Does that mean all of those workers in the textile industries should be given a free pass on work and allowed to sit home and collect government funds for the rest of their lives?

Many Newspapers are folding up or going strictly internet. Does that mean the press operators that are displaced should be allowed to live on Unemployment for the rest of their lives?

Look – I agree that there should exist a social safety net to give people time to look for another job when they are laid off. I always thought 6 months was generous and a year during these tough economic times was not unreasonable. But two years+ is just not acceptable. There are people who aren’t worth much more in the job market then what they can receive in unemployment benefits and they won’t go out and look for a job until they are weaned off the government dole.

Good to know THAT I WAS RIGHT!

@Trusted – I was never a fan of Bush and DID NOT support the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am a firm believer that any tax dollars that can be spent at home should be.

Tax dollars spent in the Middle east have very little positive impact on our economy unless you count the replacement bombs, planes and tanks.

that’s never changed. Then again, not much difference between the 2 major parties.

Only the Libs can tell you where to get a job.But with Obama, who has a job?

People had jobs under Bush and Reagan.