The government claims that unemployment is dropping, but that’s only because long-term unemployed Americans no longer count.
Not Counted As Unemployed
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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I get it, and I agree, but I am a little bit disturbed about what it also says. I am only only speaking from my perspective. I lost almost everything I had, and I almost died, but I came through it, took what I had left and used it. I went from a high-paid professional in the avionics industry to an English teacher. I am an excellent English teacher.
The pay is way much lower, but it is enough and I feel better than doing nothing and just sitting at home getting sick from the shock of losing what I once had. Geeez! Whatever happened to the idea that we Americans were strong and could push through any obstacle? Gosh Ted – you are now reduced to begging for clock radios and computers? Bullshit! Buy an alarm clock, reformat your hard drives and install newer stuff – works for most of the 99%, why not you?
My father, born in the first years of the last century, used to tell me that «figures don’t lie, but liars figure». He may well have had a point….
Henri
Rikster has a good point. As Americans, we don’t need no computers, no software, no electricity. Grind your own ink, make your own paper out of rags, and …
Oh, publications these days want you to submit electronically in specific formats, and the software that can produce those formats costs more than they pay left-wing cartoonists.
Sorry.
rikster, it speaks well of you that you were able to re-train yourself and accept a much lower-paying job (and attendant lowering of your standard of living). The key question is, why did you have to do that? You were trained and a hard worker at a very technical field with a high pay rate. Why did that go away?
Consider, too, that since you are being paid less, you pay less taxes. Which means your county, your city, your State has less money to maintain infrastructure. And yet the companies who have removed those high paying jobs don’t demand less of the State; they demand even more. Why should they receive the same level of support, when they’re removing that support from everyone else?
Why should we accept less, when the 1% demand more?
Bruce, why does a piece of paper saying I am qualified to do something entitle me to high pay? We created a system where you ability to do a job is based on a high priced piece of paper, we then made it so everyone could get this piece of paper, experience be damned, that paper means more, and since everybody has one, it means nobody deserves any certain amount of money we are all equally uneducated as opposed to equally educated. The masters is the new bachelors degree.
patron, how do you know rikster is no more than a piece of paper?
My degree is in English, I’m largely self-taught in my vocation (writing software), it’s the skill and work experience that gets me my pay.
I know where and why the jobs left – especially the avionics ones in Phoenix, Arizona. More specificaly, Honeywell downsizing and outsourcing. I also know that a properly maintained computer can last and be useful far beyond 3-5 years, and that used equipment is available for very little as compared to wanting to buy the very latest. The specific formats will work just fine on them.
Russell – you are spot on – my presentation skills as a Project Admin allowed me to smoothly transition into presenting English and teaching – the biggest skill here is patience and the ability to listen – and to follow a structure/course. Switching course in your career is probably the hardest thing. All I have written here does not mean that I am not angry at what the Financial Institutions, Corporations, and Governments have done to precipitate this worlwide depression, but heck, I have to earn a living in the meantime….
Er … rrr, getting back to the actual topic: This suggests dialogue along the lines of: “Hmmm, looks like a bullet-less suicide.”
(Ted, I think the obvious, and ongoing, mix-up of comments with page content has to do with the proximity of the “comments” link of one entry being in sight of the title of the entry below it. Perhaps the “comments” would be better located on the line below the title.)
The employment-population ratio, otherwise known as “we can’t massage this number so we don’t headline it”
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000
Does that look like a recovery to anyone?
Ted is right on the numbers.
Love the piece, Ted. Excellent. Especially for us social statistics people. Don’t sell it, it’s on my list for November!
@Aggie, Don’t count your original artwork before it’s hatched.
I’ll double down on that bet, 2 pieces of art and I actually promote your work for two weeks….
@Aggie,
I don’t need promotion, Arianna. How about my two originals against $500?
I’ll stick to the original deal for now then 🙂