The two charts below may explain why, despite the propaganda about low unemployment, tremendous job growth and the retirement of Boomers explaining the lower participation rate, the economy is in recession, the middle class is pissed off, and the smell of revolution is in the air. When one in four Americans in the prime working years of 25 to 54 are not working, you’ve got a problem. What are 28.9 million people in the prime of their lives doing, if they are not working for a living. Sure some women are staying home to raise their kids, but how many two parent families can afford to get by on one income these days?
Just based on the historical record of employment to population ratios, the country is short by 3 million to 5 million jobs in this key demographic category. This has nothing to do with Boomers or retirement. Any man between the ages of 25 and 54 years old who is not truly disabled should be working. If they are not, they are either a good for nothing lazy free shitter, or the complete destruction of our blue collar industries by politicians, bankers, and corporate CEOs has left men with no remaining options.
In 1970, 96% of males between the ages of 25 and 54 were participating in the workforce and 93% were employed. Today, only 88% of males between the ages of 25 and 54 are participating in the workforce and only 83% are employed. What are the 12% of males in their prime working years doing, if they’re not working? Even the female participation rate for 25 to 54 year olds is the lowest in almost a quarter century.
I believe this data is at the gist of Trump’s growing popularity. You have a portion of the 25 to 54 population not working because they choose to not work. They are essentially members of the free shit army and expect the producers to pay their way. They will vote Clinton or Sanders. Then there are middle class 25 to 54 year olds who have been laid off because their companies shipped the jobs overseas or the overwhelming tax and regulatory burdens imposed by Obama and his minions have put companies out of business resulting in more layoffs.
Men and women in the prime of their life not working get very angry and frustrated. That anger is bubbling over and the MSM and establishment politicians are shocked because their luxurious secluded lives are unaffected. They will be flabbergasted when Trump wins the presidency on this wave of anger and frustration.
Trump is the only candidate that seems willing to talk about this in any realistic terms.
Which is probably one of the reasons the world’s Establishment is so opposed to him, they don’t want the real circumstances and conditions of the average working class people to come into focus at all. They have no desire or intention to do anything about them and would prefer to see them -the people not needed by them to service their lifestyles- just eliminated than do anything to improve their lot.
While you may be right about why this is part of Trump’s popularity, you didn’t answer the question posed in your headline. Yes, they’re angry, but what are they doing besides being pissed off?
I think the answer can be found in the so-called “underground economy”. Some are buying shit at yard sales and selling it on eBay, some are reselling their prescription drugs, some are trying their hand at affiliate websites tied to get rich quick schemes, some are babysitting, etc.
@Leftcoaster – “some are trying their hand at affiliate websites tied to get rich quick schemes”
I’m pretty sure they are ALL attached to pyramid schemes at this point. Every time I meet with a friend from highschool or early college they are simultaneously whining about their min. wage job and trying to sell me life-changing-shit that will totally solve all my problems.
These people are in the hidden bread lines, created by the H1/2NIC.
They are hidden in SNAP, section 8, general assistance, medicaid (where I hear it’s worse than having nothing), a myriad of social programs, and greatly expanded SSDI.
Also living with their parents, or the parents living with the children, after the parents burn through their 401K, assets, etc.
As with all of Obama’s sham government – looks are everything – that’s why we have this $16 trillion deficit – we spend it on these phantom programs to keep everything looking respectable – while the cancer is growing.
On the brighter side – I was just kidding. These folks are so prosperous they don’t need to work. Many are on perpetual vacations in Costa Rica, Bahamas, and Cuba. That’s right, good old O’ opened our relations with Cuba, just so more of these Americans could vacation there.
Dutchman
$19.2 trillion national debt, headed to $20 trillion before the Savior leaves office. It was $10.6 trillion on the day Savior took office. Obama added almost as much debt in 8 years as the country had accumulated in its first 219 years.
Keep peddling the truth Admin, and let Obama and his crooked administration continue purveying their smorgasbord of propaganda, bullshit and lies to special interests, the FSA and those too ignorant to engage what functioning gray matter they have between their ears.
With all the free shit and obamasucksasshealthcare, most people can’t afford to work, o’ dey lose all dat fee shit.
Amurica
It’s an Obama economic miracle: the jobless non-recovery!
The solution is clearly to increase the number of H1-B visa workers to further fuck educated America workers, and to forcibly import the few remaining Mexicans that are still in Mexico to screw the unskilled American workers more.
It’s hard to say; my eldest is a boomerang baby, back with us after an unsuccessful attempt to make it happen, currently in a city-state sponsored “workforce” effort (job-search skills, dress for success, resume writing help & etc.) looking for a job. One possible part-time employer is “vetting” now, after job test and personal interview; two week delay for vetting. We shall see.
Younger sibling is a junior in Computer Science in college. That one’s prospects look good, unless a new horde of H1-B visas steals the future before graduation gets here.
If enough of them are ill-educated and envious and vote Sanders into office, we will get the revolution we deserve without any prospect of improvement in the economy. Be careful what you wish for, TPTB; you may not like it when it comes.
answer:
there are not enough jobs for everyone,
thus, people are losing their minds.
H1-B visas…no benefits, no committment
I’m one of the lazy nonworking bums (HAH!), staying at home and homeschooling our child. My job is not only to care for my family, but also to multiply my husband’s small biz income by pinching pennies until they scream for mercy. Sometimes it makes more sense to stretch a paycheck than it does to earn another one.
It is always a tradeoff, time versus money. Two parents working means a lot more convenience purchasing (eating out, paying repair people, no time to shop sales, etc) becomes necessary due to scarcity of time. These things, and paid childcare, tend to eat up the excess money generated by 2 jobs, a Catch 22. And that isn’t saying anything about the hidden costs (financial and psychological) to health and relationships brought on by diets of easy processed meals and the stress of juggling hectic work and school schedules.
If you aren’t both earning big bucks, it usually isn’t a very good deal especially when kids are involved. You’d be better off living a very frugal and modest life (after both working and scrimping until you amass a rainy day nest egg) on one paycheck and stretching it to the max with sweat equity.
Anyone here read the futurology subreddit on reddit? There are some interesting conversations on there about the future of work, or lack thereof. What happens when things become vastly more automated and computers are smarter than humans? This time is fast approaching. Did anyone see how Google’s AlphaGo computer beat the top Go player in the world? This was not predicted to happen for at least another decade. Go is a Chinese strategy board game that requires intuition and has more board combinations than atoms in the universe. Ken Jennings wrote a good article on this (you know the Jeopardy champion who was whipped by a computer). The time is coming when we will have an excess of people to do jobs and we will need to figure out something to keep people obsoleted by technology happy, like universal basic income. Otherwise we will have a huge unemployed portion of the population (not dumb or lazy, just outdone by machines) with zero job prospects and zero money. This would not end well. I don’t know of any politicians talking about this but they need to start, these changes in technology are not linear as we can even see with the smartphones in our pockets that are leaps and bounds more “intelligent” than the smartphones we didn’t have in our pockets 10 years ago.
Anon:
Arbeit macht frei is truth: it is unfettered leisure that robs humanity of its soul, and work that gives us dignity. Not all humans will find the same answer to your question. Some of us may decide to simply not participate at all, feeling that the “benefits” of modern tech are outweighed by their cost in terms of our humanity.
I can see humans splitting three ways, eventually perhaps even becoming different species. One group may eschew many technological advances and in favor of a more traditional life, in its own enclaves (like the Amish). You can already see that a bit, as homesteaders, homeschoolers, etc pull further and further away from the “modern” world., rejecting it and its values as false and unworthwhile. Our kids will marry other kids of a similar bent, and so it will go. Perhaps we will be seen as living relics of the past, and will become a tourist attraction. You can already see a bit of this in the way the Amish are treated, and the way that hipsters view traditional artisans, like heroes to be paid homage and to take selfies with (but not to emulate).
A second group might wholly embrace technology, undergoing vast shifts in brain function and skills in the process. They will disconnect entirely from the natural world, their environments regulated by sensor controlled machines. Mating would be based on education and intelligence, not physical strength or appearance and offspring will not have the hybrid vigor of more traditional matings. They may in time become so physically weak that they will need care by group 1 in order to survive, as all of their energy will go into brain function (mastering technology) and very little to physical fitness or activity. Their body features would also shift, like changes in neck structure (human necks are already very weak and easily damaged by bending to look at screens), eyes, head size, etc. You can already see this quite a bit, in only one or two generations, as many modern men are less like men and the women less like women, more androgenous.
And a third group, too unintelligent to join group 2, and too unmotivated to join group 1, will become like savage beasts, squabbling for scraps from both group 1 and 2, the Yahoos of Gulliver. Each generation will be more animal like than the last, more savage as resources become harder to obtain, until they become human jackals. The 30 Blocks of Squalor are already well on their way to that state.
Eventually it will come to a head. Those who value a connection with the earth and with hard work will never fit into the modern tech driven world. Those who embrace tech as a god will never revert to being traditional. Eventually our two groups will become separate breeding factions, not mixing much, and developing traits distinct to their respective group. Enough generations of that and we will no longer both be human.
Rose, your post at 6:12 is excellent.
I was with you till, “They will be flabbergasted when Trump wins the presidency on this wave of anger and frustration.”
TPTB will join forces against Trump. I guess they already have.
Thanks, starfcker:)