“Great Recession”? Gimme a Break and Call it What it IS: a DEPRESSION.
i saw the new york Times referring to the economy as “The Great Recession.
Oh please give me a break. Does this sound like recession to YOU:
A photograph from their wedding day sits on a wooden shelf in the corner, “Kelly and Scott, July 10, 2004″ in script on the frame. Her smile is wide, her dress bright white. He’s in a black tux, grinning, his hair a buzz cut, his goatee neat, the mustache pencil thin.
Now, sitting on the couch, 11 months after being laid off, his hair is thick and uncombed, and his mustache full. He has gained 40 pounds since his last day on the job. He needs a refill on his antidepressant but doesn’t want to spend money to see a doctor. …
In the months since his layoff, he has walked into this place or that place looking for work, unannounced visits that resulted in nothing. He went to a factory that makes ambulances. Nothing. To another that sells truck caps. Nothing. Another that produces tops for aerosol cans. Nothing. He heard about an RV plant that might be hiring, but decided he needs more information before he’ll get in his car anymore. He refuses to waste gas chasing rumors…
This ain’t no fuckin’ “recession”. It’s a DEPRESSION pure and simple. The unemployment numbers are skewed and don’t tell the true story:
As bad as they are, these figures dramatically understate the true extent of unemployment. First, they exclude anyone without a job who is ready to work but has not actively looked for a job in the previous four weeks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies such workers as “marginally attached to the labor force” so long as they have looked for work within the last year. Marginally attached workers include so-called discouraged workers who have given up looking for job-related reasons, plus others who have given up for reasons such as school and family responsibilities, ill health, or transportation problems.
Second, the official unemployment rate leaves out part-time workers looking for full-time work: part-time workers are “employed” even if they work as little as one hour a week. The vast majority of people working part time involuntarily have had their hours cut due to slack or unfavorable business conditions. The rest are working part time because they could only find part-time work.
It’s a Depression. Start treating it like what it is.
August 4th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
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