Sunday, January 25, 2009
More People Will Be Unemployed than During the Great Depression
In 1930, there were 123 million Americans.
Will unemployment reach 25% during this current crisis?
I don't know. But the number of people unemployed will be higher than during the Depression.
Specifically, there are currently some 300 million Americans, 154.4 million of whom are in the work force.
Unemployment is expected to exceed 10% by many economists, and Obama "has warned that the unemployment rate will explode to at least 10% in 2009".
10 percent of 154 million is 15 million people out of work - more than during the Great Depression.
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Well... the crash hasn't even happened yet! The quote below tells all. When the derivatives bubble bursts it'll make the current "crisis" look like 1% of the problem. Literally!
ReplyDelete“…total global losses from the coming financial meltdown could easily reach $25,000 billion to $30,000 billion.”
Financial Times, June 25, 2008
And of course the official government data on unemployment is inaccurate. The official statistic of 7.2% only reflects those currently receiving unemployment benefits and does not take into account the following:
ReplyDeletethose recently unemployed who have not yet filed for unemployment or who have not yet received their benefits; those who have given up looking for work and let their benefits expire; those only working part-time jobs because of lack of adequate work; those who do not qualify for unemployment benefits (such as self-employed folks who did not earn enough income to pay in to unemployment); and those who simply never file at all. Take into account all of the above and the current real unemployment ratio in the U.S. is closer to 12-14% already.
This current economic situation will surely tailspin into a global depression. Godspeed.
If we think things are bad now it is still nothing to compare to the 1920s and 30s. Things were bad, real bad, during the great depression. There was an individual that fought for the cause of the Laboring man in Louisiana and the country. His name was Harvey G. Fields and he fought the Bankhead act and called for the replacement of Hugh Johnson as the head of the NRA. Both of these actions happened. He also fought tirelessly for the individual in the courts while at the same time taking down the Governor Leche political system in Louisiana. He was a member of the Huey Long Law Firm, Chairman of the La Public Service Commission, Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Central Committee and was the Federal Prosecutor of the Western Region of Louisiana. His floor fights at the Democratic National Conventions led to the seating of several controversial delegations. To read more about life during the great depression and several failed federal attempts go to Google Books and search for “I Called Him Grand Dad”. Eventually Fields was not reappointed as Federal Prosecutor following his work to dismember the totally Roosevelt dedicated Richard Leche organization in Louisiana. He was known best for his integrity, honesty and dedication to his causes. Fields was identified three times on Who's Who in American Politics and his home town of Farmerville presented him with the award for 50 years of practicing law in Union Parish.
ReplyDeleteThe Derivative Bubble is: The Great Credit Exposure Pyramid: http://bit.ly/b5OxtL
ReplyDelete