Unemployment

Robert Reich
5 hrs ·
Don’t for a moment fall for the hokum that the economy is doing well. According to a Harris poll released today, nearly half of jobless Americans have quit looking for work. Which is why the official rate of unemployment – 4.7 percent for May – looks so good: Those who have given up work aren’t officially counted as “unemployed.” The number of people the government considers “not in the labor force” is now a record 94.7 million, according to Labor Department data.
By the way, this isn’t because boomers are retiring. In fact, the biggest concentration of jobless Americans are those in the 18-29 age group.
This is a huge and growing problem. It’s feeding the anger and cynicism about our entire economic and political system. What to do? Congress must embark on a major infrastructure program – rebuilding America’s crumbling roads, bridges, ports, and public-transportation systems. We need to cut taxes on the middle class and the poor (and cover the shortfall by raising taxes on the wealthy), so more people have more money in their pockets to spend. For the same reason, raise the minimum wage and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. And do all this now.