“Lost on Long Island” is the documentary film that was the topic of discussion this morning. It will debut on HBO this Sunday night. It is the story of mostly baby boomers who have lost their jobs and are consequently losing their employer-based health insurance and sometimes their homes. It takes all the words and statistics that politicians like to throw around about our “economic recovery” and “income inequality” and puts a human face on it.
After my last post I got some interesting comments on Facebook. I think it’s important to distinguish between people who are homeless as a direct result of this economy, who have worked all their lives only to find themselves a decade short of medicare and still looking for work, not a hand out…and those who have taken to the streets to make a livelihood of sorts out of begging. Let’s not forget those people who grew up in poverty, and who might just be scraping by, living in a medicaid motel with children, maybe making a minimum wage. In our family’s Year of Living Dangerously only the Salvation Army appeared on the Flapper’s doorstep Christmas Eve. My brothers didn’t want their charity, but I’m sure my Mother appreciated it.
In the worst year of the Great Depression, in 1933, the US jobless rate reached 25%. We hit a recession peak in 2010 when our unemployment rate hit 10%. Today it is averaging at 8.2%; most economists think that under 5% is acceptable. But what does that mean when only 1 out 10 long-term unemployed will most likely find work? There are so many factors at play: http://www.economywatch.com/unemployment/causes.html?page=full It has been argued that either government spending or raising taxes will grow the economy, so I wonder why we are cutting government spending and so reluctant to raise taxes. Particularly on that 1% of “job creators.”
For those of you looking for a job with a sustainable future, you might like this list. http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/06/22/9-most-secure-jobs-in-america/
And for my lovely troubadours, play on! (ps the President they reference is our previous Republican)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6NOjEBiEJA
MountainMornings 