So we have 23 million people out of work*, and the big story this morning is that the official unemployment numbers (not counting those who have stopped looking, of course) have edged down. Conservatives are accusing Obama of manipulating the numbers, and so-called progressives are gleefully ridiculing them.
In the meantime, uh, 23 million people are still out of work and you’d think real progressives would be fighting for them — and not just for the Blue team.
*U.S. Labor Department counts 12.8 million people as unemployed. Add in the people not actively looking, and it brings us to just over 15.3 million. Then we have 8.2 million part-time workers who can’t find full-time work = 23.6 million.
As far as anyone can determine this “23 million” number comes out of thin air and is nothing but a Republican talking point. It has no basis in reality according to economists like Krugman. Does anyone have any factual proof that this is a real number? The Right would like us to believe that the Labor Department employes dozens of Obamabot Socialists who are manipulating the employement data to bring us this 7.8% unemployment figure so that Obama can get re-elected. That is just more silly fantasy and lying on the part of the Republicans.
Count underemployed and those who’ve stopped looking. 23 million who had real, full-time jobs and don’t have them anymore.
Presuming that it’s accurate, yes that 23 million Americans are out of work is a tragedy and should be addressed. That being said, if one cares about it, then pulling for the blue team is precisely what you should be doing. Weakening Democrats leading up to an election of this sort would be a mite bit counterproductive. A romney win would be disastrous for those who need a helping hand (not to mention about 99% of the population).
Really? Since the Blue Team is lining up for a round of austerity cuts, which will make things worse?
A little help Susie: 23,000,000. There, it’s a real number now.