Are you happy? I’ll explain at the end of this blog.
High unemployment has been a fact of life for decades in some parts of the world. What happens when we here in the USA, collectively accept high unemployment? An excerpt from the NY Times below suggests we are reaching a point where we may start accepting high unemployment as ‘normal’ and millions of unemployed fall from our collective conscience.
The real threat, economists say, is that America, like some of its Old World peers, may simply become accustomed to a large class of idled workers.
“After a while, a lot of European countries just got used to having 8 or 9 percent unemployment, where they just said, ‘Hey, that’s about good enough,’ ” said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “If the unemployment rates here stay high but remain relatively stable, people may not worry so much that that’ll be their fate this month or next year. And all these unemployed people will fall from the front of their mind, and that’s it for them.”
__end of excerpt___
A friend of mine, Richard, has thankfully started 2011 with a new job after 2 years of unemployment. The job came to him through a common friend (It’s not what you know, it’s who you know). He had reached a point where he was existing day to day with the threat of losing his apartment and buying gas for his car and food was a daily challenge. For a lot of people, help will come too late to keep them from foreclosure, eviction and just getting the basics for daily life. Right now, the American Dream is looking very fragile and for some the dream has turned into a nightmare.
Yes, we can say the economy is gradually being rebuilt, but high unemployment is with us for who know how long and it will be a long time before we can collectively breathe a sigh of relief and get back to this: United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
