It's doesn't take an Ivy League economist to point out the obvious, but political discourse over the past 30 years has so twisted common sense that almost all of us are paying the price.
The people pushing these policies, the neolibs, don't care about common sense. It's all about an ideology with them. To hell with human suffering:
Mass unemployment remains at staggering levels. According to official figures, 12.8 million people are unemployed, of whom 5.5 million have been out of work for more than six months and 4 million have been unemployed for over a year. The number of “underemployed” people—combining the jobless with those working only part-time when they want and need full-time work—stands at 24 million.
The continued prevalence of mass unemployment has led to the growth of poverty unseen for decades. The number of US households living on $2 per day per person has more than doubled since 1996, from 636,000 to some 1.46 million today, according to a brief released by the National Poverty Center on Saturday. The study showed that about 4 million people in the United States are living on less than $60 per month.
Yet, under these conditions, both parties are intent on cutting assistance to the poor and unemployed still further. This month the Obama Administration and Republicans reached a deal to cut the maximum duration of unemployment benefits from 99 weeks to 73 week in the hardest-hit states, and from 79 weeks to 63 weeks in most states.
The bill also includes provisions requiring the unemployed to submit proof that they are looking for work, as well as allowing states to subject applicants to drug tests as part of the application process. Big-business politicians have defended these demeaning and punitive actions by claiming that the “recovery” means that only laziness or drug addiction can explain the failure of the unemployed to find jobs.
These people are asking for massive social unrest.
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