alstry (35.90)

The Silent Suffering

August 14, 2008 – Comments (6)

Just think about this for a second:

In recent years, there were millions of people who made their livings from selling Real Estate, being mortgage brokers, and construction.  Many of these people were independent contractors and as a result are not counted in employment figures.

Now, a significant number these people are out of work or making a small fractioin of what they were making a few years ago.  Many families can barely make ends meet.

The problem is that there really is not many places to find replacement work....Autos, Airlines, Banks, Retailers, Restaurants among others are all laying off.  Now state and local government is laying off.

Do you think that the exploding foreclosure rate is about to end anytime soon? 

Now CA can't even afford to pay its workers minimum wage.  Although not counted as unemployed....one can't live on minimum wage.  Think of the millions of Americans now living at below subsistance wages not counted as unemployed.

If you just added the independent contractors now not working to the employment figures.....the unemployment rate would skyrocket.  Not that anything would change...simply we would get a clearer picture of how many people really are out of a job.  Maybe it would help explain why every month more and more families are losing their homes and values are being destroyed for the remaining residents in the neighborhoods.

Twenty-five years ago....there were relatively few independent contractors so the reported figures today skew the numbers in favor of a lower rate.  And now the rates are climbing anyway as more and more companies contract the workforce.

America would be shocked if it really understood the difficulties facing its financial system.  It is my opinion the auditors and government are walking a fine line on outright deception.  When you can't believe the numbers....nothing matters..NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

As business slows...more and more Americans will lose their jobs and many won't be counted.  To get a better picture of the distress, just watch the number of homes that get foreclosed and companies that go bust.

If my estimates are correct....this downward cycle is still at the early stages and accellerating rapidly. 

At this point, I don't see anyway to stop it....regardless of inflation or deflation.  Wages and revenues are contracting and expenses and interest payments are suffocating the economy. 

Many right now are living on their savings......as the savings runs dry the real suffering begins.  This is a mess and now really getting ugly.