What Happened to the American Empire?

Basically the unemployment rate has been steadily going down since it was over 10% --- not because people are finding jobs, but because people have given up looking for non-existent jobs, and are therefore no longer counted as part of the labor force --- and that's another reason why the labor force participation rate is the lowest since 1978.

Of the few jobs that are being offered, they're either temp and/or part-time low-paying jobs. More older people are working longer because they can't afford to retire, opening jobs for younger workers --- but if an older worker is laid off from a job, they find it more and more difficult to get re-employed. After becoming long-term unemployed, it becomes ever more difficult to ever become re-employed again.

More younger people are living with their parents that since 20 years ago because they can't find work paying a living wage. Of those who do find work, they are now working low-wage jobs, and many need government help (like food stamps) so survive the cost-of-living.

Offshoring the better-paying paying jobs has taken its toll, and offshoring continues as almost a third of all current U.S. jobs are still prone to offshoring.

Neither political party has helped --- the Democrats didn't want to spend enough in 2009, and ever since then, the Republicans have wanted to cut too much.

After almost 6 long years, 20 million Americans still need full-time work; 47 million rely on food stamps; and 75 million (1/2 the labor force) only earns $27,000 or LESS every year.

Since the onset of the Great Recession, it appears that if anything, the economy for the majority of working Americans has gotten worse --- while those in the upper income brackets have done very well with the stock market.

Foreign investors and private equity firms are buying up all the cheap foreclosed houses and renting them out (maybe to those who may have once owned them).

At the current pace of tuition costs, higher education will only be affordable to the very wealthy.

The banks still get away with murder (people have literally died because their actions) and our politicians are all cowards and too afraid to reign in the bank's power and absolute control. Democracy is a myth.

Corporations are still filing bankruptcies to eliminate labor unions and eliminate (steal) worker's pensions. Over the past 40 years we've seen unions wiped out as "effective" corporate tax rates have decreased, creating a budget deficit --- not bringing in the necessary revenues needed to finance government programs --- negatively affecting the People's needs and creating higher unemployment.

We spend half our national treasure (from the tax revenues we do have) to support a defense industry to open up and defend "emerging markets" so than corporate America will have an endless supply of cheap labor to enrich a handful of CEOs.

Offshore banking continues for the very wealthy to avoid income taxes. Tax reform will never happen because members of Congress benefit from the current tax system.

SuperPACs and 501c's will continue to corrupt the political process, with no campaign reform in the future either. Real democracy and a middle-class (at the current rate of decline) will be eventually lost --- and might only be a distant memory to the oldest of Americans (and short notations in future history books).

And the oldest of Americans may be cast aside (thinning the heard) to make way for a new and reduced labor force --- people who are only interested in saving themselves.

Say good-bye to the American Empire.

Today's Links....

The economy has added 6.8 million jobs since the labor market bottomed in February 2010. But it is still about 1.9 million jobs shy of its peak in January 2008, in what has been the slowest job-market recovery since World War II. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the economy has about 8.3 million jobs fewer than it should, given the size of the population. At the current pace of job growth, that gap won't be closed until 2021.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/august-jobs-report-unemployment-rate_n_3879325.html

Persistent Scars of Long-Term Joblessness --- All in all, about 4.3 million Americans have been out of work for six months or more. For those workers, the chance of getting a job gets slimmer and slimmer as time goes on.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/persistent-scars-of-long-term-joblessness/?_r=0

Unemployment Rate Drops for Wrong Reasons
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/06/unemployment-rate-drop-for-wrong-reasons/

Restaurant Work in the States and the Loss of Middle Class Jobs
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/restaurant-work-in-the-states-and-the-loss-of-middle-class-jobs

Population Growth Outpaces Jobs --- Why are more Americans "choosing" not to work? (This guy is an ass)
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/population-growth-outpaces-jobs/?_r=0