Hopefully this is not the future of the post-recession, post-Obama policy America, but I fear it could be. Rampant spending, government policies hostile to capitalism and wealth and a general policy fecklessness could lead to long-term structural unemployment-making America more like France.
This article in The Atlantic How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America logically and methodically lays out the societal, economic and political ramifications of long-term high unemployment.
Now I don’t normally read The Atlantic because it’s usually a mouthpiece for liberal non-sense and water-carrying for Obama, but this article was eye-opening. Here are a couple of quotes:
- “If it persists much longer, this era of high joblessness will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults—and quite possibly those of the children behind them as well. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar white men—and on white culture. It could change the nature of modern marriage, and also cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a kind of despair and dysfunction not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years.”
This if one of my favorite…if only because it describes far, far too many new hires:
- “These efforts have succeeded in making today’s youth more confident and individualistic. But that may not benefit them in adulthood, particularly in this economic environment. Twenge writes that “self-esteem without basis encourages laziness rather than hard work,” and that “the ability to persevere and keep going” is “a much better predictor of life outcomes than self-esteem.” She worries that many young people might be inclined to simply give up in this job market. “You’d think if people are more individualistic, they’d be more independent,” she told me. “But it’s not really true. There’s an element of entitlement—they expect people to figure things out for them.”
And finally, if you want to know THE TOPIC that will dominate politics this year:
- “A SLOWLY SINKING GENERATION; a remorseless assault on the identity of many men; the dissolution of families and the collapse of neighborhoods; a thinning veneer of national amity—the social legacies of the Great Recession are still being written, but their breadth and depth are immense. As problems, they are enormously complex, and their solutions will be equally so.”
Health Care Reform, Cap and Trade, DADT, even the War in Afghanistan will become insignificant as we move into summer if unemployment stays at or near 10%.
Watch for many desperate actions and press conferences from the Dems as they try to blame Bush, Santa Claus, Osama, and the Easter Bunny for their political misfortunes.
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