It's all a big lie...

It's all a big lie...  The government's 5.6% unemployment figure, that is.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you already know the published unemployment number is a crock of steaming, aromatic bovine excretion.  Sadly, this reality is a big surprise to most Americans.  One American who does understand it is Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup (the folks who do all those polls).  He wrote an article about this recently, calling it The Big Lie.  Here's a passage from it:

There's no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.

And it's a lie that has consequences, because the great American dream is to have a good job, and in recent years, America has failed to deliver that dream more than it has at any time in recent memory. A good job is an individual's primary identity, their very self-worth, their dignity -- it establishes the relationship they have with their friends, community and country. When we fail to deliver a good job that fits a citizen's talents, training and experience, we are failing the great American dream.

Read the whole thing...