Horrible figures. But good news from the Bushes, who again slapped the poor and unemployed in the face yesterday, unveiling their $500,000 set of china at the WH, untofore known to the general public. Would love to see what else they bought during the last 8 years. Someone better be overlooking their departure very carefully, since Bush is a well-known thief.
In practical terms, those dishes are worth 20 years' of income at $25K per year for one of the peons out here.
Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas
· 10 months ago
Jesus a half a million bucks for dishes? That makes Nancy Reagan's look like Melamine.
Older_Wiser
· 10 months ago
Doesn't it though? Further reading revealed that it was paid for by a "private foundation" and 2 term presidents generally replace the china, all of it collected in the "china room" at the WH.
Hillary Clinton did this as well, but "only" spent $250K. But the country was in pretty good economic shape at the time as well.
ABC reports it as $550K, and 2 sets involved, one for the private residence, one for state dinners. It would be a nice slap in the face to the Bushes if the Obamas use the Clinton or Reagan or any other set besides the ones Laura "designed."
Indigo
· 10 months ago
Unemployment figures have been so gerrymandered over the years that I'm not confident what they really mean. The one thing we know is that the published number has no direct relevance to the actual number of people who are not working.
After a nominal number of weeks on the unemployment lists, people are dropped from that list whether re-employed, part-time employed, or unemployed. By clever ledgerdemain, the unemployed who have exhausted their benefits are no longer unemployed but merely not listed. That counting system dates from the Reagan Dictatorship.
Before we get all indignant and what not, we need to demand accurate statistics that measure the existing situation without minimizing the damage being done at the social level. If 2,00o people are laid off today and 750 people exhaust their benefits today, then the existing accounting system will assert that only 1,250 people lost their jobs today. Those numbers are willfully misleading.
My guess is we're approach the 15% unemployed number. During the Great Depression, unemployment bounded to 23%. If we can force truth in statistics onto the government (notice that I did not say "our" government), I suspect we're going to see a similar percentage. We don't know how bad it is; the accurate numbers are hidden, possibly no longer exist.
Reason0Politics1
· 10 months ago
Exactly!
Gov Reports are so "managed" even considering them at all is mostly a academic waste of time!
Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas
· 10 months ago
There was a great quote, back during Reagan, by either Tip O'Neill or some Dem who said, "If the American people truly knew what was going on in the government, there would be rioting in the streets." This is why this new fangled "tubes" internet the google thing is truly a threat to their little system. I read this morning where a bunch of liberal blogs got hacked (including Pam's Blend) by a single hacker. I wonder when Congress will start hiring them to help them control sites like this one?
True. Of several people I know who are unemployed, only one draws benefits (he was in a union and can not only draw benefits, but the fed pays for him to attend community college to get a degree in electronics--my neighbor who is doing well at school--part of a bill to allegedly protect workers whose jobs are shipped overseas--but how many can actually take advantage of it? The same guy is wondering if there will actually be any jobs once he gets that degree, though.
Otherwise, I also know a few underemployed and part time as well who have no protections at all. And even though I look for work to supplement my SS, I'm not considered unemployed, either. Many like me.
Matt
· 10 months ago
The Bushes made this mess, so they should have set a tone of "austerity" in the country. People are suffering without jobs and healthcare, and they buy dinnerware of half a million dollars? In this country, no one sacrifices, cuts back, or tighten their belts, when there are a couple of wars going on, and the country is in recession. Bush and Cheney should be tarred, feathered, and whipped for the mess they created, and for mismanaging this country. Republican policies really stink.
All Comments
In practical terms, those dishes are worth 20 years' of income at $25K per year for one of the peons out here.
Hillary Clinton did this as well, but "only" spent $250K. But the country was in pretty good economic shape at the time as well.
ABC reports it as $550K, and 2 sets involved, one for the private residence, one for state dinners. It would be a nice slap in the face to the Bushes if the Obamas use the Clinton or Reagan or any other set besides the ones Laura "designed."
After a nominal number of weeks on the unemployment lists, people are dropped from that list whether re-employed, part-time employed, or unemployed. By clever ledgerdemain, the unemployed who have exhausted their benefits are no longer unemployed but merely not listed. That counting system dates from the Reagan Dictatorship.
Before we get all indignant and what not, we need to demand accurate statistics that measure the existing situation without minimizing the damage being done at the social level. If 2,00o people are laid off today and 750 people exhaust their benefits today, then the existing accounting system will assert that only 1,250 people lost their jobs today. Those numbers are willfully misleading.
My guess is we're approach the 15% unemployed number. During the Great Depression, unemployment bounded to 23%. If we can force truth in statistics onto the government (notice that I did not say "our" government), I suspect we're going to see a similar percentage. We don't know how bad it is; the accurate numbers are hidden, possibly no longer exist.
Gov Reports are so "managed" even considering them at all is mostly a academic waste of time!
I'VE GOT MY TINFOIL HAT ON! HIP HIP HIP HOORAY!
http://eclectech.co.uk/mindcontrol.php
Otherwise, I also know a few underemployed and part time as well who have no protections at all. And even though I look for work to supplement my SS, I'm not considered unemployed, either. Many like me.