Friday, April 07, 2006
Unemployment hasn't changed - reporting of it has
What scares me most about the corporate media is the knowledge that they simply aren't that stupid. I know the traditional journalism degree curricula; math and economics are requirements. You'd just never know it, reading this morning how "unemployment is at a five year low." Sounds great, doesn't it?
Yes. Until you realize that the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't include in unemployment statistics anyone whose unemployment compensation has run-out. When a person's time to collect unemployment passes, so does their notch on the statistics list. Period. So people who've been out of work for, say, more than a year? Not counted.
Yet not a single article I read this morning, despite crowing about this so-called new unemployment low, points out the huge numbers of uncounted and unemployed people. Not even CNN - the one rightwingers call the "Commie News Network" because of their alleged liberal bias.
And the only excuse for this is not stupidity. This knowledge is college Econ 101 basic. Actually, high school Econ. So, are we to conclude reporters and editors need to go back for remedial classes?
No. The fact it goes unmentioned is willful deception, plain and simple.
Yes. Until you realize that the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't include in unemployment statistics anyone whose unemployment compensation has run-out. When a person's time to collect unemployment passes, so does their notch on the statistics list. Period. So people who've been out of work for, say, more than a year? Not counted.
Yet not a single article I read this morning, despite crowing about this so-called new unemployment low, points out the huge numbers of uncounted and unemployed people. Not even CNN - the one rightwingers call the "Commie News Network" because of their alleged liberal bias.
And the only excuse for this is not stupidity. This knowledge is college Econ 101 basic. Actually, high school Econ. So, are we to conclude reporters and editors need to go back for remedial classes?
No. The fact it goes unmentioned is willful deception, plain and simple.
