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    areacelebrityHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 10:57am

    I never understood the whole "stopped-looking-for-work" deal. If I, as an average citizen (non-lottery winner, non-trust fundee, non-Saudi prince) lose my job, I don't have the option of not looking for work. Who can do that? "I lost my job, and can't pay my rent, so I'm going to not even look for work anymore." Huh?

    I understand being downtrodden and frustrated with not finding a job. But how can an Average Joe afford to drop out of the job hunt? How does one pay for food and housing? I can't imagine being homeless and eating in soup kitchens is a viable alternative to applying for jobs.

    Maybe its my naivete, as I have not been in this tough situation (many thanks to the all-powerful flying spaghetti monster). Please enlighten me.

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      frau meixia, twitter troll extraordinaireareacelebrity
      1/03/14 11:07am

      Who can do that? Married people who still have a working spouse, older people who can draw from a pension or Social Security, Millennials who can move in with their parents, and sometimes disabled people who accept that they won't be getting another job again.

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      itsallareacelebrity
      1/03/14 11:17am

      With unemployment, they have to verify a certain number of job applications weekly. So they are "trying" or they wouldn't get unemployment.What's the next step? Welfare, food stamps, and other public assistance. Or a reality show, I mean you see that working all the time.

      Oh, that or the spouse or family or friends as mentioned. Or just grinding poverty until they kill themselves. There's always that.

      When you've applied everywhere, you wait on luck. It's weird. Employers are suspicious of desperation, so if you hound them everyday where you've already applied, you get nixed. And if these people were easily re-employable, they wouldn't be on extended unemployment.

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    PrayForDentonHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 10:48am

    But the Wall Street Journal gets its explanation wrong. The unemployment rate also excludes those are seeking work but were unable to qualify for jobless benefits in the first place. Basically we all need to get off the unemployment rate's dick because the unemployment rate is a number wrapped in meaningless bullshit.

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      Hannibal the CannibalPrayForDenton
      1/03/14 10:50am

      because the unemployment rate is a number wrapped in meaningless bullshit

      No wonder politicians are so in love with it: it's just like them!

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      ConnieHawkinsesHawkConniePrayForDenton
      1/03/14 11:18am

      The unemployment rate also excludes those are seeking work but were unable to qualify for jobless benefits in the first place.

      That's False. Unemployment benefits play no role in being categorized as unemployed.

      BLS considers you to be unemployed if: you had no employment during the measured period, were available to work, and made specific efforts to find employment.

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    KinglyCitrusHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 10:46am

    No, no, Hamilton. Don't you see? Unemployment will drop because those goddamn lazy freeloaders will finally be off the dole and forced to go get a job! It's a win-win for everybody. Especially the retail and food service industries. Now, if we could just get rid of those dirty Mezzicuns stealing our jobs, we'd be back to full employment in no time.

    -the RNC

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      Hannibal the CannibalKinglyCitrus
      1/03/14 10:49am

      This message has been approved by Free Market Jesus.

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      MuscatoHannibal the Cannibal
      1/03/14 10:52am

      That damn hippy needs to get a haircut. But I really want to know what scrub he's using - his complexion is fabulous!

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    DoYouEvenRetailHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 10:43am

    As much as I support your usual screeds, you may want to rethink the line of reasoning that blames Republicans for the unemployed giving up on job hunting. Because they have so many other better things to do?

    Of course, cutting the unemployment benefits was : inhumane, short-sighted, bad for the economy, bad policy but still this post is tough to swallow. What I am saying is, you are not helping the cause right now.

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      That GuyDoYouEvenRetail
      1/03/14 10:48am

      I'm not even sure that I agree with the article but he didn't suggest that Republicans are to blame for unemployment (at least not in this article).

      He's literally saying the opposite but instead of helping people actually go from not having a job to getting a job, the odd definition of "unemployed" is being manipulated unintentionally to drop the unemployment rate.

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      cepalgThat Guy
      1/03/14 10:55am

      Yeah, there's a reason we use U3, which is vulnerable to this kind of bullshit, as opposed to U6. U6 paints a far more accurate picture of unemployment- but it's a higher number.

      And ain't nobody gonna run on a platform of "actually the economy's a lot worse than I've been telling you."

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    toothpetardHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 11:28am

    If the Job Creators have nothing for you, the best solution is to die, and to do so cheaply.

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      IAmNotADamnWritertoothpetard
      1/03/14 12:01pm

      La plus ça change ... from Charles Dickens ...

      "At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."

      "Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.

      "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

      "And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"

      "They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."

      "The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.

      "Both very busy, sir."

      "Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."

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    e.nonHamilton Nolan
    1/03/14 10:54am

    is anyone tracking the domestic violence reports; suicides; child abuse.... another side of abandoning citizens in a time of need.

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      MudbudHamilton Nolan
      1/03/14 10:47am

      See how nice these men look before their hats became associated with MRAs and Randroids?

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        norweegMudbud
        1/03/14 11:36am

        I find it odd that these hats, or that hats in general were standard issue mens' wear. They ALL have hats! When was the last time you saw a group of people and they were all wearing hats (excluding times where hats served a functional purpose like a hard hat or snow cap)

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        LongLarrynorweeg
        1/03/14 11:52am

        My grandfather would not leave the house without a hat on and his shirt buttoned all the way to the top button. My grandmother always wore a hat when out also. There was a time that was considered proper dress for being in public. Its weird now, the trend started in the early 60's. I hope the stupid backwards caps goes that way soon

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      CarakavHamilton Nolan
      1/03/14 10:47am

      The real trick is, that when someone gives up looking for work, they actually gain a new job: Survive by any means necessary.

      People don't stop living, just because they cease employment, and desperation is a full time job.

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        pockyordieCarakav
        1/03/14 10:52am

        "Desperation is a full time job."

        Boy, ain't that the fucking truth.

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        in5minuteaCarakav
        1/03/14 11:02am

        I used to work at a homeless shelter and now I work at a supportive housing unit. I want to like your comment a million times, because there is nothing so frustrating as explaining to the people around me (friends, family, all making a hell of a lot more money than they need, and all somewhat "liberal," yet fully comfortable using homelessness and the word "hobo" as punch lines) that once you become homeless (perhaps by something related to the stereotypical drug use, but more likely due to losing a job and being unable to continue to afford your rent, or by paying a massive medical bill and losing your job due to health, time off, or mental illness, or just being mentally ill and unable to find a support system or the necessary medical attention), you are soooo fucked. Often you have to choose between a meal and a job interview. Or you're so depressed that you've been out of work for so long that its next to impossible to find a job. If you can get off the streets and into housing, the likelihood of finding employment jumps 74%, simply because you don't have to spend time worrying about shelter and warmth and food in the same way you do as a homeless individual in a shelter or couch-surfing, let alone as a street-homeless individual.

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      RussianistHamilton Nolan
      1/03/14 11:52am

      As is often the case, David Simon (and Buckaroo Banzai) have it right about matters like this:

      Grace Sampson: [the standardised test] assesses us. The test scores go up, they can say the schools are improving. The scores stay down, they can't.

      Roland 'Prezbo' Pryzbylewski: Juking the stats.

      Grace Sampson: Excuse me?

      Roland 'Prezbo' Pryzbylewski: Making robberies into larcenies. Making rapes disappear. You juke the stats, and majors become colonels. I've been here before.

      Grace Sampson: Wherever you go, there you are.

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        oi2dwrldHamilton Nolan
        1/03/14 10:44am

        No one likes to point out how helpful the homeless are at keeping unemployment down. We should really give them more credit.

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