Recently, in a Facebook “discussion” someone claimed “I’m not blaming anyone,” apparently unfamiliar with William J. Ryan’s classic and timeless analysis. I don’t blame the discussant, as this lack of awareness reinforces a system of particular consequences.
Well, they’re at it again. We have a structural problem with unemployment in this country, and the Wall Street Journal, anecdotally, I might add, seeks to blame the unemployed and the government. Like the targets of original “blaming the victim” analysis, this is baseless (and self-serving) ideology.
MONDAY, AUG 9, 2010 11:50 ET
BY ALEX PAREENE
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Did you think that the massive unemployment crisis was caused by profitable multinational corporations and banks sitting on “mountains of cash” combined with collapsing consumer spending due to the fact that so many people are without work and those who have work have had stagnant wages for decades now? You fool! The Wall Street Journal highlights two stories today that explain the real problem: Lazy would-be workers receiving too many unemployment benefits and high government taxes!
While the actual “data” show a miserable climate in which there are millions more jobless people than there are job openings (there are 3 million openings and 17 million jobless, according to the “chart”), the Journal’s Mark Whitehouse found anecdotal evidence of employers who desperately want to hire people, but simply can’t find any applicants. Sure, “many employers are inundated with applicants,” but “a surprising number” can’t find anyone to hire, anywhere!
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