U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rises Again May 22, 2015 Craig Roberts -

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Updated 9 years ago

The amount of unemployed Americans rises again this week to 274,000 for the week ended May 16. This however isn't the real problem. 40 percent of unemployed have quit looking for jobs, leading to the abysmal Labor Participation Rate that we have.

So let's not get confused. The Real unemployment rate is not 5.4% as the politicians would have you believe. At this stage, we are a dying patient. We [the U.S.] are in Hospice and have been drugged with morphine to dull the pain of our cancerous debt riddled economy. As the patient dies, let him do so in peace. Let's not bother him with pesky details like his blood pressure (debt level) his low heart rate, (our low employment rate) and his propensity to engage binge eating, drinking and consumption of foods dripping with saturated fats and cholesterol (our out of control spending).

At this point, if we try to give the patient the treatment he needs which is abstaining from fatty foods, smoking, drinking, the shock of change and the medicines would actually expedite his death. So to extend the metaphor, America needs austerity - a total and complete cut in spending. Spending cuts would stall the economy and send us into a deflationary spin. At the same time, we will surely die if we continue our binge spending.

We can die quickly by trying to fix ourselves, or we can die slowly by ignoring the problem, making ourselves as comfortable as possible.. which will it be America, we have to choose one.

A third option is available, but we lack the political will to make that choice. It involve getting out of our trade deals with China, Mexico and others. Taking the jobs we gave away and bringing them back home. It requires responsible spending, cutting social security, medicare, Medicaid, retirement funds to millions of federal government retirees. It means cutting military spending, getting out of all our wars.

It means auditing the Federal Reserve, stop inflating the currency, stop manipulating commodity and asset prices. It means giving the middle class a seat at the table. It means ending the excessive prison population and putting all able-bodied person to work. As much as it is the right thing to do, it will never happen as long as we cling to the two-party system we have.

Ending the incestuous relationship between politicians and lobbyists. It means putting Mainstreet first and Wall Street second. Absent that, we may as well begin picking out our burial plot, planning our funeral service and writing out our will.. China is going to inherit it all anyway, so skip the will.

We have a choice. Winston Churchill said that America can always be counted on to do the right thing... After all other options have been exhausted. I hope he is wrong for all our sakes.