I want to propose a new unemployment figure: U8. The government has six different unemployment figures (U1 through U6). I propose adding U8, which is the U6 plus the number of people on disability. The current U6 figure is 14.9% (Feb. 2013). The government has been using the U3 figure and reducing the total workforce in the United States to misrepresent the true state of our economy.
Based on the following from Zerohedge.com:
Disability payments (of which there are 14 million people covered in the US – none of which count towards the unemployment rate) pay around $13,000 per year (versus $15,000 for minimum wage work). However, Santelli exclaims, the people on disability get healthcare; and this program costs the US $300 billion per year. Is it any wonder that only 1% of those who were on disability in Q1 2011 have left?
If we add this number to the U6, we get the new U8 figure for unemployment: 25.62%. I am not including the decline in the workforce as noted by the government:
As unemployment benefits run out, the government has welcomed these people to the disability rolls. With new taxes, regulations and devaluation of the dollar, the government has ate our wealth. And their gluttony knows no bounds.
David DeGerolamo
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