Economy of Words
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Some 94% of Americans polled by Harris Interactive this month said they were satisfied with the lives they lead. According to Gallup, only 9% of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs and only 13% are dissatisfied with their job security. The unemployment rate is at a five-year high of 5.7%, but it wasn’t long ago when that was considered close to full employment (see chart above, average unemployment since 1970 is 6.11%).
To hear the Democrats at their convention this week, you’d think Americans were listening to the Democratic speeches as they huddled around their kitchen tables - if they hadn’t already been used for firewood - deciding which of their children to pack off to the orphanage and how much tree bark they can afford to eat next week.
Thursday night, Barack Obama proclaimed: “Our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.” He went on to describe an America reminiscent of “The Grapes of Wrath.”
~Jonah Goldberg, “Economy of Words“
