We’re told that a big factor in the unbelievable improvement in last month’s unemployment rate is the results obtained in a spot survey of households that revealed dramatic increases in part-time and work-from-home jobs. So I’m visualizing how this survey may have gone:
Ring … ring … ring
Guy: Hello.
BLS: Hello, this is the Bureau of Labor Statistics and we are doing an unemployment survey.
Guy: I’m unemployed.
BLS: Not so fast. I have some questions to ask.
Guy: OK.
BLS: Did you do any work at all this past month?
Guy: Nope.
BLS: Uh, let me get more specific. Did you, for example, have any babysitting jobs?
Guy: Nope.
BLS: Did you mow the lawn of a neighbor or a friend?
Guy: Nope.
BLS: Did you go to any fitness classes?
Guy: Nope. We’re living on food stamps – can’t afford fitness classes.
BLS: Well, did you jog?
Guy: Nope.
BLS: Let’s see . . . did you hold a garage sale?
Guy: Yup. We sold our bedroom furniture.
BLS: You did? Hey, that counts! Guess what, you’re employed!
Guy: How’s that?
BLS: Yes. You held a garage sale. That’s work. So you’re employed.
Guy: Cool.
Reference: Obama allows new work requirements to qualify for welfare assistance: massage, exercise, journaling, motivational reading, smoking cessation, weight loss promotion, participation in parent-teacher meetings, or helping friends or family with household tasks and errands all qualify as work.
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“I’m visualizing how this survey may have gone…” Seriously – these are “thoughts on conservatism”? It’s a half-baked conspiracy theory.
Response by David Hall
There’s no conspiracy being imagined here, just simple lying. You leftists say that happens all the time in corporate America, and you’re partially right. Nothing to do with conspiracy. And actually, this doesn’t require any out-and-out lying at all, just a little tricky math, which is what the government does all the time with the budget.
And your over-reaction, trying to CALL this bit of humor a conspiracy theory, reveals that deep down inside, you must be a little uncomfortable with this report yourself. Which is actually reassuring. No serious, informed person can take this jobs report at face value. We have record numbers of food stamp recipients. Gross domestic product is so pathetically weak, it may not even be keeping up with population growth. Consumer confidence is down, industrial production is down, and the Fed is printing money in a desperate attempt to keep us out of a double-dip recession. And we’re supposed to believe that job growth is surging? Get real. Believing everything this administration puts out is a probably a symptom of some type of psychological disorder. Questioning it is healthy.