Your originally claimed...that "Furthermore, the government creates a class of "not seeking work" containing over 80 million people, at least 40 million of which are able to work, old enough, and may actually be seeking work but have not been hired yet." I replied that if they were seeking work they'd be classified as Unemployed and then you responded that "Again, depends on your viewpoint. Having worked with both employers and the unemployed I am a little less skeptical about real causes of their "disgust" and "marginality."" But since all the info on job search and availability comes from the respondents, it certainly seems like you're questioning the validity of the classifications. You seem to be implying that they really are looking, yet are classified as not.
Meh...are you intentionally being misleading? The first reply of mine you quoted there was in response to YOUR post #994, which replied to MY post #990, which was in regards to YOUR post #963 discussing “marginal” and “disgusted” among those classified as “not seeking work.” It was not in relationship to the “40 million able bodied listed as not seekers” classified through government survey questionnaires. Have difficulty following a discussion?
I further explained that my position was also based on 3 years first-hand experience dealing with thousands of employers and unemployed workers, not just survey responses. Empirical evidence is more convincing to me than government propaganda.
Most of the rest of your reply after this point is argument regarding why you think the “estimates” limiting unemployment to what the government claims it is are valid. I don’t accept this so I am simply not going to respond. I’ve already stated several times why, no need to repeat myself.
POTENTIAL. Why do you want to measure potential instead of actual? The main number is, as it should be, the actual number seeking work, with the Potential listed seperately.
Why? Because several times in my own life I have been a “potential” employee when I periodically sought work, even while in school, for one reason or another. I am fairly certain there are many people who do that, i.e. students applying at one or two places seeking some independent income, wives who don’t “need” one but sometimes seek one only to change their minds, even retirees who simply want something to do. Their efforts may be half-hearted, or only aggressive a few days at any one time, but while they are they also become “competition” for more serious job seekers.
Also, this group of “non-seekers” provides an answer for the larger number of job applicant’s during economic downturns, when the major breadwinner is laid off, fired, or w/e. More people seeking than merely those who had lost jobs or were previously seeking can account for.
Ignoring this potential until it is somehow statistically traceable is foolish, especially when talking about who is seeking employment, or causes of seeker marginalization or disgust.
Sorry I hate word problems so I avoided that involved scenario you proposed. Besides, you provided your own answers anyway. I just don’t buy them.
....So I would say you could have given away a total of 1,085. But you would include some of the people who said they didn't want one.....why? How could they, or the people who didn't try to get one, have gotten one? (again, only talking about having more, not about doing anything different.
Simply because I would want to have an extra supply on hand to provide for them
if they change their minds! Many businesses do, it’s called either “overstock” or "reserve stock." Similarly, I want employers to realize the potential harm caused by further drain as they ship jobs out overseas, ignoring people who may be dependent on current workers and might flood the market if those they depend upon can no longer support them. This includes welfare recipients, pushed of the rolls and into the job market as the old tax base crumbles.
Again, I don’t buy into government unemployment figures, they are playing a game with the numbers so that even when things look bad, they don’t seem bad because…” Oh look, so many other people are doing okay it can’t be all THAT bad, right???”