Who is to blame for the high Unemployment rATE?

After Obama's speech trying to explain the 9.2% Unemployment rate, let's see who you think is to blame for it.

How about the corporations whose actions resulted in the Great Recession? They're more culpable than any other group. I would say all the political parties and leaders could be held in some form of liability, but the true liability is that of those who created this mess in the first place.

It's a combination of things. I don't think one sole entity is responsible for all of the blame.

repeter said:

How about the corporations whose actions resulted in the Great Recession? They're more culpable than any other group. I would say all the political parties and leaders could be held in some form of liability, but the true liability is that of those who created this mess in the first place.

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Shouldve let them fail... imo

celticwar17 said:

Shouldve let them fail... imo

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Then we'd be even worse off.

1) The financial meltdown, for which both public and private institutions are responsible

2) the reality that politics and ideology constrain good economic policy, especially when drastic changes are required.

3) A multitude of other exigent factors (high gas prices, tsunami/earthquake in Japan, etc.)

lazy people unwilling to work for a living.

I state this because when ever unemployement insurance is discussed on this form, some people state the jobs are there if they just looked for them

Definitely the earthquake. ^_^

repeter said:

Then we'd be even worse off.

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Would we? Those guys who are draining money and capital would be gone and new more efficient companies would have sprung up in their place.

As for the unemployment rate, blame Democrats, Republicans, and the Federal Reserve.

phattonez said:

Would we? Those guys who are draining money and capital would be gone and new more efficient companies would have sprung up in their place.

As for the unemployment rate, blame Democrats, Republicans, and the Federal Reserve.

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I will admit that the Fed hasn't been helping much with its recent policies, but explain to me how exactly they are hurting employment, por favor.

Unions, Obama, and Islam, immigrants, liberals, black people, and a lack of guns.

Dodd-Frank, obamacare, extended unimployment payments, EPA (including the environmentalists), US Dept of Commerce, high cost of energy, NLRB, litigation laws, entitlement mentality, and on and on and on. If you can't find a job ---- make one.

Corporate greed.

commonsense said:

Dodd-Frank, obamacare, extended unimployment payments, EPA (including the environmentalists), US Dept of Commerce, high cost of energy, NLRB, litigation laws, entitlement mentality, and on and on and on. If you can't find a job ---- make one.

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I do hope this is sarcastic...

commonsense said:

Dodd-Frank, obamacare, extended unimployment payments, EPA (including the environmentalists), US Dept of Commerce, high cost of energy, NLRB, litigation laws, entitlement mentality, and on and on and on. If you can't find a job ---- make one.

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Great. I'll tell my sister that. Need more info, please. Specifics, thank you muchly.

1.)"Trickle down economics"
2.)Corporate America
3.)Greed
4.)"Bush tax cuts"
5.)Corporatist-capitalism
6.)Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
7.)NAFTA
8.)Bush
9.)Obama

I don't think this thread is going how the OP intended.

I am in the boat that it is a number of factors.

-One you have tax breaks we had already and more tax breaks in the stimulus meant to encourage private sector growth and instead the leaders of these companies rewarded themselves, as most CEO salaries are about 2007 levels now.

-Two our reliance on China to make super cheap electronics is great in the short term, but in the long term if you are buying one of their super cheap electronics for $500 vs $1500 you would pay had it been built in Japan, Canada, America, etc but that electronic last in a even shorter lifespan it hurts your wallet as you replace it, and it hurts the American worker in the long run. There is a lot of things about China I do not like and I think we need to make them our #1 competitor right now. Look at space exploration. We have Congress and people that want to cut down our NASA program which isn't even a sliver of the overall budget, and China may very well be going to Mars in the next few years. Do you as Americans really want that to happen? That would be such a perfect analogy for these people getting the upper hand on us.

-Three taxes, the tax code, war, and how entitlements are dealt with. We need to fix these things and get our government back into shape. That or we need to revolt.

-Four high gas prices

-Five having first hand knowledge of the devastating effects, and Kentucky's unemployment going far above the national average the past two months to over 10% Japan's problems had a HUGE impact on our manufacturing economy.

-Europe may have had something to do with it, but I think when it comes to jobs I really don't think so at least not enough bad has happened there in the past year to effect us greatly.

You make good points, John, and all that leads to a point of mine. I don't believe the American people can or will let that happen. I do believe things will snap back IF they get so bad that we cease to be the leader of the free world. It's like Turtledove's book about alien invasion during WW II. It stopped being us vs them and started being US vs THEM - in other words, we joined our enemies to fight the greater enemy.

I could see that happening here.

StillBallin75 said:

I will admit that the Fed hasn't been helping much with its recent policies, but explain to me how exactly they are hurting employment, por favor.

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No problem. Quantitative easing produces uncertainties with regards to commodities. People can invest in commodities on the idea that inflation will make those prices rise and they can protect themselves from a decreasing value of the dollar. As such, commodity prices are increasing, which translates to a higher cost of production. With a higher cost of production, you can't produce as much as you could otherwise at the same price, hence employment needs to decrease or salaries need to come down.

Greed is what makes the world go round. Without greed you have unemployment.

BDBoop said:

Corporate greed.

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The burst of the housing bubble caused the recession. The bubble itself caused the burst of the bubble. The bubble was caused by government policies, which were supported by both Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Although the policies were supported by both parties, the policies themselves were/are liberal. When the government encourages banks to give mortgages to people who couldn't otherwise get a mortgage, that's liberal. You also have to blame the people who defaulted. Last but not least, you have to blame the voters. Those policies wouldn't have been supported by both parties if they weren't so popular with the voters.

repeter said:

How about the corporations whose actions resulted in the Great Recession? They're more culpable than any other group. I would say all the political parties and leaders could be held in some form of liability, but the true liability is that of those who created this mess in the first place.

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Reagan had a big hand in that, too.
"Trickle down" is the same as being ****ed on.

commonsense said:

Greed is what makes the world go round. Without greed you have unemployment.

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Greed caused the financial collapse. Ergo, it caused a lot of the unemployment we're seeing today. The numbers wouldn't be nearly as high if Wall Street hadn't been so greedy. And don't even tell me greed didn't cause the collapse, that'd be a lie, plain and simple.

commonsense said:

Greed is what makes the world go round. Without greed you have unemployment.

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Not true at all.