Who's Working...Who's NOT?

As we in this nation continue to deal with the economic fall-out of 8 years (2000-2008) of unbridled Republican laise faire economic policy, 7 years (2002-2009) of outrageous spending on unregulated private sector war-profiteering and nearly 30 years (1980-2009) of selling off American industrial and manufacturing jobs to sweat-shops from Mexico and Bangladesh to China and Haiti. The result is a national unemployment rate of 9.5%.

Now don't assume that our economy is designed for 100% employment. It doesn't. At it's healthiest, our economy supports an unemployment rate of about 4.5%. And that's because people find themselves in flux, the broad economy evolves with some jobs becoming obsolete as others emerge--our economy is a living thing. And that's okay.

The problem with our economy today is that it's not presently evolving, it's contracting. The afore mentioned policies have so extended the possibilities of economic growth that the entire system--like a hyper-extended rubber band--has snapped! The hyper-stretch was predicated upon years of unchallenged greed mascaraded by the greedy as the "American Way" and swallowed hook line and sinker by the masses because the true opium of America's struggling middle and lower classes is the hope that some how, one day, they will magically join the elite amongst us. It's a myth that plays upon our historical persona of a nation of individuals pulling themselves up by our boot straps because in America "anything is possible." This is pure, unadulterated BULLSHIT.

So this map shows us where the present economic angst is. The top five states on the unemployment ladder are:

1) MICHIGAN @ 15.2%
2) RHODE ISLAND @ 12.4%
3) OREGON @ 12.2%
4) SOUTH CAROLINA @ 12.1%
5) NEVADA @ 12.0%

Any wonder that Obama won 4 of them?