This one came over the transom from the mil-email group…
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible times. It’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
ABBOTT: 5.6% unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right, 5.6% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 23% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: Wait a minute! Is it 5.6% or 23%?
ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed. 23% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work, you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, Congress said you can’t count the “out of work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are out of work!
ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To whom?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking; and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment rolls, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment rate just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways, that’s correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said!
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a politician.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so damn true…
Sigh…
Spot on.
Bravo.
TBG
Sadly, your last line says it all.
gfa
An assistant Prosecuting Attorney once told me that attorneys will not lie in court (in case they get caught). What they do, he said, is to “stretch the truth until it’s unrecognizable.”
Now remember that nearly all Congresscritters are attorneys, and there you have it. Double-talk and gobbledy-gook that makes no sense to anyone at all … and then we wonder how the Supreme Court comes up with “rights” that don’t exist.
Yep.
So True
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TBG/gfa- Yeah… sigh
Rev- Oh yeah, friend of mine is a judge, he said the truth RARELY makes it into the courtroom…
Rick- Agreed!
I can see them doing this routine.
My middle son is living that life. College degree and on his fifth month in a Boulder, CO granola maker’s shipping department.
Ooooooh, my head hurts and I an SO confused. I’m retired. Twice. Does that make me unemployed or does it make me out of work? Can I be both if I retired twice? Is there a membership card involved? Is there a trial period? Do I have to give my Visa card number to take advantage of the trial period? Which group has a roadside assistance plan?
Hey, don’t tell me I made it confusing. It came out of the box that way! 🙂
Oh. Gotta love the Captcha — it’s street signs and one is a handicapped parking sign. How did it know?!
Ed- Oh yeah… 🙂
WSF- Ouch, that truly sucks!
Bob- Umm…err… BOth??? I dunno… sigh
“Who’s On FIRST (base)?????????????????
Got Gunz……OUTLAW!!,
III%,
skybill-out