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23.7% of the country is functionally unemployed [1]

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Date: 2025-02-15

I recently saw a shocking headline from someone who used to work in government statistics:

And furthermore,

Having these statistics in mind helps make sense of why so many people we so deeply unhappy with the Biden administration, even as that administration skillfully brought the country back from the depths of the pandemic-related recession, made huge and meaningful investments to bring good jobs back, and promoted the welfare of workers more than any administration in decades.

The simple economic calculus won out for a lot of people — they can’t get enough meaningful work to make more money, and at the same time prices for the basics went up. The statistics that the administration tossed around of large gains in employment and reduction in inflation stand at odds with this experience and signal lack of understanding of how strapped so many Americans are. Then to have the government appear to be talking about helping other those other needy people (e.g. letting in “illegal immigrants and moochers who cut in line”, or focusing on trans people over everyone else) just put salt in the wounds of people who can’t get enough work to get ahead.

When we progressives talk about helping particularly groups of people, we often talk in terms of those who are disadvantaged. Unfortunately this tends to result in a public conversation about “deserving and undeserving”, and “marginalized” people, and gets away from the basic fact that so many Americans want the opportunity to work more so they can make more!

We as progressives actually want this too- we want people to have good jobs that make them good money and let them live good lives.

I think there is an immense opportunity to connect with a set of people who historically are distrustful of Democrats if we start the conversation from wanting more and better work than they can get now. Most Americans are supportive of government investing in job creation and helping people get ahead from working. Saying that we want people to have more work so they can make more money gets out of the “giving away money to people who don’t deserve it” and brings “shared prosperity” back to the basics.

I suspect that the coming “economic pain” that the current administration talks about will leave many more people struggling to find enough work to keep up. To build credibility we should be telling this story around the depth of economic struggles people are already facing and get these statistics into the regular news cycle.

It will be easy to get drawn into talking about attacks on various identity and other socially vulnerable groups. But we need to remember to keep talking about the fact that our basic philosophy is that every American, from any background, should to be able to go to work at a job that helps them make money, make progress and build wealth. That’s the American Dream — our party made it possible through the New Deal and the Great Society, and it’s still at the heart of our vision today. Let’s make sure to tell people that.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/15/2303982/-23-7-of-the-country-is-functionally-unemployed?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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