My point with the unemployment numbers was to try and expand FlyLice's narrow view of the economy as stated in numbers.
I think Skoorb's, upscillion's and 9ITTZ's views show so much more of what it's about.
Our economy is in the tank. It's getting worse.
The war hasn't bolstered the numbers. When the war is over, we'll have much less use for durable goods as impacted by technology (the intersne, communications, etc.).
The whole tech age is wonderful, but it's tough to replace the jobs lost making vehicles, machines, and so on with jobs making cellphones and computers.
The world is changing rapidly and we're missing the boat.
9ITTZ's comments about the economy's imminent collapse of is right on target, IMHO. If I had to predict a timeframe I'd choose 18 months after the last troops come home from Iraq. To take this one step further, I'd use this same line of thinking to assure that George keeps troops overseas as long as he's in office.
The overspending for the war effort is the only thing keeping this country from stepping on it's dick right now.