I just don’t understand this. If you decide to leave the “work force” and just quit looking for a job, how do you live? You have to at least pay rent and eat. Does that mean all of these people are living in tents and eating polk salad?
Or move back in with their parents.
Those 'Food Stamp' cards by as much good food from the grocery store as our dollars do, and I believe they are even exempt from sales tax. Combine that with doing a few odd jobs for cash, and you got yourself a pretty good scheme going.
What we'll never know is how many go underground - work off the books for cash. Payroll taxes go up for workers and employers face a mountain of paperwork, mandated health care, the resurgence of unionism. Temp help for cash might be the only way to turn a profit anymore, and the only jobs available.
As part of the economy goes Galt, taxes increase for those who can't escape from the "official" economy. How can you have a recovery under those conditions?
It's sad that the only way to live is to hide from the gov't.
In my case (early 50's), I've been living off savings for over two years.
My neighbor on one side (also mid-50's) took the option of an early pension from a local government department a few years ago. The neighbor on the other side (mid-50's) is collecting disability.
My brother coasted on unemployment for awhile until he and his wife could collect social security. Technically, he was looking for work while collecting unemployment, but he was effectively making sure he wasn't going to get hired for a job. He was fascinated that they kept extending the unemployment benefits every time just when they were going to run out, so he was collecting unemployment and social security at the same time.
My son makes a few bucks buying and selling stocks.
One woman I worked with took over taking care of her grandchildren after she was laid off. Some of the others that I worked with are collecting unemployment and not looking too hard for work.
Not sure what the story is on all the other people I'm seeing that aren't going in to a job every day, but I'm observing that there are a bunch of us. A lot of people have gone from being two-income families to living off one income. One thing you find is that you don't need as much money if you aren't working just to buy a bigger pile of STUFF.
That is just government bullshit, NO ONE is “Quitting” the work force, they just claim that is the case to falsify their numbers every month.
Govt bureaucrat #1: “How many imaginary # of people do we need to leave the workforce this month?”
Govt. bureaucrat #2: “Just plug in the number that keeps the reported unemployment rate below 10%, now let’s hit the links.”
You go back home and live with Mom and Dad or you find a girlfriend/boyfriend to live with who has a job or good welfare benefits.
In some cases it's the loss of a second income in the home. With belt tightening, it may be possible to get by - at least for a while. When my job was eliminated 10 years ago, I opted to stay home with my kids. Now that college is looming, I would like to start a small business or find a suitable job to help get the boys through college. However, in the current environment, rather than actively look for work, I'm getting involved in our local GOP as a committeewoman. I believe I can do my family more good by pushing for change in government than I will by pounding the pavement for largely non-existent jobs. I still hope to start my business, but not in the uncertainty of this economic and political environment. I'm not among the statistics on the unemployed, but in fact, my job was lost to downsizing and I'd like to be bringing in some money for my family. There are a lot of us out there.
As time goes on, I suspect there will also be a lot more undocumented economic activity. People will react to these tax and regulatory changes by accepting under the table cash payments and turning to barter and other creative approaches. In my observation, when people think regulations are excessive or taxes unjust, they tend to work around them in ways large and small.