Women Not in Labor Force Hits Record High

cnsnews.com ^ | May 2, 2014 | Ali Meyer

[ilovesarah2012]

(CNSNews.com) - The number of women 16 and older not in the labor force climbed to a record high of 55,116,000 in April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

This means that there were 55,116,000 women 16 and older who were in the civilian nonsinstitutional population who not only did not have a job, they did not actively seek one in the last four weeks. That is up 428,000 from the 54,688,000 women who were not in the labor force in March.

In April, according to BLS, the labor force participation rate for women was 56.9 percent, down from 57.2 percent in March. The labor force participation rate, as calculated by the BLS, is based on the civilian non-institutional population, which is the number of people in the country 16 or older who are not in the military or an institution.

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of this population that either has a job or actively sought one in the last four weeks.

[Alberta's Child]

There isn't enough demand here in the U.S. to support many of these industries. And the demand would actually decline if the cost of producing those things here is higher than elsewhere.

There's no easy answer to this. To me, the most important thing is to look at it from several different angles and understand what the primary objective is. Here's a simple case in point:

1. Do we want full employment here in the U.S.?

2. Do we want a high standard of living here in the U.S.?

3. Do we want to be free citizens here in the U.S.?

I present these two basic questions because it's important to understand that we may not be able to do all three of these at the same time.

[Alberta's Child]

Sorry — that’s THREE basic questions. LOL.

[chajin]

I was told many years ago that if I did not vote for liberals, women would be stuck at home and never be able to fulfill their potential in the workplace. I didn’t vote for liberals, and that’s just what happened.

[manic4organic]

The real war on women brought to you by Obama.

[grania]

We can do all three if US jobs go to US citizens and our economy is more isolated from the outside world. We shouldn't trade with any country unless it's a "win" for us. Cheap Chinese goods have not been that. We should not have jobs going to non-citizens if there are qualified US citizens. No one who refuses a job or refuses to funcition at it should get any kind of benefits.

But no, the way the game is rigged today we can't have all three.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

I see it this way.

Buying American means more US tax payers paying into our infrastructure and the military that preserves that freedom you mentioned. It also means fewer unemployed collecting the taxes that could otherwise have paid for all of this.

Buying Chinese means more Chinese tax payers paying for China's infrastructure and military with American money. It means having fewer American tax payers who will have to pay a higher share of supporting our infrastructure and military. It also means that money that could have paid for our infrastructure and military was siphoned off to pay for unemployment benefits instead, paid for by, again, fewer American tax payers.

Considering all of this, saving $.25 on a Chinese made towel doesn't sound like such a bargain after all.

[MWFsFreedom]

Perhaps this is related to a local story I heard recently where in some areas daycare costs as much as state universities. If you have to make over $9,000 a year just to break even on the daycare, then you have to make significantly more than that to just break even on transportation, addition food costs (eating out vs in for breakfast/lunch and even dinner), wardrobe (more clothes, professional clothes), convenience (you pay more for convenience when both parents work than you do when one stays home and can DIY more), etc. I remember when my now-teens were toddlers and the break-even point for local working moms was right around $10,000, though I imagine it’s way more than that now.

Anyway, on that new story they interviewed a local lady who claimed to feel fortunately that she made “a little more than that” (”that” being their cost for daycare), not realizing that after all those *other* expenses are added in, she was probably well shy of breaking even by working outside the home. Pity, but trust me—the locals are not known for their math skills.

[Alberta's Child]

Trust me -- there's no way to have all three of these simultaneously. The biggest obstacle to your vision of utopian prosperity isn't "cheap Chinese goods" ... it's the insatiable hunger of the U.S. consumer who wants the highest standard of living in the history of mankind but doesn't want to pay for it.

That's exactly what's driving all of these economic/financial problems that ripple through the entire U.S. economy: $18 trillion in national debt, enormous trade deficits, and a debt-fueled economy built on a house of cards.

[Alberta's Child]

I agree with most of what you've said here. My point isn't that trade with China is a good idea. My point is that it's almost unavoidable with the economy we've built for ourselves here at home.

I disagree, though, with the idea of the U.S. military preserving our freedom. An armed and responsible citizenry preserves our freedom. Our military is largely used to enforce our presence throughout a global empire.

[grania]

the biggest obstacle is the insatiable hunger of the US consumer

Those US consumers with that insatiable hunger tend to be swayed quite easily by advertising. If there were tarrifs on cheap foreign goods and advertising worked at making consumers desire high-quality hand made or factory made in the USA goods, that's what people would want. Instead, advertisers are hawking cheap goods that won't last, and besides that, the ptb collect fortunes from licensing, shipping, and high profit margins.

It's very doable. People need to prize an evening out with their family at a local restaurant more than buying a new outfit made in China that will only be worn once. It can be done.

[Alberta's Child]

You raise an excellent point, and it goes to an issue that I've thought about for years.

I use a phrase called "the monetization of the family" to make the point that a lot of what we've seen in the last 50 years as "economic growth" is a complete fiction. The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) is the sum total of all goods and services purchased/sold in any given period of time.

I don't have even a vague estimate for this (and it might be a great subject for research in a PhD. program in economics), but I'm certain that there is a sizeable portion of our national GDP today that is comprised of economic transactions that didn't even exist 50 years ago because they involve things that people used to do themselves instead of hiring someone else to do them. Child care is a huge one, and landscaping is another that immediately comes to mind. It's kind of strange that if I mow my own lawn it doesn't show up anywhere in our economic figures, but if I hire someone else it suddenly shows up in the nation's GDP.

[Alberta's Child]

At least now you’re seeing that changing consumer attitudes is critical to this. Good luck with that.

[redangus]

War on Women

[RckyRaCoCo]

We are approaching demographic suicide.

There you go again with your "war on women"...we just need immigration reform(legalization)to fill the void..."keep your rosaries out of our ovaries!" /s

[TwelveOfTwenty]

We’ll have to agree to disagree on those points then.

[Alberta's Child]

Of course. It’s a very complicated issue and isn’t easy to address. There are lots of excellent posts on these threads on all sides of the issue.

[Lorianne]

Perhaps we need to stop buying so much Chinese made products.

[TwelveOfTwenty]

For me it's easy. I can keep jobs here, or create them in China. I can create American tax payers to fund our military, or I can create Chinese tax payers to fund China's. I can fund our infrastructure, or China's. I can pay Americans to collect unemployment, or I can pay Americans to work and let the Chinese worry about how they'll pay their unemployed.

There is nothing complex about it.

[Alberta's Child]

I'll ask you the same question I posted to a previous poster on this thread:

How many American employees have you hired in the last five years?

[KGeorge]

>>There isn’t enough demand here in the U.S. to support many of these industries.<<

This is a catch 22 & a downward spiral. We have had all three of these things. In the 1960s, unemployment was around or at 4%. (source here

http://elcoushistory.tripod.com/economics1960.html

Our standard of living was the highest it’s ever been. We were magnitudes more free than we are now. We were far more secure, individually & as a country.
Far fewer women worked outside the home (a good thing, imho, children or not). Society was better off. The economy was better off.

Every woman (maybe unless she is self-employed) who “does a man’s job” doesn’t only hurt “a man”. She hurts a family- of every race & every social scale. It’s one thing if she is the sole provider, therefore necessary, or takes on leading the family business- but much of this is strictly driven by ego. That’s every bit as bad as the “Wall Street Bankers”. Just because someone *can* do something, doesn’t mean they should.

There are a lot of contributing factors, but foreign trade is an enormous one. We throw our stuff away not only when it “breaks”, but because we want “the latest thing”/ “new & improved” (which it often isn’t). Sometimes, that’s a really stupid thing to do. Wasteful.

We have killed- or just about killed, the “Golden Goose”. SOMEBODY, somewhere has the brains & the talent to figure out how to sort this out. Or is it just laziness?
There’s not much that hard, hard work & dogged determination can’t make happen- even in spite of lacking experience & knowledge. It’s all about will.

It’s not the government’s purpose to provide people with jobs, but they did facilitate our jobs being moved overseas. We help by continuing to buy those products (& now, services; like “tech support”- which sucks) from overseas, rather than shifting our patronage to American made only. The government (local to federal) puts every imaginable obstacle & hassle in the path of American business but greases the skids for third world production. That’s bass-ackwards.
We’re broke & we’re buying CRAP (sometimes literally. Check your grocery labels).

/rant off
just 1 woman’s opinion, humble or not