Truth may be one of the hardest things to determine in the media today. Whether it is CNBC and the 'Tingle going up my leg', or Fox and their insistence that Romney was going to win in a landslide, the validity of the facts are often left up to the viewer to decide. With the little time we have these days most will not take or don't have the time to research it for themselves. This article will attempt to shed light on some of the falsehoods we have been fed as Americans.
The biggest lie that Americans are led to believe is that the economy is turning around. You hear from most major media sources that the job market is turning around and that the unemployment number is going down. First, let's take a look at the overall economy. If people are honest with themselves they will see that stores are closing left and right and shopping centers are almost empty. The few new stores that are being opened tend to shut their doors months later due to sluggish sales. Just recently we see that Barnes & Noble is shutting down stores and J.C. Penny's is struggling to stay afloat. Best Buy is trying to secure the finances to go private to prevent a shutdown and liquidation of its assets. So where are all these new jobs we are hearing about constantly?
The answer is in technology, but sadly most Americans are not qualified enough to fill these positions. Even if they were, the number of jobs lost in the economy is far greater than the jobs that are being created. How can that be you may ask. We all heard Barak Obama say that he created 7 million new jobs in his first four years. Sounds great right? Well, let's take a closer look at the numbers that are in question. The 7 million jobs that were mentioned were new positions that did not exist before he took office, but the reality is at the same time these new jobs were being created 8.5 million jobs were lost. At the same time the unemployment percentage went down below 8%. This is where most people's heads begin to spin so I'll lay it out quite simply.
When a person files their initial unemployment claim and are granted the insurance they're considered part of the working force for the remaining 99 weeks that they qualify for. If they're still unemployed after their benefits expire they mysteriously disappear from the numbers. They become what is called 'chronically unemployed' and are no longer considered part of the work force. Therefor, the real unemployment number is estimated to be between 11-18% (Close to that of The Great Depression). It reminds one of the way the old Soviet Union used to manipulate its economic numbers to embellish its success. In the end the true numbers always come out as they did when the Soviet Empire collapsed.
Another myth that is spread by the mainstream media is the reported under taxation of the American public. Our country's investors pay the second highest tax on dividends in the world (and that includes socialist countries). The problem with increasing this rate even further is that it takes money that would be used to consume (increasing the need for labor) or invested in new businesses and instead gives it to government to spend. Now most people would admit that the government is quite wasteful when it comes to spending. What would be a better use of 3 million dollars? To spend the money on the study of marijuana's effect on lab rats, or to allow a person to keep the money to open up their own business and employ 10-20 people. The answer should be quite clear.
I hope this information was helpful when it comes to digesting the news. I will keep you up to date on any important information that may seem to be a little too good to be true or is blatantly false. Keep your hopes up, but your minds guarded.
By Jeffrey Brandon Lee
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