This time it's different, say John Hussman and Ray Dalio. In a bad way.
Jerry Wolters of Bellevue, Wash. wrote to say he's been out of work since November, 2008 and that his unemployment benefits will run out next month. "I'm a Vietnam-era Vet and have always been a responsible citizen and homeowner," he wrote.
There's one segment of the population for whom employment is growing!
For Steve Dittmann, 55, unemployment has been surreal: "It's like there's two worlds out there: People who are still working, who are still living the same lives they always had, and I feel like I'm on the other side of a Plexiglass wall looking in," said Dittmann, who lives in Kansas.
Do you really think consumers are going to start spending again? Please. They're getting paid less and less, and they've still got a ton of debt to pay off.
Unemployment is NOT a lagging indicator. The only leading indicator in today's jobs report, meanwhile, was horrible. Buy Treasuries.
America's Best Political Newsletter.
More than 500,000 Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of September. And by the end of the year, the number will near 1.5 million, according to a report released Friday by the National Employment Law Project.
James O'Connell of California wrote the Huffington Post in response to an item about credit card companies tightening payment requirements for cardholders. In May, Citibank suddenly closed the account on his last credit card, citing delinquencies on other accounts, leaving O'Connell with no credit at all.
She went to college to boost her chances of finding a great job once she got out of school, but now that that hasn't happened, Trina Thompson wants her money back.
People send me e-mails every day in response to items I've written about unemployment that ask for readers' stories. It's a simple thing: people are relieved when they see that they're not alone in the world of joblessness.
Unemployment can be lonely and frustrating. No fellow commuters, no coworkers.