Trump … said he thinks the jobless rate is close to 20 percent and not the roughly 5 percent reported by the Labor Department. And, of course, Crudele reported, anyone who buys the 5 percent figure is a “dummy,” according to Trump. This, in a nutshell, is typical of the usual economic conspiracy theories we have discussed in the past. -Bloomberg
Good for Trump.
The jobless numbers are actually part of a much larger mainstream “conspiracy” (as Trump would put it) that goes the heart of the way economies work in 21st century America.
There are something like 100 million Americans not working, including older people and young people. That’s a fairly well accepted statistic.
These people are not counted in the “jobless” figures though in fact they may want to work.
They may be working as a matter of fact. It is impossible to tell because they probably work in the gray or black economy.
The gray or black economy in the US is very large because of invasive taxation and heavy-handed regulation.
More:
Like much demagoguery, [Trump’s accusation] oversimplifies. This much is true: The employment data is complex. The average layperson with little or no economic background is likely to find it confusing.
It is true that many people have been unhappy with this recovery. While there are lots of boom towns and growth is strong in many industries, they are not evenly distributed throughout the country. That is the nature of slow recoveries from credit crises.
But Trump ignores these facts and goes down the path of several thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories.
The article then goes on to claim that the government provides a variety of statistics that are not widely reported.
If Trump would simply investigate more thoroughly, he would find the real data.
In fact, the editorial suggests the true rate of unemployment when everything is considered is around 10 percent.
But as we have often pointed out, the US does not even have a “real” economy.
The economy itself is distorted by judicial decisions implemented by force.
These decisions include giving corporations “corporate personhood” that allow the controllers of corporations to hide behind a legal shield.
Then there is the growth of intellectual property rights that brings the force of the state to bear on behalf of inventors.
These inventors don’t have to protect their own creations: The state will do it for them.
Finally, there is monopoly central banking. Great surges of fiat money empower the largest corporations while causing cyclical recessions and depressions.
The idea that the US – or other countries in the West – have anything approaching a free market is contradicted by these broad judicial decisions.
What would a real free-market economy look like?
It would be one where corporate leaders are personally responsible for the behavior of their companies.
And one where intellectual property rights would be enforced by individuals rather than the state – if they could be enforced at all.
It would be one that ran on private money, not fiat debt notes printed by monopoly central banks.
Allow the marketplace to function as it should rather than as the state requires, and people would likely find opportunity as they wished within far more vibrant, local circumstances.
The current system creates fabulous, multinational corporations employing hundreds of thousands too build often-useless consumer items … then laying off as “business” warrants.
In a real economy, most enterprises would be far smaller and less ambitious. Size would be achieved by partnerships not formal corporate structures. Goods and services would be more necessary and less fanciful.
Again, employment might be not be an issue given that people would be working for themselves or for local enterprises.
Conclusion: It is the force of the state that creates the overwhelming bigness of multinationals – to the detriment of smaller corporations and entrepreneurs. That’s the real employment “conspiracy”.
