(ThyBlackMan.com) If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris think the issues of Black American unemployment and economic immigration are going to go away, as the November presidential election approaches, they are sadly mistaken. It is no secret, Black American workers are the first workers laid off, when the economy declines, as it is doing now. Black Americans, who are experiencing a Great Recession with a Real unemployment Job rate of 10.1%, saw that rate hold steady, in May, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Situation Report (BLS).
There is no question the economy is going to be the number one issue in the first presidential debate, which will be hosted by CNN in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27th. The question is, which economy will be debated? We have the Biden economy, which has an unemployment rate as stated by the Biden-Harris administration of 4.0% for May, and the real economy which has a 7.4% unemployment rate, and a Black American Jobless rate of 10.1%, as the black rate of unemployment averages 2.7% higher over the real unemployment rate.
In 1994, economists concluded the U-6 category rate of unemployed workers is the most comprehensive measurement of our monthly unemployment situation. That rate is 7.4% for May, and not Biden’s political rate of 4.0%. The Chart of Alternative Measurements of Unemployment with all the categories can be seen at this link, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm. The report about the changes to our unemployment rates can be seen at the following link. Page 24 is, where economists state U-6 is the most comprehensive rate which the Biden-Harris administration has ignored year after year, and month after month: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1995/10/art3full.pdf.
So, our nation has dueling unemployment rates, similar to two sets of accounting books. The Biden-Harris administration narrative reflects a full employment economy at 4.0% unemployment. They are in essence stating 96% of America’s estimated workforce of 168,000,000 is fully employed, that Black Americans are not in a Great Recession.
If that is the case, how then, does President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris account for his economic team, stating the following about his use of the U-3 category rate of unemployment, as Biden continually says, it is comprehensive of our unemployment situation, when it is not?
Janet Yellen, President Biden’s Secretary of the Treasury, on February 18, 2021, in an interview on CNBC, commenting on the nation’s January unemployment rate said, “We have an unemployment rate that if properly measured in some sense, is really close to 10%.” The U-3 category rate, Biden’s official jobless rate, for the month of January flashed 6.3%, while the most comprehensive, and real unemployment rate, U-6 was 11.1%.
Lael Brainard, the former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, and President Joe Biden’s current Director of his National Economic Council, stated in an article on February 24, 2021 in the Wall Street Journal the following: “When we take into consideration the more than 4 million workers who have left the labor force since the pandemic started, as well as misclassification, the unemployment rate is close to 10 percent currently—much higher than (Biden’s) headline unemployment rate of 6.3 percent.”
Biden’s former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Cecilia Rouse, on April 2, 2021, on the White House web site, stated, she felt the March unemployment rate was around 9 %, rather than the 6% official unemployment rate Biden was touting. The real unemployment rate, the U-6 category rate, clocked in at 10.7%.
Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve at the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee news conference on January 27, 2021, said, “The real unemployment rate is close to 10 percent (for December) if you include people that have left the labor force.” At that time, the U-3 official rate was 6.7%, and the U-6 rate was 11.7%.
Millions of Black American workers, indeed all-American workers are going to lose ground economically as a result of our 3rd Economic Downturn in 16 years, as has been the case in the past, which equates to setbacks in working careers, the loss of accumulated wealth in terms of homes, cars and savings, as layoffs begin to take their toll. Requiring clarity when it comes to our unemployment rates is essential to determining what economic policies need to be adopted. That can be accomplished, as BLMGNF holds the key to an “out of the box” solution.
Cicley Gay, the chair of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), stated in the May 30th edition of the web magazine, Non-Profit Quarterly, (spring 2024 edition), which covers topics of racial equity, the following:
“There is nothing uncomplicated about being a nonprofit leader—let alone a Black woman nonprofit leader, and a Black woman nonprofit leader of the largest Black abolitionist philanthropic organization ever to exist in the United States.”
(BLMGNF has under its control an estimated $30 million – click on the article at the link for more information. https://thyblackman.com/2024/04/07/cicley-gay-and-blmgnf-fact-check-joe-bidens-3-8-march-unemployment-rate-as-the-real-rate-hits-7-3-the-african-american-rate-10-0/)
She further states, “To this day, my fellow board members and I are still dealing with personal and professional tolls—from accusations of financial impropriety to attacks on our character, our competency, and our commitment to the cause and work of the global movement for Black lives.”.… It is an honor to wake up every morning and devote my days to the important, values-aligned work that I am called to. It is a privilege to fight for Black communities and families, mothers and children.”
The Biden-Harris administration is counting on the “TRUTH about the scam” of undercounting our unemployment rates, not ever reaching the level of main street media attention, and coverage, where all Americans can weigh-in, including Black American voters, whom the Biden-Harris administration need, to win the White House. However, the main street media is also part of the problem, as this article by CNN promotes disinformation about our unemployment rates. Click on the article at the link from CNN by Daniel Dale, which comes across as objective, but “clearly supports and advances the administration’s use of the U-3 category rate as being comprehensive of our Job situation.” https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/16/politics/fact-check-trump-biden-black-unemployment-poverty/index.html
Gay, in her role of “fighting for black communities,” and indeed all-American workers, has the ability and resources to change all this, and end this oppressive policy. She, through the organization of BLMGNF, can courageously run full-page ads, explaining and exposing this dishonest scheme, in the major newspapers of the battle ground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Florida. Such ad pages will essentially state generically, without mentioning political parties, what is obvious to all of us, as indicated by Biden’s own economic team; our unemployment rates are rigged, and of questionable integrity, as far as being comprehensive of our nation’s unemployment situation. This makes the ads non-political. As a result of such an ad campaign, conversations around what is the real economy and Real Unemployment Rate will be generated leading to better economic policies, even at this upcoming debate.
Staff Writer; James Davis
Question? Comment? One may use this email address; MrDavis@ThyBlackMan.com.
