I wish this editorial wasn't at CATO
2009-11-17 · Original WordPress address
"Conservatives" hate the unemployed so the facts on display in this editorial are obviously ideologically tainted. (h/t Wilkinson)
Look at the JOLTS data yourself: unemployment is being driven by a slow hire rate (fire rates are at about their normal level). Hiring rates could be depressed because of low demand for workers or for low supply of job hunters. GDP is rising which suggests demand for workers should be increasing. Unemployment benefits, on the other hand, have risen substantially so there are incentives to stay unemployed. Finally, we know the disincentive effect is large because of research by conservative stalwarts such as Larry Summers and Alan Krueger ((both somehow sneaked their way into high posts in the Obama administration)).