Krugman: The Forgotten Millions

I found this New York Times article by famous economist and columnist, Paul Krugman, on the unemployed in America. He usually publishes thought-provoking pieces. I agree with him -- why isn't this country creating jobs to lower the unemployment rate? I will go one step further -- does business want to create jobs and hire workers?

So one-sixth of America’s workers — all those who can’t find any job or are stuck with part-time work when they want a full-time job — have, in effect, been abandoned.

It might not be so bad if the jobless could expect to find new employment fairly soon. But unemployment has become a trap, one that’s very difficult to escape. There are almost five times as many unemployed workers as there are job openings; the average unemployed worker has been jobless for 37 weeks, a post-World War II record.

In short, we’re well on the way to creating a permanent underclass of the jobless. Why doesn’t Washington care?