Is chronic long-term high unemployment being "built" into this economy ?

[steve2470]

"High unemployment" meaning at or over 7% at all times. I'd like to hear your thoughts. I'm undecided personally.

on edit: My original question got messed up somehow

[DBoon]

1. It's what Marxists call "the reserve army of labor"

You need unemployed to prevent the employed from getting uppity and demanding better wages and better treatment

[doc03]

2. Exactly it keeps the peasants under control n/t

[Brickbat]

3. Maybe not deliberately, but it's becoming more apparent to those in power how useful a large segment

of unemployed can be in keeping wages down, increasing productivity, diminishing the strength of unions and in general getting vast amounts of people to settle for much less, thus taking away any incentive to reducing unemployment.

[Greyhound]

5. Oh please, their families have been using this for centuries, this has been

a consistent goal throughout our history and back to the Greeks at least.

[Selatius]

4. High unemployment keeps wages down by forcing laborers to compete against each other.

If there were a public works program that could dry up the pool of unemployment, employers would be forced to compete for what small amount of laborers were left, driving up wages and benefits, rather than employers forcing laborers into a downward spiral over the next open job position.