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stuffthatmatter

Agreed. Once unemployment hits 25%, we'll be in the great depression territory (we might be there already)

Broader Unemployment Rate Hit 16.5% in June

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/07/02/broader-unemployme...

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I have a background in finance. I know about the current methodologies for counting unemployment and any other economic indicator.

I think you can only safely say we are in Great Depression territory when you start to see food lines.

actually it's already happening:

Southwest Florida food pantries in need as supplies run low http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jul/02/southwest-florida...

Sacramento police are shutting down a new homeless tent city http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articlei...

There's always evidence to support a view if you are willing to look hard enough, but one or two instances are not enough to support the claim that we are in a situation similar to the Great Depression. For those who take things a little too literally, perhaps I should have wrote: "... when you start to see food lines all over the country/world."

Google 'food bank shortage' and 'tent city' yourself; there are many mentions in many different parts of countries. Los Angeles, Texas, New York, etc etc.

They didn't have Google in the 1930s.

Seattle ran out a tent city a few years ago, in the midst of the economic boom. There's always going to be homeless people.

Your description of the 'discouraged' category is incorrect; it has nothing to do with the length of time someone is unemployed, but whether they give up looking.

However that correlates positively for a lot of people.

Actually, there's something that could happen....hyperinflation. That occurs when people lose faith in the currency, and the dollar's worth crashes (People doubt US's ability to pay back its debt)

Would that primarily affect imported goods and in effect boost the US internal economy at the expense of the import economy?

well, if we have hyperinflation, it would crash the internal economy, since everything we do depends on oil in this country, and oil price would skyrocket

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