Conservative Linda Chavez Solves the Unemployment Problem: Jobs Are There; People Won’t Work; Obama’s Fault

That Was Easier Than You Thought!

Linda Chavez is an individual who has served in various positions in government for Republican administrations and is now among other things a lecturer and columnist. The Wall Street Journal has picked  

up her latest comments on unemployment (she had been nominated for the position of Secretary of Labor in the Bush Administration but withdrew) in their Notable and Quotable Section, and here is a sample.

Several studies show that about one-third of those receiving unemployment benefits get a job immediately after their eligibility expires. . .

Europe has traditionally had a more generous safety net, including unemployment benefits, making it less attractive to Europeans who lost their jobs to accept other work that might entail moving or accepting lower wages. . . .

The real problem in long-term unemployment may be a president who wants to emulate the European social model. The more he succeeds in prolonging benefits, the greater the chance that long-term unemployment will remain high even when jobs are available.

So what we have here is  14 million workers refusing to work, preferring instead to live off the public dole, lose their home to foreclosure, go without health care, and do all the other degrading acts that one has to do to survive without a job just because the jobless benefits are so great.

Well Ms. Chavez, here is a chart that shows the number of job openings (blue) and the number of unemployed (red).  



Job Openings (Blue) Number of Unemployed (Red)



See if you do not want to revise your statements after you look at the data.  Notice the problem that existed during the Bush Administration.  So would you now want to change your conclusion,  assuming that you are willing to reach your conclusions based on empirical evidence and not Conservative Ideological Dogma. 

And if you want to stay with your baseless conclusions, how about a commentary on bringing back debtor’s prison.  That should motivate those lazy, living off the taxpayers, ungrateful unemployed people.