House Democrats Don't Know What to Make of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[Cow Poke]

The sentence before was "You look at the figure and say oh, unemployment is low, everything is fine." Her sentence after was "Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, and can barely feed their kids." Context is important.

In this case, the "context" does nothing to de-nuttify her statement, PM.

[rogue06]

The sentence before was "You look at the figure and say oh, unemployment is low, everything is fine." Her sentence after was "Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, and can barely feed their kids." Context is important.

Don't know why you're "but Obama"-ing this either, she didn't single out an administration.

Sorry PM, but how many hours someone is working a week has no effect on the unemployment rate. Maybe the two of you could enroll in a remedial basic economics class.

And I'm not "Obama-ing" anything but rather pointing out that the period when many folks needed two jobs because there just weren't any full time jobs around was during the previous Administration not now. Currently there are more jobs, at every level (unskilled to high tech), than there are people available to fill them.

[Psychic Missile]

Sorry PM, but how many hours someone is working a week has no effect on the unemployment rate. Maybe the two of you could enroll in a remedial basic economics class.

Of course work hours has no effect on the unemployment rate. That is in accordance with what I've been saying.

And I'm not "Obama-ing" anything but rather pointing out that the period when many folks needed two jobs because there just weren't any full time jobs around was during the previous Administration not now. Currently there are more jobs, at every level (unskilled to high tech), than there are people available to fill them.

That's not relevant at all. When the problem started isn't relevant. The amount of jobs isn't relevant. The requirements of the jobs isn't relevant. The quality of the jobs is what is relevant.

[Psychic Missile]

That's like saying, "Unemployment is low because everyone has jobs"

Or maybe "Unemployment is low because everyone has bad jobs."

[Psychic Missile]

In this case, the "context" does nothing to de-nuttify her statement, PM.

The context is that in spite of low unemployment people have bad jobs. It is the job of rags to find any ambiguity in the words of their opponents and to create a new narrative. You do yourself a disservice to take these stories at face value.

[Cow Poke]

The context is that in spite of low unemployment people have bad jobs. It is the job of rags to find any ambiguity in the words of their opponents and to create a new narrative. You do yourself a disservice to take these stories at face value.

Don't you get dizzy spinning so?

[Starlight]

Yawn, AOC's point was that the government's unemployment statistic being low isn't the whole story, because a lot of people have bad/low-paying jobs, are having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, are working really long hours etc. That's not particularly controversial or interesting.

What is interesting, from a psychology standpoint, is why so many right-wingers, many of whom themselves have previously criticized the government's unemployment statistic as not being the full story, choose to willfully take the silliest possible interpretation of AOC's words and repeat it as if it's evidence she is stupid/ignorant/uneducated. I suspect these right wingers feel threatened by an intelligent, beautiful, educated, woman of color, who is smarter than they are. So they dismiss her as "cute" or "stupid" in various condescending and misogynist ways.

[rogue06]

The context is that in spite of low unemployment people have bad jobs. It is the job of rags to find any ambiguity in the words of their opponents and to create a new narrative. You do yourself a disservice to take these stories at face value.

When there are more jobs available than there are people to fill them then people are far less likely to be stuck in a crappy job but have a good chance of finding a better one.

And again that has nothing whatsoever to do with the unemployment rate being, as she, claimed, being lower because people were working two jobs. Whether someone has one, two or even three jobs won't change the number. That is where both she and you are incredibly ignorant.

[rogue06]

Yawn, AOC's point was that the government's unemployment statistic being low isn't the whole story

But her claim was that the unemployment rate was way down because people had multiple jobs. It is that simple.

[Starlight]

But her claim was that the unemployment rate was way down because people had multiple jobs. It is that simple.

In context the point she was trying to make was quite clear, but she muddled up the phrasing of one of her sentences. Don't be one of the losers trying to take her out of context to misconstrue her point.

[firstfloor]

I think the older democrats will muzzle her pretty soon. Or she will find herself without any support or votes. She doesn't know how the game is played yet.

The old game is finished. Players of the old game will have to resort to self abuse.

[Mountain Man]

In context the point she was trying to make was quite clear, but she muddled up the phrasing of one of her sentences. Don't be one of the losers trying to take her out of context to misconstrue her point.

Here's her actual statement:

"Well, I think the numbers you just talked about is part of the problem, right? We look at these figures and we say, ‘Oh, unemployment is low, everything is fine,’ right? Well, unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs. Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their kids.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...-has-two-jobs/

Look, man, that's just a nutty, ignorant, hyperbolic statement no matter how you try to spin it. For one thing, less than 5% of working Americans have more than one job.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=kxGo

And secondly, the average work week in America is 34-hours.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/wh...the-us-2060631

So not only does she apparently have no idea how unemployment is calculated, but she doesn't even have her basic facts about the labor market correct.

And this woman is supposed to have a degree in economics? I'm guessing she went to same school where you studied science.

[Starlight]

"Well, I think the numbers you just talked about is part of the problem, right? We look at these figures and we say, ‘Oh, unemployment is low, everything is fine,’ right? Well, unemployment is low, because everyone but many people have two jobs. Unemployment is low, because but some people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their kids.”

With the minimal corrections I've supplied her point is both obvious, and correct.

Look, man, that's just a nutty, ignorant, hyperbolic statement no matter how you try to spin it.

That's usually what I think when reading your posts.

It's also amusing how much energy and focus right-wingers put into the idea that the intelligent and educated AOC might have phrased one point badly among her many on-air and off the cuff comments, when on the other hand there's Trump the bumbling moron who can't got a day without making up 10 completely idiotic claims and showing his ignorance of absolutely everything. The sheer desperation for right-wingers to try and find some sort of false equivalence to his driveling imbecilicism is amusing.

And this woman is supposed to have a degree in economics? I'm guessing she went to same school where you studied science.

Your envy of those better educated than you is amusing.

[Sparko]

Or maybe "Unemployment is low because everyone has bad jobs."

and? Lot's of people hate their jobs but they pay the bills, PM. If lots of people have jobs, the unemployment is low. Nobody is forcing anyone to work. They are grateful to have a job. If they want better jobs, get better education or training.

[Sparko]

The old game is finished. Players of the old game will have to resort to self abuse.

The only way to end the old game is to get rid of the old player. We need term limits.