The Wrongologist

Today, the Wrongologist is fact-finding
about the Sequester’s impact on flight times between NYC and Chicago. So far,
one hour on the runway between LaGuardia and O’Hare, but the flight landed only
10 minutes late. There is a LOT of slush in the schedule if we could make up 50
minutes in 770 miles!

The return flight spent 45 minutes on the
runway before taking off. It looks like it will land about 25 minutes late. Both flights were completely full.

We have Wi-Fi on the return flight, so here
we go, from a no blogging Thursday to a limited blogging Thursday:

What
‘s Wrong Today:

Niraj Chokshi wrote
in the National Journal about a Wednesday Senate hearing by the Joint Economic
Committee on the problem of the long term unemployed. The hearing was convened
by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the committee’s Vice Chair. The Joint Economic
Committee is one of a handful of committees whose members come from both
parties and both houses of Congress.

So, What’s Wrong?

Nobody
else attended the meeting!

Klobuchar was eventually joined by three
colleagues (in order of their appearance): Sen. Chris Murphy D-CT), Maryland
Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) and Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-MD).

All four are Democrats; no Republicans could
make the time to attend, what with their other responsibilities, like maybe
passing the Ryan budget yet again.

We know that Congress Critters have busy
schedules, what with hearings, meetings, Sunday morning talk shows, press conferences, and the occasional
vote. By 10:30 am, when the long-term unemployment hearing began, more than
25 other hearings had already started in both the House and Senate.

But usually the pols try to show up, even
if only for a few minutes, for no other reason than to be seen. It stands to
reason that lawmakers who shake their jowls at the high jobless rate would want
to be seen publicly making a show of tackling the problem, right?

For a group that often bickers over how to
solve the nation’s biggest economic problems, Wednesday’s hearing represented a
perfect chance to do just that: Be seen discussing how to tackle the
intractable problem of long-term unemployment.

Readers of this blog know that the
Wrongologist thinks that long-term unemployment is our number one economic and
social problem.  Read about why long-term
unemployment is a long-term problem here.

The ranks of the long-term unemployed have
swelled in recent years, accounting for a growing share of the total
unemployed; the problem is compounded by eroding skills; and the psychological
effects that unemployment can take on the individual and their families.

In a 2010 Pew survey, close to half of the
people out of work for six months or longer said being unemployed for so long
had strained family relations and more than 40% said they’d lost contact with
close friends. 

We know that just being unemployed for a
long period makes individuals less employable.

The purpose of the Klobuchar meeting was to
explore possible bipartisan solutions to the problem, including: equipping the
unemployed with new skills; encouraging the private sector to hire more of the
long-term unemployed by providing incentives, such as tax breaks or subsidies;
improving the economy; and improving education.

It’s no coincidence that the only members of
Congress who showed up for the hearings were Democrats.  Republicans are
only worried about guns, the deficit and the debt.

Their priorities do not include unemployment.