article 7 reviewn

The article talked about how the Bureau of Labor Statistics is able to alter statistics and give the public biased data. The article says that  the unemployment rate appears to be 5.5 percent, which looks good because so many people have left the labor force. But the information was said to be misguided. According to the article, last year’s average unemployment rate should have been 11.4 percent instead of 6.2 percent. The reason for the shrinkage in the labor force is that baby boomers are retiring. However, there are is a large group of men between the ages of 25 or 54 who are no longer in the labor force even though they have finished school and have not yet retired. To solve the issue, the government has provided more food stamps, health care, and disability benefits, which has decreased the incentive for people to find jobs. The solution is to move the provision of welfare benefits back to the states, who can better evaluate which residents need help. Whenever possible, regulations should be left to the states so that these rules can be better streamlined and adapted to geographic and demographic circumstances