Whose Comeback?

So Newsweek is telling us that we’re "The Comeback Country"; according to a recent cover story, America’s financial woes are overstated and we’re on our way back to the top. Does it seem to anyone else that many of our major media outlets present news from the elite, well-to-do point of view? Stocks are up, some companies are doing well—like the big banks that we rescued—no worries.

Huh?

What these kinds of reports continue to disregard is the jobless rate in America. The latest statistics show that 4.64 million Americans receive regular jobless benefits, and an additional 5.97 million people stay afloat with the help of federal emergency and extended benefits. The national jobless rate is almost at that magical number of 10%, and in North Carolina it hovers at 11.1%. These are not numbers that make us a “comeback country.”

Moreover, our state and local governments keep hemorrhaging money. Durham County faces a $10.6 million deficit, forecast to grow. Durham Public Schools expects to make $20 million in cuts, as we await dire budget figures from Raleigh. A community that has to lay off teachers, increase classroom size, and eliminate services and supplies is hardly participating in a comeback. And we’re not alone. Local governments across the country face similar scenarios.

Good news comes, though, from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. “There is clear and broad-based improvement in the economic factors in the United States and around the world,” he says in BusinessWeek. As a result, his company plans to hire about 9,000 new employees. So if you live in New York, or wish to move there, you can give this option a shot and compete with thousands of others looking for work.

But if you’re a teacher or a librarian, hold on to your hat. A strong wind is blowing, and it’s coming your way. It’s kind of like that volcanic ash from Iceland—the sky might look bright and blue to some, but way up high is a dark cloud that’s hard to see or understand. And it’s messed with the lives of people on the ground.

The current economy of “the comeback country” is doing more than messing with people’s lives on the ground. It’s outright ruining them.