Not quite Christmas as usual

From RNS-

It's hard to gauge just how many Americans feel broke this Christmas.

Those who feel broke don't want to talk about it. Those who sell to the broke are hoping they don't give in to discouragement. And those who brought about this mess are spending lavish bonuses and catering to the rich.

But as far as I can tell, the broke are legion.

Government employment statistics tend to undercount job-related despair.

They don't report those who have given up looking for work; those who need full-time work but have accepted part-time jobs; those who did find work but at far below their last reasonable paycheck; or those who are ready to retire but are clinging to jobs for as long as they can.

By the time we add those categories to the official unemployment figure of nearly 10 percent, I suspect we are looking at one in four, or maybe even one in three, Americans who approach Christmas 2010 with thin wallets and heavy hearts.

Banks seem to have resumed risky practices and are stuffing our mailboxes with credit card offers, as if they owed nothing to 'We the People' for bailing them out.

More here

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