That's the only explanation that I can think of for the persistent high level of unemployment. The government has tried to do things to hype employment, but they don't seem to work. Oh, people argue that the "right" things weren't done, but the fact remains that nothing that was done seems to be working very well.

I wonder whether even a CCC program such as was used back following the Great Depression would work these days? Even then, it's got to begin with people wanting to work. Back then there was a social stigma associated with people who were out of work. People would do just about anything to get back to earning a paycheck to avoid embarrassment. These days life seems so easy with all the entitlements that people seem to just lay back and wait until a really good job comes along.

This time around, I'm not at all sure those kinds of jobs will turn up. Maybe the economists are right--that persistent unemployment near 10%, more than double what we're used to, might become the norm. That's the level of unemployment experienced in most of the rest of the developed world.