The Unemployment Myth: Discover What Politicians, Corporations and the Government Don't Want You to Know

Table of Contents:
Chapter One: Don’t Believe the Lie..............………………………………………5
L

My Personal Introduction……………………………………………………………….
Introduction……………………………………………………………….6

Change Happens, it’s Inevitable
Inevitable...…………………………………………………...10
10

My People are Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge....…………………………22
Knowledge 2

Chapter Two: The Problem.
.………………………………………………………….24
4

Chapter Three: From Whence We Came
: Came..……………………………………...29
29

The Numbers Behind the Story........................................................33
Story..............................

The Players.…………………………………………………………………………………...42
…………………………………………………………………………………...42

The Politicians………………………………………………………………………………4
Politicians………………………………………………………………………………41
The Corporations…………………………………………………………………………
Corporations………………………………………………………………………….47
The Government.....................................................
Government..............................................................................55

Chapter Four: The Paradigm Has Shifted........................................................ 0
gm Shifted........................................................60

Chapter Five: The New Wealth Phenomenon................
: Phenomenon................................................66
6

The Impact of Social Media..............................................................78
Media...........................................................

In Conclusion................................................................................................................ 0
Conclusion..................................................................................................................80

Endnotes...........................................................................................................................81
Endnotes..................................................................................................................... 1

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2|The U nem pl oyment Myth

The Unemployment Myth
Discover What Politicians, Corporations, and the
Government Don’t Want You To Know!
The Startling Truth about Unemployment in America and how you can
POSITION YOURSELF for success by participating in the New Wealth
Phenomenon coming in 2012!
Are you unemployed or know someone who is? Perhaps, you’re a victim of downsizing, layoffs,
or a corporate bankruptcy? Millions of people are facing tough times due to the loss of a job or
career. They are struggling to understand why they haven’t been able to find a job after a year
or two–maybe even three, of searching.

Perhaps you currently have a job or career but aren’t happy with the progress you’ve made
towards the fulfillment of your heartfelt desire to make a difference with your life. You too will
benefit tremendously from the life changing message in The Unemployment Myth!

Most people are unaware of the forces working against them that are prohibiting job creation
in America. These job killing offenses are revealed in this COMPLIMENTARY eBook–The
Unemployment Myth.

Hello, my name is Donnye D. Collins, to many I’m known as–The Bible Millionaire!

My wife, Dr. Christine Handy-Collins and I are the founders of Above Only Living, LLC; where we
are dedicated to educating, uplifting, and helping to guide you towards achieving your greatest
aspirations and God given purpose.

Over the past three years, we have witnessed how the current economic climate has wreaked
havoc in the lives of many hardworking, caring and loving people.

Persistent unemployment has disrupted the lives of millions of Americans yet; politicians,
corporations and the government still isn’t leveling with us about why the United States
continues to languish in the mire of unrelenting joblessness.

The Unemployment Myth exposes the truth behind this scourge that’s plaguing our society and
stealing our joy, peace and tranquility.

3|The Unemployment Myth

The well stated axiom, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed” applies here. The Unemployment
Myth will arm you with a keen knowledge and understanding of why we may not see the
unemployment picture in America change anytime soon.

More importantly, it will show you what you can do to not only survive in this environment, but
to thrive in it.

Discover how the employment landscape has significantly changed forever, and the strategies
you need to employ to successfully navigate its new terrain.

Outstanding opportunities abound today; learn how to spot them so you too can capitalize on
the New Wealth Phenomenon coming in 2012!

Never in our lifetime have we seen conditions as ripe as they are today for a seismic shift in the
way we live, work, and interact! Old, outdated, preconceived notions of what we thought
wasn’t possible before are being shattered!

Discover the secrets to living your life on PURPOSE, and rekindle your fire and passion for living
the American Dream!

“God uses the EXTREME to show He is SUPREME!”
God has opened the doors to a magnificent awakening. The unemployment challenge we face
today is simply the catalyst that will usher in a new generation of leaders, innovators,
collaborators, creators and thinkers who will blaze a remarkable trail in the 21st century!

This COMPLIMENTARY download is yours FREE of charge. Download a copy for yourself and
pass one along to someone you believe will benefit from this empowering message of hope.


Chapter One

DON’T BELIEVE THE LIE!
Myth –noun ’mith
1. a widely held but false belief
2. an imaginary person or thing

The preceding is how the Oxford English Dictionary defines a myth. Recently, the myth that has
dominated the twenty-four hour news cycles and is the major cause for the fear and anxiety in
the mind of millions of people is the myth of unemployment!

I realize there are millions of people who have lost what has traditionally been called a job and
they consider themselves to be unemployed; however, not having a job and being unemployed
are two totally different circumstances.

Being jobless verses being unemployed is a matter of perception, there is a distinct dichotomy
between these two situations. While not having a job may be a reality for many; being
unemployed is a myth.

For anyone who desires to live a rich, full and rewarding life; even in the current environment
of uncertainty that exist in the job market, The Unemployment Myth will dispel the notion of
unemployment and set you on the path to freedom and fulfillment.

As the Apostle Paul encouraged the people of Philippi:

Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are
just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if
there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
(Philippians 4:8 NKJV)

I encourage you to not only read this book, but meditate on it, digest it; and employ the
principles of this message to transform your life.

Every day we witness the paralyzing effect that this myth has on the psyche of the middle and
working class in our society. They live in fear, stressed, and worried about their future.

Many seem to believe there is little they can do to change the circumstances in which they find
themselves.


It can be discouraging and demoralizing to have everything you’ve worked so hard to build
appear as though it’s crashing down around you because of an employment situation gone
awry; I know because I’ve been there.

While it certainly isn’t a good feeling to not know where the mortgage, rent, car loan, tuition, or
credit card payment is going to come from, you can get through it.

If you feel in your heart that this is not the life God intends for you to live, you’re right–it’s not!
But there is hope!

My Personal Introduction
Hello,

My name is Donnye D. Collins Sr. – “The Bible Millionaire.”

Why, you might ask?

To begin with, I am an avid student of what I believe is the greatest personal living and business
success book ever written for mankind–the Bible!

It contains the most profound, tried and true principles for living a wonderfully successful and
prosperous life; even in the most difficult of times.

King Solomon––a man to whom God granted exceptional wisdom––observed in his life a
profound truth:

One generation passes away, and another generation comes;…That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of
which it may be said, “See, this is new?” It has already been in ancient times before us.

(Ecclesiastes 1:4, 9-10 NKJV)

King Solomon was right; “There is nothing new under the sun,” including the ‘unemployment’
dilemma our country is in today.

In Solomon’s day it was called a famine or drought; regardless of the time or the title, it
challenged the people to consider alternative ways of surviving.

We can learn a lot from observing great biblical leaders of the past and the lessons they teach.
These men and women took on challenges far greater than those we face today, and
triumphed.

Their strategies for business success and great human achievement have helped me and others
survive through some very difficult times.


The empowering principles, philosophies, and practices they taught can be incorporated into
your life too, to fundamentally rewrite the narrative of your human story.

By utilizing these powerful, time-tested principles, and strategies, you too can survive the
challenges of the day and bring monumental change into your life.

I know firsthand, because I have also been fortunate to build and own several dynamic
businesses using them.

In the past ten years these businesses have produced over $12 million
dollars in revenue.
They have ranged from mortgage brokerage and real estate investment companies, to
corporate finance and acquisition firms.

Along with establishing traditional brick and mortar businesses, I have actively been involved
with Internet, affiliate, and network marketing enterprises as well.

I have also written several books on Christian leadership and business success principles
utilizing the lessons and practices of biblical leaders.

I am on a crusade!
My mission with The Unemployment Myth is to expose the fallacy of unemployment that is
wreaking havoc in the lives of so many caring, innocent, and hardworking people.

This myth is being perpetuated by Satan to undermine the peace, tranquility, and functionality
of mankind.

My journey to this place of enlightenment has not been without its trials and tribulations.

However; in retrospect, I realize that many of the failures and setbacks I suffered along the way
were because of my ignorance and bad decisions.

My journey
My journey began early in life when I dropped out of college in my sophomore year, got
married, and set out to pursue a career in the music industry.

Like many of you I had a dream early in life and was willing to do whatever it took to pursue it.

After a year of marriage I found myself with a new baby, which meant a larger family to
support, so I got a job working with a medical products distribution company while waiting for
my music career to take off.


Times were challenging, as a young father and husband struggling to make a dream happen
with no money or direction, but I continued to chase what I thought was going to be my ticket
to riches, fame, and glory.

After countless auditions, I finally got a gig (musicians vernacular for job) playing drums for a
terrific local band that had some popularity in the area.

Soon, we were recording and touring the country with some of the biggest artist in the industry
at the time. I thought I was on my way!

Unfortunately, dreams don’t always turn out the way we had hoped or planned.
During a show at a naval base in the area a representative for the USO–an organization which
provides services for our troops around the world–heard us perform. He liked our show and
asked if we would be interested in performing at other bases around the world for them.

Of course we said yes. After a meeting with his superiors, we were hired to provide
entertainment for the servicemen and women at the bases located in the Mediterranean.

I thought this would be a great opportunity for us to earn a steady paycheck, make some
connections around the world, and entertain the outstanding men and women in our armed
forces, all on the USO’s dime and time.

In preparation for the band to embark on this potentially career changing endeavor; we were
assigned a representative from the USO to oversee our readiness for the trip.

One evening following an exhaustingly long rehearsal some of the band members got into a
heated discussion over a minute issue concerning a song arrangement, however, the timing of
this argument was not the best.

The officer for the USO who was assigned to us visited our rehearsals before and witnessed this
behavior but this episode troubled him more than the others.

The tour would be starting in a couple of months, and he was responsible for our preparation
and held the final approval on our readiness for deployment.

His final assessment was that if the band could not get along in rehearsals at home in the U.S.,
there was no way he could take a chance on us not getting along for the four to six month tour
abroad for which we were hired.

Needless to say, we were not assigned to do the tour.

This devastated me!


Since I had dropped out of college to pursue this dream; I felt I had failed my family and saw my
hopes of making it in my music career being dashed.

I quit the band shortly thereafter and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. Since I still had my
job at the medical distribution company, I resumed a full-time schedule there while I weighed
my options.

As fate would have it, one day while on the job, a truck driver came in with a load of small
boxes that had overturned in his trailer.

He needed someone to help him restack and unload them, fortunately, I stepped in to help. As
we restacked the boxes, we talked about our families, business, and politics.

During our conversation he mentioned something about making extra income by working part
time.

Initially I wasn’t interested, but I did need the extra money since I hadn’t played in any shows
after leaving the band.

Being polite and a little curious, I agreed to attend his company’s business meeting that
evening.

What I heard at that meeting forever changed my thinking about
money! It was an eye opening revelation.
The meeting was about selling insurance and investments. Even though selling insurance and
investments were not on my radar of career choices, I thought it might offer me the
opportunity to get involved in business; which is what I had gone to college for.

Then the speaker began talking about making the kind of money that was only a dream to me
at the time. Although the money excited me, what made the biggest impact on me was
realizing I had developed the wrong philosophy about making money.

I began to see that my thoughts and perceptions about
making money were very limited.
I joined the company and in doing so, I began a journey of discovery about making money that
contributed immensely to the financial success I enjoyed early in life.

I was introduced to a concept of making money that, if applied, would ensure I
would never have a problem earning money again!
During my early months with the company I was fortunate to meet some of the most powerful
business leaders in the industry.


More importantly, I was introduced to one leader in particular who became my mentor. His
philosophies about life and business had a profound effect on me!

Through this individual I learned the philosophy of priority living! I can’t say I grasped this
concept at first, or that I even wanted to at the time, but there it was before me; a way to
successfully live financially, emotionally, and spiritually!

He showed me that if I applied this philosophy for living to my life, I could truly have it all and
enjoy it; but, I was in too big of a hurry to succeed my way to give it any real consideration!

I experienced tremendous financial success early, so much so that after eight months I quit my
job at the medical distribution company to pursue my dream of becoming financially
independent!

Soon, I began to earn the income I had only dreamed about, but little did I know my life was
about to take a major turn!

“Change is inevitable!”
At the height of my success, I started having some excruciating pains in my stomach. I had no
idea what was causing them, but I had never experienced anything like it before.

I scheduled a visit to see my doctor to find out what was going causing the pain. After the
examination, he diagnosed me with having an ulcer.

I thought, ulcer, isn’t that something “old” people get? I am too young to have an ulcer.
Regardless, my doctor prescribed medication for me to take and sent me on my way.

Unfortunately, the medication did not work, and the pain persisted, but I continued taking the
regiment of pills he prescribed.

After working nonstop for about six months, I decided to reward myself and take a much
needed break. I went to New Orleans for a music festival held there every year.

During my getaway, I felt a pain in my stomach like I hadn’t felt before.

I felt something was terribly wrong, so I decided to cut my trip short and return to Tennessee.

I schedule an emergency visit to see my doctor the following day.

My regular doctor was unavailable, but his partner was treating the emergency patients who
called or came into the office that particular weekend.

During my visit I showed him where I was having the pain and that his partner had diagnosed
me with an ulcer. He stated that the area in which I was hurting was not common for ulcers and
suggested I undergo a series of x-rays to determine what was causing the pain.

10 | T h e U n e m p l o y m e n t M y t h

He scheduled the x-rays for the following day, and they revealed I didn’t have an ulcer; but
something more serious.

The diagnosis was an illness called Crohn’s Disease––a degenerative disease that affects the
digestive system! I had no idea what this was; nor did I know anyone who had it. All I knew was
that the pain was unlike anything I could have imagined.

The worst part was that there was no cure for it.

The only medication that could keep the disease from flaring up and causing pain was
prednisone steroids, which; considering its side effects, seemed to cause more harm than good.

Those painful episodes continued for over a year. During this time my marriage had become
strained because of the constant traveling my business required when I wasn’t in the hospital.

Needless to say, being in and out of hospitals, making doctor visits, and missing days from my
kids and business, all while dealing with a troubled marriage was extremely frustrating.

My priorities were all messed up and there was little I seemed to be able to do about it!

Fortunately, after one of my doctor visits, my doctor revealed that the infected area that was
causing the pain was isolated in a section of my small intestines.

I asked him if there was a surgical procedure that could remove the diseased part of my
intestines, he said there was, however; he did not recommend it.

His reasoning was that the procedure was not a cure for the disease, it just entailed removing
the infected area, and that it could resurface later somewhere else in my digestive system.

Finally, I couldn’t take the pain and agony any longer, so I urged him to have the procedure
done.

I reasoned that even though the surgery was not a cure, I felt I could get some relief when the
infected section of my intestines was removed.

The surgery was a success, but unfortunately with all that had taken place with the demands of
the business, the illness, and time spent away from my family; my marriage didn’t survive.

I found myself divorced with two children to try and explain why mommy and daddy don’t live
together anymore to; while at the same time make sense of it all myself. Change happening
again!

Following the divorce I became extremely depressed. Going forward, I wasn’t sure what I was
going to do.


I felt God was trying to tell me something about how I was living my life, but I wasn’t sure what
it was or that I was ready to hear Him at the time.

I just felt sorry for myself and the situation I was in.

After a few months I decided to end my pity party and pursue a career as a real estate investor.
This was when real estate was starting to become a popular investment opportunity for the
masses.

Remember the infamous infomercials running at 3:00 AM with the grand promises of buying
real estate with “no money down?” Well, I fell for it!

Fortunately, because of the team I had built with the insurance and investment company I still
had some income coming in which sustained me during my transition.

I began a new journey as a real estate investor and set off on my quest of becoming the next
real estate mogul!

Real estate investing went well for a while. I was able to learn the business and purchased some
properties to rent.

The only problem was:

I was now a landlord who had to collect rent every month!

This was not in my DNA makeup!
I didn’t care for the property management and maintenance duties of being a landlord.

Getting those maintenance calls in the middle of the night, coupled with the other headaches
of being a landlord didn’t sit too well with me.

After four years of being a landlord I was ready to exit the real estate investment business and
pursue a field where I had the potential to make a lot more money–without the property
management hassles.

Since I had always had a fascination with investing in the stock market, and my major in college
was corporate and business finance, I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to
pursue that field.

Luckily, my rental income gave me the resources I needed to get started so I jumped in with
both feet.

I started investing in little known undervalued companies whose stock was traded on the penny
stock exchange, and whose products were yet to be discovered by the masses.


My plan was to eventually takeover some of these companies by purchasing a controlling
interest in them.

As I delved into the business I was introduced to a gentleman whom I would later designate as
the lead investment banker for my corporate acquisitions venture.

He was an ambitious man who left a major Wall Street firm to start his own investment banking
operation a few years earlier.

Soon after opening his firm, he began acquiring a substantial number of large municipal bond
underwritings from counties in California and the surrounding states and started making a
name for himself and his firm in the investment banking industry.

In my first deal with him, I sought to acquire and little known technology company in Colorado
that manufactured wireless credit card readers using cell technology. This was before cell
phones were as popular and widespread as they are today.

My intention was to acquire the company, build the market for the technology, and distribute it
worldwide. After a couple of years, I planned to sell the company for a profit to finance my next
acquisition.

I thought if this worked according to plan, I would be on my way!

I would soon become rich beyond my wildest imagination!
So, I partnered with my investment banking friend, and we set out to acquire the company.

We devised a plan that would entail me buying one million shares of stock in the company
while we valued and structured the deal.

I bought the million shares at $0.035 cents per share or roughly $35,000 plus fees.

Then, subsequently I would buy more shares over time to prove to other investors that I had an
interest in partnering with that I was serious player in the corporate acquisition game.

I also wanted to acquire a sizable amount of stock in the company in the event another
company came along and bought out the company while we were conducting our due-
diligence.

If that happened, I could sell my shares to them and still make a handsome profit.

Little did I know that a few weeks after making this purchase, my investment banker would be
hit with a securities investigation alleging that he had bribed some city and county officials with
cash and other incentives in return for them awarding municipal bond projects to his firm.


During the investigation, his firm was issued a “cease and desist” order.

This action froze all of his firm’s assets, thereby, prohibiting him from trading any securities;
including MY stock! I was floored!

My $35,000 was gone!
To make matters worse, while the investigation ensued, another investment company began
buying large blocks of stock in an effort to take over the company I was trying to acquire.

They had deeper pockets than I did, so they could buy up all the outstanding stock in the
company and take it over with no problem.

In their initial move they bought 30% of the company’s outstanding stock. It appeared their
intention was to buy the rest shortly thereafter and take control of the company.

Since this was a reputable investment firm; that move drove the company’s stock price from
$0.035 cents per share to $1.23 per share almost overnight!

This meant my investment of $35,000 was now worth $1,230,000!

But, ‘I COULDN’T TOUCH A DIME OF IT!’

I WAS SICK!
I was a MILLIONAIRE–at least on paper–but couldn’t touch a dime of the money because of the
investigation looming over my investment banker’s firm!

My money was tied up in his firm and there was nothing I could do about it. The investigation
dragged on for months. Eventually, the charges made against his firm were dropped, but the
damage had already been done.

Towards the end of the investigation, the firm that had considered taking over the technology
company decided not to complete the buyout, and backed out of the deal.

This caused the stock to plummet! By the time I was able to sell the shares I had accumulated
they were worth less $700. I was so discouraged by the whole debacle that I sold what I had
and moved on.

After this turn of events, I was faced with the decision of what I wanted to do with my life and
career, again.

With a failed marriage, a failed business, and the dissipation of over a million dollars; I didn’t
know where to start towards rebuilding.


Then one day, a former business associate from the insurance and investment marketing
company called me and offered me the opportunity to work with him in his mortgage company
that he and a mutual friend of ours had started months earlier.

This was when the mortgage industry was just starting to heat up and become hugely popular. I
needed to get out of the depressed state I was in, so I accepted his offer.

I began developing strong relationships with real estate agents, developers, and investors; as a
result my business quickly took off.

After two and a half years of working for my friend’s company it became obvious that they
were comfortable with the money they were making and neither he nor his partner wanted to
take the company to the next level.

At the time I was bringing in over 30% of the revenue, and they seemed content with the
arrangement, yet I felt I was entitled to a bigger piece of the pie I had created.

I scheduled a meeting with them to discuss our relationship going forward. At the meeting I
requested a larger percentage of the business I was generating, only to be rebuffed and
dismissed as being ungrateful and unappreciative of the opportunity they had given me!

Following our meeting, and after much deliberation and reflection, I decided to leave and start
my own mortgage company.

My plan entailed bringing on two partners for this venture. One was for the financial backing
needed in the state licensing process, and the other was to bring someone with experience on
board to assist with the hiring and training of the loan officers and staff.

My role was to put up the money to rent and furnish the office space, hire loan officers, and
establish an operating reserve until we became profitable.

The investor’s role was to invest the $40,000 it would take to get the license to operate a
mortgage brokerage company in the state of Tennessee.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

After I found the office space, signed a three year lease agreement, and sank monies into
furnishing it; my financial backer reneged on our agreement at the last minute and backed out
of the project.

Now, here I was with an office full of furniture and a lease committing me for the next three
years, a receptionist on the payroll, and no license to operate! Talk about stress!


The rest of the plan called for my other partner to leave his position as the manager of a
finance company and come on board to help me with the hiring and training of our loan
officers.

He would also be responsible for generating revenue by working with the realtors and their
agents that I had lined up to send their business to our company.

That didn’t happen either! After he discovered his wife was pregnant with their first child, he
decided to stay with the finance company for the health benefits.

At this point, I wanted to quit the whole thing, but; I was in it too deep.

I was in a terrible situation with no clue how to resolve it!
My girlfriend at the time had planned to work in the office to help me process the business we
would be generating; however, there was no business being generated because I had no
license.

As a result, I had to outsource my loans to other brokers and take a small fee for the business.

After weeks of agonizing over my situation; I had no choice but to come up with the $40,000 for
the mortgage broker license and set out to make this venture work.

Out of desperation and poor judgment, I decided to make my girlfriend my business
partner…bad decision!

My girlfriend was my girlfriend; not my “defacto” business partner. I should have kept the two
separate and not put her in that situation.

She was perfectly willing to help me make a go of the business, but she was not prepared to
deal with the emotional, financial, and physical toll it took on a relationship being a business
partner.

After a year, we dissolved the business partnership and our relationship; it simply became too
much for the two us to try and deal with day after day.

Now here I was, out of pocket over $100,000 getting the company started, thousands of dollars
in debt, with loans ready to close but no one to handle them!

I had customers, real estate agents, home builders, and mortgage lenders constantly calling me
demanding to know what was going on with their loans!


This was not the “good” life I had imagined living!
This was not at all how I had envisioned this venture turning out, but what could I do at this
point? Where do I turn?

Just as I was at my lowest point I got a call from the brother of the partner whose wife was
pregnant. He was also the manager of a finance company. I had closed some loans for him that
his company could not do, so we had already established a relationship.

I started talking to him about my situation. He mentioned he was getting tired of managing the
finance company, so we set a time to meet for lunch and talk.

When we met, it was like a force had brought us together. He asked questions about the
business and said he would get back with me. He called me the next day and expressed an
interest in joining me in the mortgage business.

Long story short, we brought in another business partner who was looking for a business to
invest in. We started our new mortgage company in the office I had set up earlier, and we went
on to have some amazing success.

Our first eighteen months in business, we
generated almost $2 million dollars in fees
and commissions!
Over the six years we were in business the company generated over $10 million in revenue,
fees, and commissions.

We could have done a lot more, but unfortunately, I prematurely took my eyes off of the
mortgage brokerage company and started investing in real estate again.

This time, however; I simply bought houses to “flip”–– sell for an instant profit. Real estate was
starting to heat up at a feverish pace and was fast becoming the hottest investment vehicle
around.

Many of my friends and I were making millions in the real estate business. I knew all the major
players who made the industry work; from the investors to the lenders, real estate agents,
account executives…etc.

Making money in real estate seemed so easy. It was as if we were
“printing” it!


I later started a real estate investment company to take advantage of the deals that were
coming my way, but as I focused more of my time and attention on my real estate investment
company our mortgage brokerage company began to suffer.

Our company was closing loans and making money, but I wasn’t actively involved in growing it
like I was in the beginning.

As I made money from buying and selling houses, I invested some of the profits into stocks
again in my effort to start and run a hedge fund–the investment vehicle of the super wealthy.

As the money rolled in, I acquired more properties, unfortunately, more than I could prudently
handle at one time.

The properties started to backlog because I wasn’t getting them fixed up and sold as fast as I
should have; even with two crews working for me at the time, including my father, brother, and
brother-in-law.

I was shelling out thousands of dollars paying cash for houses, payroll, building materials, labor
costs, legal fees and insurance.

When a house was completed and I sold it, instead of taking some of the profits from the sale
and reinvesting it into refurbishing the other houses I owned and properly overseeing my
expenses; I took the money and spent it on funding my lavish lifestyle.

I thought the money would just continue to roll in.
By mid-2006, my partners and I started to seriously discuss what we wanted to do with the
mortgage brokerage company. Our lease was ending soon and the company was debt free.

A couple of years earlier, I met the woman who would later become my wife. She lived in
Maryland and I lived in Tennessee.

During those two years we maintained a long distance courtship; talk about running up
frequent flyer miles!

My business partners were financially independent, and wanted to spend more time with their
families, and I was ready to relocate to Maryland to be with my new wife.

We decided this would be the best time for us to cash out and move on. Neither of them
wanted to run the business without me, and I didn’t want to be involved with it long distance.

Shortly thereafter, we sold the mortgage brokerage company and went our separate ways.

Little did I know the bottom would fall out of the industry the following year!


After we sold the company, I didn’t immediately relocate to Maryland.

By this point I was heavily involved in investing in the real estate and stocks. Due to monies
going out faster than it was coming in; I found myself depleting my savings and investment
accounts just to keep up with the expenses of maintaining the properties and stock trading.

In the fall of 2007 the real estate and financial markets plummeted! The value of my real estate
and stock started drying up, and I found myself deeply in debt, again.

I had spent a great deal of money purchasing stocks and real estate to rehab and sell for future
profits but that train quickly derailed!

I couldn’t imagine losing everything again, especially after having worked so hard to recover
from my past failures.

I asked myself how I could have allowed this situation to happen to me again!

My lowest point came when I lost the houses (including my personal residence), cars,
furnishings––Everything!

It was at my lowest point that I had my greatest moment of clarity!
As I reflected on the events that had taken place in my life, I realized that up to that point, all I
thought about was “ME” and what “I” had done.

I thought about how much money “I” had made, what “I” could buy, what “I” had achieved
through “MY” abilities, “MY” efforts, “MY” skills, and “MY” talent!

I ,I ,I Me, Me, Me, My, My, My!
I hadn’t given much thought to the role God played in all of this. The more I thought about it,
the more I realized I didn’t give Him much credit for any of my successes.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know God, I attended church, prayed, and donated to charities and
Christian organizations like many people I knew, but, none of that mattered, something was
missing.

In the days and weeks that passed following my fourth failure in business and losing everything
again, I began to read my Bible more intently seeking some direction for my life and possibly an
explanation for all I had gone through.

This is when I discovered the scripture that put all of what had happened in my life into
perspective. It explained some of what I had suffered and why there were many ups and downs
and challenges in my quest for success.


The verse that turned everything around for me is:

And you shall remember the Lord your God, for
it is He who gives you the power to get
wealth…
(Deut 8:18 NKJV)

POW! Like a bolt of lightning it hit me. Everything I had done up to that point was useless. All
that I had earned was just temporary.

This was why I kept making money only to lose it later. My problem wasn’t if I was going to be a
success; my problem was how I went about achieving it.

Although God was speaking to the children of Israel at the time; I felt as though He was talking
to me. He was telling them how they were going to be blessed magnificently but not to forget
the source of their blessing, like I had done! True “wealth” comes from God!

I’ve personally witnessed people who changed for the worse once they achieved a certain level
of success. I especially saw this with the “instant” millionaires the hot real estate market
created.

I saw how my attitude changed as I began to increase, I thought I did it all myself. I thought I
had created the opportunities that made me money.

I actually thought I was that good. In reality, I wasn’t!
God showed me it wasn’t because of me that I was able to achieve anything in my life. It was
because of His grace, favor, mercy and provisions, yet I gave Him little credit, acknowledgement
or praise for any of my success.

As He led me on a journey of discovery throughout the Bible studying the lives of leaders He
called upon to lead at certain times in history, I began to see that there was a higher purpose
for my life; given all I had experienced.

The more I studied His Word and the lives of Biblical leaders, the more I saw a pattern emerge.
It became clear why it was necessary for me to experience all that I went through.

The good, the bad, and the ugly were all a part of a process of preparation!

I began to see that the events of my life had been orchestrated by God. They were designed to
bring me to a place of faith, preparation, trust, and obedience.

From the chance meeting with the truck driver; to joining the insurance and investment
company, the corporate finance venture, the mortgage and real estate businesses, it all began
to make sense.


The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall
not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
(Psalm 37:23-24 NKJV)

All that I had gone through were simply a result of my steps being ordered by the Lord.

My knowledge about business and experiences in the financial industry, coupled with an
understanding about spiritual leadership, was for me to help navigate His people through these
turbulent times.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
(Hosea 4: 6 NKJV)
This is what compelled me to write this book and place it in your hands at this time.

People are being destroyed because of a lack of knowledge!
Marriages, families, relationships, businesses, and communities are being destroyed because of
the lack of knowledge about this myth.

It has caused people to lose hope, lack confidence, and suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem and
low self-worth. It is destroying their peace of mind and outlook for a better tomorrow.

We are witnessing a myriad of psychological conditions on the rise because of its influence in
people’s lives, conditions such as depression, anxiety, fear anger, isolation, and frustration.

The enemy has persistently kept this lie going and there are many who don’t know where to
turn for help.

But, don’t lose hope! Satan does not have the final say in the matter!

God promises us a way out of the circumstance we may find ourselves in as it relates to the
current employment picture in America.

However, to win this fight we must come to grips with an undeniable and unrelenting truth,
and that is:

Change is the only thing that is certain in life.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
John F. Kennedy

Not only is change certain in life, but it is also inevitable! Change is inevitable and necessary in
order to succeed in the changing world we live in.


Change creates Opportunity!
While we can’t stop change from happening to us, we can chose how we respond to the change
that happens.

When a seemingly devastating setback occurs such as the loss of a job, income, or business, we
have two choices. We can choose to react to it or we can choose to respond to it!

When we react, we choose to allow our emotions and feelings to dictate our actions! When we
respond, we choose to allow God’s promises to dictate our actions.

To react is fear based but to respond is faith based!

In climbing our way back to the top, it is imperative that we adopt a new perspective about
success and its responsibilities.

We must believe that God is restoring, renewing, and rejuvenating our lives and relationship
with Him.

Now, let’s get started demolishing this myth once and for all.

A wise man said once:

“To be forewarned is to be forearmed!”
Not only do I want to forewarn you concerning the destructive forces behind the myth, but
more importantly, I want to forearm you with time-tested biblical strategies and practices you
can use to address this growing misconception and win in all areas of your life.

Get ready for a new way to live and experience all God has in store for you!

“Let nobody fool you, all the loud noises we hear today are
nothing but the death groans of the dying system. The old world
order is passing away; the new order is coming into being. But
whenever there is anything new there are new responsibilities. As
we think of this coming new world we must think of the challenge
that we confront and the new responsibilities that stand before us.
We must prepare to live in a new world.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.


Chapter Two
The Problem–
The relentless bombardment by the twenty four hour news channel’s reporting about
unemployment, job loss, cutbacks, layoffs, downsizing, and bailouts is extremely deafening at
times.

This is designed by our enemy––Satan––to instill fear and hopelessness in the hearts and minds
of the people.

Unconsciously, many of them have bought into this unemployment myth and have accepted it
as true.

There is no denying the fact that the current economic climate is real and has affected the
livelihood of millions, however; their story doesn’t have to end there.

You may know of someone who has been laid off or displaced in the current economic
conditions that exist in the marketplace today, or you may be experiencing it personally.

Several of those who were seeking a job have simply given up on their search, and many of
those who have a job are living in fear of losing it.

The term “unemployment” is the biggest myth affecting our society today!
Unfortunately, not a day goes by that we don’t hear something about the “unemployment
rate” or the “jobless figure,” or whatever the government or the news media is calling it these
days. Regardless of what they are calling it; it is all still a myth!

There is no such thing as “unemployment!”
I know this statement contradicts everything you’ve been hearing recently, or have been led to
believe, but it’s true and I will prove it to you!

I have to admit, I didn’t understand this at first. Like many of you, I was accustomed to buying
into much of what was being presented in the news media about the unemployment situation
in the U.S. without giving it much thought.

Then one day, as I was studying my Bible doing research for another book I am writing, I was
struck by a scripture that stood out. The scripture I’m making reference to is:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female
He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth
and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living
thing that moves on the earth.”

(Genesis 1: 27-28 NKJV)


Ironically, while I was writing, the radio was playing and during the news segment I heard the
news reporter say:

“Today’s unemployment rate topped 9.2 percent!”
I wasn’t paying much attention to the specifics of what was being said, but as he continued
explaining what made up those numbers, I heard the Holy Spirit say:

“THAT’S A LIE”
I thought what’s a lie? I heard the Holy Spirit say it again:

“THAT’S A LIE, IT’S A MYTH!”
I stopped writing and pondered what I was hearing.

I heard the Holy Spirit go on to say:

“It’s a MYTH! “Unemployment” is a trick of the enemy!
“This lie has infiltrated man’s thinking as if it is the truth, it’s not the truth, there’s no such thing
as mankind being unemployed!”

The Holy Spirit went on to say;

“It is God who employs man, not man!”
“If God created man in His image, how can he be unemployed?”

God created and charged us with a duty and that is, “To be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth
and subdue it.” In other words, ‘He charged us to make our mark on the earth’ while we are
here.

If man was truly unemployed as the news broadcast proclaims, then that would mean:

Man’s duty and charge on earth would have been fulfilled!
If that was so; none of us would be here! Life as we know it would be over! The Holy Spirit went
on to say:

“Man is not unemployed, he’s UNINFORMED!”
The Holy Spirit explained that when you employ something, it means to use it for its intended
purpose, when its purpose has ended and there is no longer a need for it, it is then disposed of.


Man was created in the image of God, and charged––by God––with a duty, ‘to be fruitful and
multiply.’ This also means to; ‘increase and prosper’ on the earth while we are here. When
man’s time on the earth has ended, God will dispose of man’s role here.

Has all of that happened yet? NO! Therefore, man is STILL EMPLOYED–by God–not by man!

Take Adam–the first “Man” created by God! After God created him, did He expect Adam to sit
around and wait on someone else to tell him what to do? No! God put him to work!

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

(Genesis 2: 15 NKJV)

God employed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend to and keep it. Not only that, when God
created the animals, He employed Adam to name them!

Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought
them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that
was its name.

(Genesis 2:19 NKJV)

God had a purpose for Adam. Can you imagine naming all of the creatures we see every day
and those we don’t? This was a full-time job for Adam!

God has a purpose for you and me as well. He created us in His image and equipped us with the
necessary skills, tools, temperament, and insight to do His will like He did with Adam.

So, where did “unemployment” come from? Stay with me, we’ll cover that later.

After that I heard the Holy Spirit say to me:

“You have to tell them.”
Again, I thought, what? He said it again, “You have to tell them.” I thought; tell who what? He
replied, “About the myth, you have to tell them and explain to them that it is a lie and not to
buy into it.”

I was taken aback for a moment. I wasn’t sure I heard Him correctly. What does He mean I have
to tell them?

He said, “You have to tell them it is a lie. I am going to reveal it to you and expose this myth,
and you have to tell the people. Not only will you tell them, but you have to show them a better
way to live!”

As time passed, more was revealed to me by the Holy Spirit as promised, and it became clear
that what He said was true.


Unemployment is a lie!

This term “un-employment” is an oxymoron! It resides in the mind and vocabulary of man, not
in the kingdom of God!

This term has to be eradicated from man’s language and thinking. It is poisonous propaganda.

There is a better way to live!
Over the days and weeks that followed, the Holy Spirit began giving me the details of writing
The Unemployment Myth.

Get ready! Only now is this myth being exposed!
The Unemployment Myth will cover a myriad of facts and information that will help you clearly
see how politicians, corporations, the government, and the media have been wrong and
unwittingly misleading God’s people.

The story you have been led to believe that is widely reported about unemployment will be
challenged, questioned, and exposed!

What you thought you knew about earning an income and what is really happening are worlds
apart. The Unemployment Myth will show you how to navigate this new paradigm and
encourage you to:

“Think Anew!”
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
(Romans 12:2 NKJV)

The Unemployment Myth will challenge you to go beyond your usual thinking about traditional
jobs, employment, work, and making a living and rethink past, outdated concepts and traditions.

It was the noted physicist Albert Einstein who stated:

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind
of thinking we used when we created them.”
This is so true. The problems we face can’t be solved using the same level of thinking that
created them. For circumstances to change; our thinking must change.


The concept of unemployment resides in the mind of the individual. It’s not based in reality,
certainly not God’s reality anyway.

If you are presently consider yourself unemployed, under-employed, or don’t like the job you
have, The Unemployment Myth will provide you with the framework you need to begin taking
your life to another dimension.

Barriers will be broken, habits shattered, and paradigms will shift as you internalize this new
and dynamic way of thinking! You will not be intimidated by unemployment any longer!

“Nothing can be more tragic than for
man to live in these revolutionary times
and fail to achieve the new attitudes
and the new mental outlooks that the
new situation demands.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Are you ready! These are extraordinary and pivotal times we live in! Make the shift! Position
yourself and your family for wealth and success like never before. Start making the change
necessary to fulfill your God given purpose today!


Chapter Three
From Whence We Came!
As we begin this new journey of discovery, I believe it is imperative that we start by examining
how we arrived at this state of mind and what is perpetuating it.

A while ago, I was on a cruise to the Caribbean. In the middle of the cruise a hurricane began
forming in the area, therefore; our ship was diverted, and we docked at a port city in Mexico.
During the lay over, we took a taxi inland to a beautiful city called Merida.

While there, I experienced a basic human exchange that had a very profound effect on me and
changed my perception about living in a free society.

Many times when I travel to a city or country I hadn’t visited before, I tend to venture out into
the non-tourist areas and neighborhoods to get a feel for the authenticity of the city, the
people, and its culture.

I am always fascinated by why people do what they do for a living and what compels them to
choose a particular vocation.

As I walked the cobbled streets of this magnificent city and observed the people, I was struck by
the culture and attitude of the few I met who spoke English. As I talked with them, what stood
out most to me was the attitude and comments they had about what they did to earn money.

They were all busy doing something, either selling goods they created themselves, or providing
some type of service to the tourist who visited their city.

It seemed many of them simply wanted to find work; they weren’t as concerned about finding a
job! This contrast in perspectives stayed with me.

Coincidently, later that evening back on the ship as we sat for dinner, we were joined at our
table by the Secretary of Labor for the government of Mexico. My conversation with him,
confirmed what I was told by the people I met earlier.

He stated that many people in his country look for work, not a job. Since regular jobs were not
as plentiful there, people found work which allows them to maintain their household; and from
what I saw, there was a lot of “work” going on in the country.

In the United States however, we tend to look at employment differently. Americans tend to
have a one dimensional perspective when it comes to earning an income.

It is common for the majority of Americans to think having a job is the only way to earn an
income.


Unfortunately, over the years we have been conditioned to think this way. It is what we were
taught by our parents, teachers, colleges, and society since early childhood.

Therefore, we consider having a job to be our primary means of making money.

And, if we lost that job for one reason or another, we considered ourselves unemployed until
we found the next one.

Over the past sixty years or so, most Americans’ idea of
earning an income is to go out and find a job, work 40+
hours per week and receive a slip of paper called a
“paycheck” that when we exchanged it for cash, it gave
us X number of dollars to spend on the things we
wanted or needed to survive.

It was easy to get a job then because basically all we
had to do was apply for it. Usually we got it because the
need for labor was great. If we didn’t like that job,
getting another one was often as simple as applying for
it as well.

Thirty five or forty years ago, it was easy for Americans to find a job.
It used to be if our dad, uncle, brother, aunt, or friend worked at a company that regularly hired
for unskilled positions, they could put in a good word for us with the boss or supervisor, and we
would get a job sometimes on the spot!

Not anymore!
That was possible then because America manufactured goods like: cars, trucks, building
materials, air conditioners, and industrial machinery….etc. America was a nation of producers.
We made and manufactured just about everything here in America and exported those
products around the world.

In the Industrial Age, Jobs were plentiful!
A job gave workers a piece of the industrial pie. Companies like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler,
GE, Caterpillar, Proctor and Gamble, International Harvester, Firestone, and others made and
sold a medley of goods and services at the height of the industrial era.

Millions of workers were gainfully employed as a result of their existence, however; that
dynamic has changed dramatically today!


Those days are gone!
Regardless of what era you started working in; let me ask you something. When you were
working that job, were you doing so for the sake of having something to do to fill your time
with menial tasks, or, were you working to produce an income?

Chances are you wanted the income more than you wanted the job, right?

That income paid the mortgage or rent, the water, gas, and electric utilities, bought food and
clothing for the family, as well as educated your children.

For many, having an “income” was really the objective!
Since having an income was your primary objective, does it matter what source that income
comes from now?

Perhaps it could come from having a job, then again it could come from having a business, or
providing a service, or maybe it could be in the form of a gift, inheritance or lottery winnings.

As long as its legal, ethical, moral and continuous, it shouldn’t matter, should it?

Exactly, income is income!

Income can come from a job, a business, or revenue YOU create!
Even though traditional jobs are disappearing, work, business, and income is being created
every day from a variety of sources.

If we want to succeed in this new economy, we can; but we must adopt a new attitude about
earning income, and rethink our perception about employment in America.

Events of the past ten years have demanded that we do so.

The economy started shifting in early 2001–then came September 11th! After the September
11th tragedy, everything changed overnight!

After September 11, the U. S. job market was changed forever!
The magnitude of that tragedy shook the very pillars of American business. Its impact on the
U. S. job market has caused a steady rise in unemployment practically every year since.

Companies in many sectors of business, trade and industry stopped hiring, wages froze and that
trend has continued until this day.


However, we did see a slight dip in the unemployment rate during the real estate boom that by
most estimates began early 2005 and lasted until December 2007, during which time home
sales and prices exploded!

Mortgage related activities such as home refinancing, home equity and commercial lending
increased exponentially as well.

This period of unbridled greed gave Americans a false sense of prosperity.

The euphoria in the marketplace was driven by highly inflated real estate prices in an
unregulated banking and mortgage backed securities environment.

When coupled with the lack of oversight given to self-governing, self-serving financial
institutions, inept Wall Street tycoons and securities traders; this was nothing but a recipe for
disaster!

When the bubble burst, we saw the fortunes of millions of hard working Americans evaporate
overnight.

This was a recipe for disaster!
disaster!
Millions of innocent people were devastated as this world-wide debacle unraveled. Many saw
their pensions, (401) k plans, and retirement accounts lose a substantial amount of its value.

My background in corporate finance and investing compels me by habit to analyze the data and
information that drives the numbers behind a business’ success or failure.

There are always reasons for why major change occurs in business and I was led to investigate
the story behind this change to see how current and past events have contributed to the state
of unemployment we are experiencing today.

The NUMBERS behind the STORY!
While it is not my intention to make the following chapter a data dump, where I pour a bunch
of numbers and data on you to analyze; I feel it is important that we look at what is being
reported by the government and news media and why.

These numbers are not just facts and figures on a page; they represent people in real life
circumstances.

Given a choice, I’m sure these people would rather be among the ranks of those citizens who
are contributing to our society instead of being deemed a “statistic,” don’t you agree?


You are probably like me, in that, whenever I am presented with statistics, polls, or surveys to
consider, I would like to know where the information came from in order to judge the validity
of the source that produced it.

In the United States Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the agency that
keeps track of the labor activity in the United States. The following is how they determine who
to count as unemployed.

i

Who is counted as unemployed?
Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior
4 weeks, and are currently available for work. Actively looking for work may consist of any of the
following activities:

• Contacting:
An employer directly or having a job interview
A public or private employment agency
Friends or relatives
A school or university employment center
• Sending out resumes or filling out applications
• Placing or answering advertisements
• Checking union or professional registers
• Some other means of active job search

If someone currently doesn’t have a job, and they’ve looked for one in the past four weeks,
they are classified as unemployed! But, what about the people who have been out of work
longer than four weeks and are still looking for a job, don’t they count too? Hmmm…later on
this one!


Just how does the government come up with those statistics anyway?

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
How the Government Measures Unemployment
Where do the statistics come from?ii
Early each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor announces the
total number of employed and unemployed persons in the United States for the previous month, along
with many characteristics of such persons. These figures, particularly the unemployment rate—which
tells you the percent of the labor force that is unemployed—receive wide coverage in the media.

Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment, the Government uses the number of
persons filing claims for unemployment insurance benefits under State or Federal Government programs.
But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or
delay or never apply for benefits.

Other people think that the Government counts every unemployed person each month. To do this, every
home in the country would have to be contacted—just as in the population census every 10 years. This
procedure would cost way too much and take far too long.

Because unemployment insurance records relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and
since it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts
a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of
unemployment in the country.

There are about 60,000 households in the sample for this survey. This translates into
approximately 110,000 individuals. The CPS sample is selected so as to be representative of the entire
population of the United States. In order to select the sample, all of the counties and county-equivalent
cities in the country first are grouped into 2,025 geographic areas (sampling units). The Census Bureau
then designs and selects a sample consisting of 824 of these geographic areas to represent each State
and the District of Columbia.

Every month, one-fourth of the households in the sample are changed, so that no household is
interviewed more than 4 consecutive months. After a household is interviewed for 4 consecutive months,
it leaves the sample for 8 months, and then is again interviewed for the same 4 calendar months a year


later, before leaving the sample for good. This procedure results in approximately 75 percent of the
sample remaining the same from month to month and 50 percent from year to year.

Each person is classified according to the activities he or she engaged in during the reference week.
Then, the total numbers are "weighted," or adjusted to independent population estimates (based on
updated decennial census results). The weighting takes into account the age, sex, race, Hispanic
ethnicity, and State of residence of the person, so that these characteristics are reflected in the proper
proportions in the final estimates.

A sample is not a total count, and the survey may not produce the same results that would be obtained
from interviewing the entire population. But the chances are 90 out of 100 that the monthly estimate of
unemployment from the sample is within about 290,000 of the figure obtainable from a total census.
Since monthly unemployment totals have ranged between about 7 and 11 million in recent years, the
possible error resulting from sampling is not large enough to distort the total unemployment picture.

There you have it. They don’t count every person who doesn’t have a job, regardless of
whether they have been looking or not! It is just a representation or a sampling of the
population.

Although we wouldn’t expect them to count everybody in the country who doesn’t have a job,
it does point out the fact that there are several thousands, if not millions of people who are not
being counted using this method.

Even given the potential to possibly overlook millions of people using this method, once this
sampling is compiled, it is then reported as the “Official Unemployment Rate,” which is the
figure that’s widely referenced in the news.


Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Surveyiii

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual
2001 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.7
2002 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.0
2003 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7
2004 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4
2005 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9
2006 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4
2007 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 5.0
2008 5.0 4.8 5.1 4.9 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.1 6.2 6.6 6.8 7.3
2009 7.8 8.2 8.6 8.9 9.4 9.5 9.5 9.7 9.8 10.1 9.9 9.9
2010 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.8 9.6 9.5 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.4
2011 9.0 8.9 8.8 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.1 9.1 9.1

Because of who is categorized as unemployed and the fact that only four weeks of looking for a
job is considered in the criteria; many have questioned whether the method used is an accurate
representation of the actual unemployment situation in the U.S. given the extended period of
joblessness that has persisted.

After pressure from economists and others who are knowledgeable about the true
unemployment picture that exist in the U. S. and how many people were being misrepresented


by the narrow definition being used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a new more true and
accurate system of reporting those numbers was introduced.

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey
How the Government Measures Unemployment
Is there only one official definition of unemployment?iv
Yes, there is only one official definition of unemployment, and that was discussed above. However, some
have argued that this measure is too restricted, and that it does not adequately capture the breadth of
labor market problems. For this reason, economists at BLS developed a set of alternative measures of
labor underutilization. These measures are published every month in the Employment Situation news
release. They range from a very limited measure that includes only those who have been unemployed (as
officially defined) for 15 weeks or more to a very broad one that includes total unemployed (as officially
defined), all persons marginally attached to the labor force, and all individuals employed part time for
economic reasons.

The following chart–Table A-15; is a more accurate measure of the true unemployment
numbers, taking into account all of the factors and categories that real people are facing.

Note the name–Alternative Measure of Labor “Underutilization.” This measure takes into
account the many areas that were previously not counted in the original criteria used by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, yet they exist in the marketplace.

These measures range from–U-1 thru U-6, with U-1 being those unemployed for 15 weeks or
longer, while U-4 takes into consideration those who have become “discouraged” and have
stopped looking for employment.

U-6 takes into account all of the factors measured in U-1 thru U-5 and adding to it ‘those who
were forced to take a part-time job for economic reasons’ since no full-time employment was
available.

When you take into account ALL of the factors that are present in today’s unemployment
dilemma, we see that the TRUE unemployment rate, according to their figures as of September,
2011, the “Seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate is actually 16.5%!


U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor
underutilizationv
Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
2010 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011
U-1 Persons unemployed 15
weeks or longer, as a percent of 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.4
the civilian labor force
U-2 Job losers and persons who
completed temporary jobs, as a 5.6 5.1 5.0 6.0 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.3
percent of the civilian labor force
U-3 Total unemployed, as a
percent of the civilian labor force 9.2 9.1 8.8 9.6 9.1 9.2 9.1 9.1 9.1
(official unemployment rate)
U-4 Total unemployed plus
discouraged workers, as a
9.9 9.6 9.4 10.3 9.5 9.8 9.8 9.7 9.7
plus discouraged workers
U-5 Total unemployed, plus
discouraged workers, plus all
other persons marginally
attached to the labor force, as a 10.7 10.6 10.2 11.0 10.3 10.7 10.7 10.6 10.5
plus all persons marginally
attached to the labor force
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all
persons marginally attached to
the labor force, plus total
employed part time for economic
16.2 16.1 15.7 17.1 15.8 16.2 16.1 16.2 16.5
reasons, as a percent of the
civilian labor force plus all
persons marginally attached to
the labor force
NOTE: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those who currently are neither working nor
looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work
sometime in the past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a
job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. Persons employed part time for economic
reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time
schedule. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Another alarming statistic affecting many of those who are unemployed is the “Duration” of
unemployment!

The following chart–Table A-12 shows the percentage of all workers who are unemployed,
broken down by how long they’ve been out of work according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of
unemploymentvi
Not seasonally
adjusted Seasonally adjusted

Sept. Aug. Sept. Sept. May June July Aug. Sept.
Duration 2010 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
2,830 2,635 2,760 2,872 2,664 3,076 2,689 2,755 2,772
Less than 5 weeks

3,127 3,377 2,726 3,329 2,892 2,972 3,088 3,050 2,904
5 to 14 weeks

8,183 7,997 8,034 8,517 8,184 8,125 8,150 8,273 8,328
15 weeks and over

2,075 1,958 1,816 2,364 1,984 1,836 1,965 2,239 2,086
15 to 26 weeks

6,108 6,038 6,217 6,153 6,200 6,289 6,185 6,034 6,242
27 weeks and over

Average (mean) duration, 34.1 39.7 41.0 33.4 39.7 39.9 40.4 40.3 40.5
in weeks(1)
20.5 20.6 22.2 20.5 22.0 22.5 21.2 21.8 22.2
Median duration, in weeks

PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
20.0 18.8 20.4 19.5 19.4 21.7 19.3 19.6 19.8
Less than 5 weeks

22.1 24.1 20.2 22.6 21.0 21.0 22.2 21.7 20.7
5 to 14 weeks

57.9 57.1 59.4 57.9 59.6 57.3 58.5 58.8 59.5
15 weeks and over

14.7 14.0 13.4 16.1 14.4 13.0 14.1 15.9 14.9
15 to 26 weeks

43.2 43.1 46.0 41.8 45.1 44.4 44.4 42.9 44.6
27 weeks and over


When you total the “Seasonally adjusted” numbers for September, 2011 starting with those
unemployed 5 weeks or less to 27 weeks or more, this figure comes to 22,332,000 Americans
unemployed or underemployed!

22.5
That’s almost 22.5 MILLION PEOPLE!

THESE ARE REAL NUMBERS AND REAL PEOPLE!
The average period for these people being unemployed or underemployed is a whopping 40.5
weeks! (Using the average (mean) duration number of weeks)

Wow, 40.5 weeks, that’s over 10 months!
And those are just the people who are being counted! I am not trying to be a gloom-and-
doomer here, I am simply pointing out the severity of the problem that many in our nation face,
and it may not be going away any time soon.

More importantly, I want to point out where we as creations of God have allowed the enemy to
lead us!

It’s going to take making some drastic changes in how we think about employment in the future
if we are to ever get back on track.


THE PLAYERS
Now let’s take a look at who the players are, and the role each of them play in perpetuating the
milieu of unemployment.

POLITICIANS–
The POLITICIANS
The Oxford English Dictionary defines Rhetoric /ret-uh-rik/ as:

1. effective of persuasive public
speaking
2. persuasive but insincere language

The fiasco we’ve seen coming from politicians recently reminds me of the lyrics to a song
written and recorded by the legendary Stevie Wonder:

"You Haven't Done Nothing"

We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you'll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing!"
It's not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else


And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing!"

How true! With all of their talk about jobs, jobs, jobs, none of them have delivered on any of
their rhetoric? Why?

The answer is simple…they can’t!

The truth is small businesses, private industry, and entrepreneurs create jobs, NOT
POLITICIANS; like many of them would like to have you believe.

It also makes for good campaign propaganda to have each side blame the other for why there
are no jobs being created in the U. S., while promising that if they are elected, then somehow
all of those new jobs will suddenly appear!

The fact is there’s nothing they are doing now, have done in the past, or will do in the
immediate future to create new jobs or even save existing jobs from being eliminated!

According to the Labor Department the jobs that have already been lost is going to take up to
ten years to be replaced, if ever, at the current rate of expansion.vii–See chart below–

Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute states:

“The recession killed off 7.9 million jobs. It’s increasingly likely that many will never come back. The job
losses during the Great Recession were so off the chart, that even though we’ve gained about 600,000
private sector jobs back, we’ve got nearly 8 million jobs to go.”


“Employment bottomed in December
2009 at 129.588 million — two
years after peaking at 137.951
million. At this year’s pace, the U.S.
won’t recoup all those 8.36 million
lost jobs* until March 2020 — 147
months after the December 2007
high.”
*Sources: Labor Dept, DataStream, IBD

While we hear all of their rhetoric, let’s take a look at what they
ake
ACTUALLY did during the period when we lost over eight million
jobs–on their watch!

Let’s begin with Congressional hearings. How many were held on
.
the matter of lost jobs in this country? NONE
ONE!

Ok, well what about corporate CEO’s and bankers; how many of
bankers
them were called to Washington DC and grilled about how this
egregious oversight could have occurred and who would be held
accountable for it? NONE!

Hmmm, so how many Senate hearings were held in response to
tackling this crisis? NONE!

Surely there was a Congressional task force established to look
into how this could have happened and what can be done to
prevent it from happening in the future wasn’t there? NO!
there

So, just what exactly did politicians DO on behalf of their
constituents to address the cause and look for a cure for this
crisis? Drum roll please!


NOTHING!
Why not?
Because many politicians are nothing but LAWYERS WHO ARE OWNED BY BIG
BUSINESS!

It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it
be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is
to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?"

38% of the 112th Congress is made up of LAWYERS–52% of the Senators and 32% of the House
of Representatives! viii

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with someone being a lawyer–although there are
some who might disagree with me on that statement. However, there is something wrong with
having too many lawyers owned by big businesses RUN governmental affairs!

HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED

The fundamental problem with politicians who are in cahoots with big business is that many of
them are prone to look out for their own interest and the interest of their cronies first!

Therefore, they are hard pressed to address the real issues concerning the job situation in the
U. S. Politicians know that employing people cost money!

This is why all we hear coming out of Washington these days is about; cutting corporate and
capital gains taxes as well as doing away with regulations and corporate fiscal accountability!

These programs benefit those with power, money, and influence because they’re the ones who
have corporate and capital gains taxes to pay on the profits from their investments. The
average employee have seen the value of their 401(k) diminish considerably in recent years.

Promises that jobs will be created as a result of cutting these taxes and doing away with
corporate accountability makes good campaign fodder, but it rarely happens!

When a politician is trying to get elected the last thing they are willing to do is level with the
people about the promises they can, or more importantly; the promises they can’t deliver on.

They would consider it campaign suicide if they told the truth about what’s really going on with
the unemployment situation in the U. S.

This doesn’t bode well for someone who’s earnestly seeking a job and is counting on their local
politician to honestly address why there aren’t any.


Politicians are also too dependent upon the very corporations and their CEOs that fund their
campaigns to honestly tackle the issue of why there are no jobs being created.

The lines are often blurred when it comes to where their allegiance lies.

The founding fathers of this country could not have envisioned we would end up in this
situation.

I am sure when they conceptualized the role of civil servant; they had in mind someone who is
elected from all walks of life to serve as a representative for “The People” in the Congress.

Once their service ended, those individuals would return to their occupations as farmers,
blacksmiths, grocers, doctors and so forth.

During their time of service, it was an honor for them to serve their fellow countrymen, and
they were happy to return to their respective roles as productive citizens, but not today!

Today we have “career” politicians who simply serve themselves and big businesses!

In the Academy Award-winning film All the President’s Men, there was a line delivered by actor
Hal Holbrook who portrayed Deep Throat–the secret informant–who supplied reporters with
key information that eventually brought down the Nixon administration–in which he told them
to:

“Follow the money!”
money!
It seems politicians today have taken that advice quite literally! According to the Nonpartisan
Center for Responsive Politics:

“The money paying for the elections is coming largely from the same industries and interests that have funded past
elections. Topping the Center's 2008 list of big donors are contributors who list their occupation as "retired"
(accounting for at least $204.3 million), lawyers and law firms ($180.9 million), the securities/investment industry
($122.8 million), real estate ($105.5 million) and health professionals ($69.6 million). Business interests accounts for
ix
72 percent of all contributions, with ideological, labor and other interests making up the rest.”

These certainly aren’t your average Americans: laborers, small merchants, carpenters, and
factory workers! They are career politicians following billions in campaign funds!

“Wall Street and other industries in the financial sector don't seem to have tightened their belts -- no signs of
recession in their political giving. Of course, their contributions may be part of a strategy to continue securing
government assistance for their businesses as the economy heads further south," Sheila Krumholz, executive
x
director of the Center for Responsive Politics said.

She also went on to say, "We've marveled for years at the cost of elections, especially during presidential cycles, but
xi
this one is the first to cross the $5 billion mark”–the 2008 election.

"You can't win a seat in Congress without being personally wealthy or knowing a lot of wealthy people who are willing
xii
to back you with their money," Krumholz said.


With so many politicians raising and spending outrageous amounts of corporate money to get
elected, do you honestly believe they work on behalf of the average worker who contributed
less than $50 to their campaign?

Or, do you believe they are more inclined to side with the special interest groups who
collectively contributed millions to get them elected?

“WE’RE IN THE MONEY”–Words made famous in the hit musical “42nd Street,” and
exemplified by members of Congress.

They’re in the money all right! Not only are politicians following the money, many of them are
millionaires personally!

Despite a stubbornly sour national economy congressional members’ personal wealth collectively increased by
more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics
xiii
of federal financial disclosures released earlier this year.

And while some members’ financial portfolios lost value, no need to bemoan most lawmakers’ financial lot: Nearly
half of them -- 261 -- are millionaires, a slight increase from the previous year, the Center’s study finds. That
xiv
compares to about 1 percent of Americans who lay claim to the same lofty fiscal status.

“Few federal lawmakers must grapple with the financial ills -- unemployment, loss of housing, wiped out savings --
that have befallen millions of Americans,” said Ms. Krumholz.xv

How can they claim to represent the average worker when they can’t relate to the average
worker?


The CORPORATIONS–
ORPORATIONS
Corporations hire for several reasons. One is so they can produce more of their products or
services when the demand for them increases beyond their current work force’s capacity to
keep up with that increased demand.

Unfortunately, this is not the case today, whereas; the demand for many of the goods and
services sold in the U. S. is down in most major industries.

When demand is down, labor cost rises. This contributes to companies’ not hiring, or cutting
back their current work force through layoffs or downsizing.

Economic News Release
Employment Cost Index news release text
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX - SEPTEMBER 2011

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.3 percent, seasonally
adjusted, for the 3-month period ending September 2011, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70
percent of compensation costs) increased 0.3 percent, and benefits (which
make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) were virtually unchanged at
0.1 percent.xvi

Labor, more importantly, compensation makes up approximately 70% of the average
company’s costs, and providing benefits to their employees makes up the other 30%.

On average, labor costs usually accounts for more of a company’s expenses than does the cost
of materials, facilities space, and all other operating expenses combined.

Given their rising costs and the uncertainty that exist in the economy, many companies seem to
be in a holding pattern when it comes to hiring additional labor, even if it is needed.

They are trying to get more production from their existing labor force, which continues to lag
prior levels:


Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2011, Revised
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Second Quarter 2011, Revised

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 0.7 percent annual
rate during the second quarter of 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today, with output and hours worked rising 1.3 percent and 2.0
percent, respectively. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are
seasonally adjusted annual rates.)xvii

Productivity in the second quarter of 2011 decreased 0.7, however Labor Costs rose by 0.3
percent. If the cost of labor is currently outpacing the productivity received from what that
labor produces, why would a company add to its payroll under those circumstances? They
won’t!

The TAX MAN COMETH….OR DOES HE?

Another startling fact that has adversely impacted jobs in the U.S. is for years corporations have
sought to lessen their financial exposure and expenses by taking advantage of the archaic tax
laws that exist in our federal tax code.

MILLIONS OF WELL-PAYING JOBS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT OF THE U. S.!

"The U.S. tax system does provide an incentive to locate production offshore," says Martin Sullivan, a
xviii
contributing editor to Tax Notes, a non-profit publication that tracks tax issues.

“At issue is the U.S. tax code's treatment of profits earned by foreign subsidiaries of American corporations. Profits
earned in the United States are subject to the 35% corporate tax. But multinational corporations can defer paying
U.S. taxes on their overseas profits until they return them to the USA — transfers that often don't happen for years.
General Electric, for example, has $62 billion in "undistributed earnings" parked offshore, according to recent
Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Drug giant Pfizer boasts $60 billion. ExxonMobil has $56 billion.”

"If you had two companies in Pittsburgh that both were going to expand capacity and create 100 jobs, our tax code
puts the company who chooses to put the plant in Pittsburgh at a competitive disadvantage over the company that
chooses to move to a tax haven," says former White House economist Gene Sperling, a Clinton adviser.

Does that make sense? It does for corporations wanting to cut labor costs and make as much as
they can for as long as they can without having to pay taxes on their profits!


The Unemployment Myth: Discover What Politicians, Corporations and the Government Don't Want You to Know

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