Carl Mumpower

The official unemployment rate is heading in the wrong direction.

The 9.2 (percent) on the stay-at-home scale is creating a host of aftershocks.

There are credible sources suggesting that including the underemployed and those who’ve given up produces a real rate double the official rate.

That four out of five new jobs are low-wage positions adds credibility to those claims.

One of the biggest and most unreported impacts of our high unemployment is the fear it generates for the 90 percent of us who do have a job.

Most of the people who are working find little or no security in their position or their future.  There’s a clear sense that America’s consumption versus production economy is out of tune with world realities.

Our growing obsession with rights over responsibilities combined with a lack of adult leadership in Washington is a perfect caldron for social paralysis.

Conservative thinkers recognize that creativity and contribution, not government, represent the antidote to our apprehensions.
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Carl Mumpower, a former member of Asheville City Council, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it