Last Call

State unemployment figures are out, and they continue to be horrendous. Twelve states and the District of Columbia are in double digit unemployment. The country continues to suffer greatly under the Bush economic mess.

Michigan, at 14.1%, at this rate almost certainly has a U-6 figure well above 20%, if not approaching 25%. California, at 11.5%, represents a massive hole in our economy right now. Things are bad. I think we're in for at least another 12 months of grim numbers before things improve.

Once we hit 10% unemployment in July or so, look out. the second wave of housing foreclosures will only accelerate the spiral. We could hit 12.5% before it bottoms out, and the U-6 number in the country will exceed 20% for sure.

One in five Americans will be unemployed or underemployed before things start improving in 2010. And the improvement will take a very, very long time.