[rtpg]

double digits, but barely (10.8%). And there are some safety nets, like basic income, housing aids, and gracious help if you have children, that make underemployment slightly less awful.

I bet a hell of a lot less people go hungry in France compared to the US.

[refurb]

Do you have any evidence to back that up or is it just a hunch? The US has a pretty solid safety net as well including unemployment insurance, welfare, food stamps, child and mother nutrition programs, Medicaid coverage, etc.

[cryoshon]

Hah, you mean the unemployment insurance that has all sorts of loopholes that employers will use to prevent you from being able to claim it?

You mean the welfare which expires under certain circumstances? The food stamps that got cut during the last budget? The nutrition programs that pay for slop lunches at school?

Medicaid, which still doesn't prevent people from going bankrupt from medical fees?

The US safety net is about as solid as a paper bag.

[marknutter]

Which is probably why we have a lower unemployment rate, because people are incentivized to find work (any work) sooner rather than sit around waiting for the job they would prefer to have.

[wavefunction]

Food stamps are not very solid. I know because my father had to temporarily avail himself of the program a few years back.

If I recall correctly he received about $80 a month for a single person which is not enough to even purchase the necessities of a healthy and balanced diet, really. I was paying his mortgage and he was fortunate that he had siblings who could supplement his meager allotment until he could find employment far below his education level and previous salary.

He had lost his job due to, from what I could tell, the early onset of Parkinson's and a heartless employer who would rather dosh a loyal employee of 20+ years than accept the continued employment of an employee with the condition.