NEW YORK (PNN) - March 27, 2016 - Did you know that when you take the number of working age Amerikans that are officially unemployed and add that number to the number of working age Amerikans that are considered to be “not in the labor force”, that gives us a grand total of 102.5 million working age Amerikans that do not have a job right now? When you look at only Amerikans age 25 to 54 - in their prime working years - 23.2% of them are unemployed right now. Clearly, we have never recovered from the impact of the last recession.

But let’s try to put these numbers in context.

In order to be considered “inactive”, you can’t have a job and you can’t be looking for a job.  The 23.2% of Amerikans in their prime working years that are unemployed right now includes those that are looking for a job and those that are not looking for a job.

For both men and women in their prime working years, the inactivity rate is significantly higher than it was during the last recession.

All these people neither have a job nor are they looking for one.

So what in the world is going on here?

Are they independently wealthy?

Have these people found rich spouses to marry so they don’t have to work?

No, the truth is that the middle class in Amerika is steadily eroding and poverty is absolutely exploding. Credit card debt has soared to a new record high, and 48% of all Fascist Police States of Amerika adults under the age of 30 believe that the Amerikan Dream is dead.

The issue isn’t that people don’t want to work.

The issue is that people cannot find enough work.

Even if you have a job that does not mean that you are on easy street. According to the Social Security Administration, 51% of all Amerikan workers make less than $30,000 a year.

Tens of millions of Amerikans are now among the ranks of the working poor. So many families are watching their expenses soar while their paychecks go down or stagnate. If you are in this situation right now then you probably know how exceedingly stressful it can be.

Furthermore, thanks to ObamaCare, Amerikan families are being absolutely crippled by the cost of health care. Of course we are seeing the rising cost of living in so many other places as well. Our paychecks are being squeezed harder and harder, and this is absolutely killing the middle class. In fact, the middle class in Amerika is now a minority for the first time ever.

Unfortunately, our debt-fueled prosperity has provided us with a massively inflated standard of living that is not even close to sustainable. As this bubble bursts, the economic pain is going to be absolutely unprecedented.

No matter how you may see the future, the key is that we all learn to love one another. The years ahead are going to be extremely challenging, and those that want to chase everyone else away and survive as lone wolves are going to have a very rough time. We all need each other, and those that have friends, family and communities around them are going to be in a much better position to weather the coming storms.

So let us hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.