Politics

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Unemployment Is Low Because People Have 2 Jobs

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Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed on Friday that the low unemployment rate is “part of the problem” of capitalism failing to help America’s working class because people think the economy is doing well when it’s not.

“The economy is going pretty strong … there’s roughly 4 percent, 3.9 percent unemployment,” Margaret Hoover, host of PBS’ “Firing Line,” told Ocasio-Cortez during an interview. “Do you think that capitalism has failed to deliver for working-class Americans?”

“Well, I think the numbers you just talked about is part of the problem, right?” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We look at these figures and we say, ‘Oh, unemployment is low, everything is fine, right?'”

Ocasio-Cortez also seemed to misunderstand the difference between unemployment and underemployment, asserting that unemployment is low because people are working multiple jobs.

“Unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs,” she said. “Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their family.”

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