Crisis of thought

Many articles, like the one below, talk about the jobless and those who have given up looking for a job and are drawing unemployment benefits. If there are many people in this group, how are they voting? The Tea Party dominated RFepublicans want to cut these benefits, while the S&P 500 firms are drowning in cash. How did the Republicans get elected?

The Hidden Job Crisis for American Men - BusinessWeek: "Behind the headlines, though, statistics on jobs are far less encouraging. Yes, job growth has picked up somewhat. Yet an equally important reason for the lower jobless rate is that many people, men in particular, have simply given up looking for work and are no longer counted among the unemployed. Some sit at home. Some have become homeless. Rather than paying taxes on labor income, they are drawing government benefits, or relying on family and friends for support.

Economists are concerned that the recovery will extend an ominous trend of disengagement for male workers that stretches back six decades. The share of American men aged 16 to 64 who are employed has fallen in a sawtooth pattern, from nearly 85 percent in the early 1950s to less than 65 percent now. As the chart above shows, the rate falls steeply in recessions and does not get back to its previous high in recoveries. (Women's employment-to-population ratio has trended higher over the years.)"