Cool that you're out here deciding who is and isn't "dead weight."

The free market does that. People who can't generate more revenue than they cost are dead weight in a capitalistic system. It's not common to say that, but the US certainly works that way.

It's not about the definition of "dead weight", people are downvoting you because it's a fairly mean phrase to use to refer to your fellow human beings.

It's a statement describing his take on the situation, not an insult.

Animats may be saying thats what a capitalist system treats the downtrodden, but the actual actions are by that very capitalist system.

In order to face a problem, you have to be able to talk about it. And capitalism stratifies the "work" and "cannot work" brutally. And as a killing blow, then proceeds to separate food/shelter/communications and the means to try to make oneself better. In this way, capitalism forces the poverty-stricken to rely on charity of others, for 'market forces' nearly removes the ability to climb the ladder of success.

If you find using the term "dead weight" abhorrent (as I do), what are you doing about the root cause; capitalism?

Bailing out the banks and instituting QE is not capitalism.

No true Scotsman fallacy.

Please tell us what is capitalism.

The whole article linked to explains that the reason for high youth unemployment is not "capitalism" of "free markets", but the opposite, an unhealthily large public sector, and and unhealthily small private sector - what they need is more economic freedom, and *more" free markets, not less

That may explain the middle east and north Africa but doesn't seem to address the OP regarding the U.S. The census data I found looks like the public/private ratio has been pretty consistent since the 1980s

Yes, the oil states have bloated public sectors and dysfunctional governments. But the same basic problem - large numbers of young people with no jobs and no future.