Yes, it is extremely weird, especially alongside the overt contempt for employees being so prominent. Really makes you wonder who the economy is meant to actually work for.

My friend mentioned something similar on the topic of wages being 'too high': "it's pretty screwed up that the economy essentially needs a significant portion of workers to be two paychecks away from financial disaster to be sustainable."

Just imagine an absurdly overheated economy where a few million workers are doing something of really marginal or negative value, like cold calling seniors to sell them dogecoin. That’s not our economy today, but that’s ultimately what the Fed is looking out for, and it’s what you’d get if you have too loose money for too long.

If negative social value work is lucrative, people will do it. If it's not lucrative, people won't do it.

This has no relation at all with the employment rate.

It’s not the social value it’s the economic value, and as interest rates rise less productive use of capital becomes less attractive.