I think outsourcing is the key - what's apparent is that they've moved more workers into the unstable part of the economy.
On the scale of sector 2 enterprises, the sector 2 enterprise is the core and sector 3 enterprises serve as the ring. This system relies on federal unemployment insurance to see the "ring" employees through downturns while fobbing costs of increased unemployment contributions off onto the sector 3 corporation. This further enhances the profitability and resilience of the sector 2 enterprise, which contributes to their "blue chip" status in stock markets. The outsized salaries and bonuses for the occupants of the executive suite provide them with the resources for major political contributions that further reinforce their incumbency advantages. If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.
- Jake 640 kiloton should be enough for anybody