$2 Trillion US Underground Economy Is The Free Market Striking Back?

$2 Trillion Underground Economy May Be Recovery's Savior ... Estimates are that underground activity last year totaled as much as $2 trillion. The growing underground economy may be helping to prevent the real economy from sinking further, according to analysts. The shadow economy is a system composed of those who can't find a full-time or regular job. Workers turn to anything that pays them under the table, with no income reported and no taxes paid. "I think the underground economy is quite big in the U.S.," said Alexandre Padilla, associate professor of economics at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "Whether it's using undocumented workers or those here legally, it's pretty large." − CNBC

Dominant Social Theme: The US is recovering nicely and doesn't need an underground economy.

Free-Market Analysis: The United States is usually portrayed as a place where – unlike corrupt countries like the former Soviet Union – laws are obeyed, taxes are paid and a grateful nation takes its lead from Congress, the White House and even the military-industrial complex.

But now we see in this mainstream report from CNBC that there is an underground economy after all. Some would call it a black market economy. Others would call a "shadow economy."

More