I really hate to agree with Senator Gregg and his crowd on any economic policy affecting my fellow Americans… but maybe he has a point.
I don’t think the dole can support our unemployed millions for very much longer. Well, not without higher taxes on somebody. God forbid the wealthy of America should suffer any more predation by the useless unemployed.
The politicians of the free market crowd don't really want to talk about the basic problem with American unemployment, because American voters don’t want to hear about it. We just can’t tolerate the most basic free market fact... that you can't have a world wide "free" market economic system and expect that the jobs supporting that economy won't migrate to those nations with the cheapest wages, if they can do the work. They can do the work!
The politicians of the free market crowd don't really want to talk about the basic problem with American unemployment, because American voters don’t want to hear about it. We just can’t tolerate the most basic free market fact... that you can't have a world wide "free" market economic system and expect that the jobs supporting that economy won't migrate to those nations with the cheapest wages, if they can do the work. They can do the work!
Maybe our politicians don't understand this basic fact, but I think many do... they just don't want to talk about it with the voter. Our response would probably be about the same as that of the Greeks.
Of course I mean a "real" free market system, which we do not currently have. In our current world wide marketplace some nations are allowed to have tariffs on imports and other nations are not. Some nations are allowed to manipulate their currencies and others are not. And some nations are allowed to join price fixing cartels and others are not. I guess it's a "sort of, kind of" free market, but these distortions of “free” market just exacerbate the unemployment problem for we Americans.
And “our” government… America’s government, nominally… just goes along with the selling out of American interests. Why? Well, some nations are allowed, even encouraged, to buy our politicians, our regulators, our negotiators, our regulatory commissions, even whole branches of government if they want. On a shared basis, you understand, sort of like a time share condo. It really is a free market... open to all… nations, industries & corporations, individuals… domestic and foreign… ya’ll come. Maybe that’s why!
And I also mean real jobs... where workers take something, do something useful to it, and produce something else that is worth more in the market place. And the workers get at least a portion of that added value to build a life on. Value added can also consist of ideas and inventions, designs and applications of new technologies, and services, and all of the other wonderfulness of third wave economics. Even fraudulent securities apparently.
But I don't believe we Americans can have an economy based solely on ideas and services, or fraudulent securities. For one thing many of our workers are not equipped to participate in that economy. What shall we do for them? The dole maybe? And for another, many workers in other nations are so equipped. Americans are not the only smart, creative… and educated… people in the world!
Of course most American workers are not married to a free market system. We just want our toys cheap and now! But in the broader sense, we Americans, at less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, can't continue to consume in excess of 30 per cent of the world's production of resources, goods and services. Not forever and not even for much longer. Eventually the workers of other nations will come to understand that they deserve a bigger piece of the pie. After all, they're the ones actually making most of the pie now. Actually, I think they have already come to understand that!
Well, we’ve had our century of economic dominance. It's probably over. We are no longer the 800 pound gorilla in the room… probably only a 400 pounder now… and likely to lose a lot more weight soon! Not because of intrinsic weaknesses of our system, but because of carelessness and stupidity on our part. We stood by and watched as our industrial base was sold out from under us. We believed what we read about the peerless CEOs saving our corporations… by terminating their research arms, firing all those costly experienced workers and outsourcing their jobs, and selling off any left over profit making elements piecemeal.
Of course I mean a "real" free market system, which we do not currently have. In our current world wide marketplace some nations are allowed to have tariffs on imports and other nations are not. Some nations are allowed to manipulate their currencies and others are not. And some nations are allowed to join price fixing cartels and others are not. I guess it's a "sort of, kind of" free market, but these distortions of “free” market just exacerbate the unemployment problem for we Americans.
And “our” government… America’s government, nominally… just goes along with the selling out of American interests. Why? Well, some nations are allowed, even encouraged, to buy our politicians, our regulators, our negotiators, our regulatory commissions, even whole branches of government if they want. On a shared basis, you understand, sort of like a time share condo. It really is a free market... open to all… nations, industries & corporations, individuals… domestic and foreign… ya’ll come. Maybe that’s why!
And I also mean real jobs... where workers take something, do something useful to it, and produce something else that is worth more in the market place. And the workers get at least a portion of that added value to build a life on. Value added can also consist of ideas and inventions, designs and applications of new technologies, and services, and all of the other wonderfulness of third wave economics. Even fraudulent securities apparently.
But I don't believe we Americans can have an economy based solely on ideas and services, or fraudulent securities. For one thing many of our workers are not equipped to participate in that economy. What shall we do for them? The dole maybe? And for another, many workers in other nations are so equipped. Americans are not the only smart, creative… and educated… people in the world!
Of course most American workers are not married to a free market system. We just want our toys cheap and now! But in the broader sense, we Americans, at less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, can't continue to consume in excess of 30 per cent of the world's production of resources, goods and services. Not forever and not even for much longer. Eventually the workers of other nations will come to understand that they deserve a bigger piece of the pie. After all, they're the ones actually making most of the pie now. Actually, I think they have already come to understand that!
Well, we’ve had our century of economic dominance. It's probably over. We are no longer the 800 pound gorilla in the room… probably only a 400 pounder now… and likely to lose a lot more weight soon! Not because of intrinsic weaknesses of our system, but because of carelessness and stupidity on our part. We stood by and watched as our industrial base was sold out from under us. We believed what we read about the peerless CEOs saving our corporations… by terminating their research arms, firing all those costly experienced workers and outsourcing their jobs, and selling off any left over profit making elements piecemeal.
It’s called “being on a going out of business curve". But it makes the stock market happy... temporarily… and that leads to gigantic executive pay packages and parachutes.
We have allowed our leaders, including our labor union leaders, to convince us that we could continue to have more and more goods for less and less effort. We bought into that lie because we wanted to.
Worst of all, we have allowed our government to be purchased pretty much outright, selling "we the people" out for a song.
The Judd Gregg crowd of congressmen and senators (republican and democrat) believe that the free market will solve our unemployment problem if we’ll just let it work. They don’t know how… they just know it will. Third wave economics or some other magic maybe! What other hope have they?
Of course the free market could solve this problem. We just have to accept that working 10 or 12 hour days, for $10 or $12 a day, is a solution. That’s the competition! That’s the free market.
Many of the currently unemployed will never again attain the wages and benefits they held before the Bush/Cheney economic collapse… if they ever get a new job at all. We are going to have to accept lower wages and benefits if we want jobs in the new world economy. Or run-away inflation which will amount to the same thing... a lower standard of living!
We need to create some 20 to 40 million new jobs over the next few years to solve this problem. It depends on what you mean by "solve"? Like maybe a return to the Clinton/Gore years? Forty million new jobs is just not credible. Hell, 20 million is pretty far fetched.
We have allowed our leaders, including our labor union leaders, to convince us that we could continue to have more and more goods for less and less effort. We bought into that lie because we wanted to.
Worst of all, we have allowed our government to be purchased pretty much outright, selling "we the people" out for a song.
The Judd Gregg crowd of congressmen and senators (republican and democrat) believe that the free market will solve our unemployment problem if we’ll just let it work. They don’t know how… they just know it will. Third wave economics or some other magic maybe! What other hope have they?
Of course the free market could solve this problem. We just have to accept that working 10 or 12 hour days, for $10 or $12 a day, is a solution. That’s the competition! That’s the free market.
Many of the currently unemployed will never again attain the wages and benefits they held before the Bush/Cheney economic collapse… if they ever get a new job at all. We are going to have to accept lower wages and benefits if we want jobs in the new world economy. Or run-away inflation which will amount to the same thing... a lower standard of living!
We need to create some 20 to 40 million new jobs over the next few years to solve this problem. It depends on what you mean by "solve"? Like maybe a return to the Clinton/Gore years? Forty million new jobs is just not credible. Hell, 20 million is pretty far fetched.
So maybe the republicans are right with their modest proposal… we should just shut off unemployment benefits right now and let the free market do its job. Make those lazy unemployed folk cut bait or die. Otherwise, living on the dole is going to be "life as we know it" for a lot of Americans for a long time to come.
We have pissed away our inheritance from our forefathers. Get used to it!
Of course, we are still the world's only military superpower. We could try “conquer and pillage” as an economic system. It kept the Romans in bread and circuses for centuries!
Of course, we are still the world's only military superpower. We could try “conquer and pillage” as an economic system. It kept the Romans in bread and circuses for centuries!
