This may be true and shipping jobs overseas may contribute to the problem but the real issue is that industry is sitting on tons of cash. In earnings CC after earnings CC during this latest quarter, companies reported growing cash reserves. In lieu of hiring new people, they are increasing the hours of current employees.
Look at the employment report from Friday:
biz.yahoo.com
Hourly earnings and the work week went up. Companies are trying to do more with the same number of employees.
Frankly, I think its a class thing. Some heads of companies don't like Obama's agenda......I hear it every day on TSCM. They know if employment ticks up that will make Obama look good. They don't want more regulation.........they liked things under Bush just fine. So they need to keep Obama looking bad.
The global economy is ticking up very nicely. S. America, Australia, SE Asia and China are near boom conditions. Japan is chugging along. Europe is recovering smartly......particularly N. Europe. Canada is doing well. The prime laggard.......the US. And you think its Larry Summers fault? If only he was that powerful.
This economic team has been a disaster from the start, and Larry Summers should be canned, period...Obama needs Krugman and Volcker and a few like-minded economists on his staff, and he needs to get as engaged in understanding economics as he has been in medical care.
Since we started shipping manufacturing jobs overseas in the '90's (for shame, Bill Clinton) each recession has taken longer and longer for employment to recover to its previous peak level. There is a reason for this, and neither Dems nor Republicans will point it out because too many oxen would be gored; we have shipped our manufacturing overseas via NAFTA....whereas manufacturing is always the first place jobs are added in a recovery, after inventory draw-downs are complete. So now, China has almost completely recovered; South Korea has almost completely recovered. We have no way to fuel the recovery. Essentially we have shot ourselves, not only in the foot, but also perilously close to our heart. If our recovery parallels the last two recessions but from a deeper trough, it will be a decade before we recover. For shame Bill Clinton and George Bush! |
