What else Say was or wasn't a proponent of isn't really relevant. You said you saw no "impetus for unemployment to get better any time soon." In referring to Say's Law, I was referring to the simple notion that a "general glut" cannot persist if prices are allowed to adjust. An excess supply of labor, especially since labor is a perishable commodity, cannot persist indefinitely.
Or to put it more simply, there's never been a recession that didn't end.
Right now, real wages in many (most?) industries are likely flat or falling. Meanwhile, businesses are investing in productivity-enhancing capital. Flat-to-falling real wages together with higher productivity (or even either one individually) makes for a pretty good impetus.
As for "downsiz[ing] our standard of living", no. Perhaps increasing savings by spending less of our current incomes, on average, on consumption, which would be a good thing (especially if the gov't consumes less and saves more, too). But that's not the same thing as a lower standard of living. |
