- Oct 30, 2004
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I just finished reading a great op-ed by Paul Craig Roberts that sums up a good portion of our nation's economic problems:
America R.I.P.
It's somewhat of a rambling discussion that also covers the two candidates plans for Medicare, but most of it involves the root cause of our current economic problems. Enjoy.
America R.I.P.
It's somewhat of a rambling discussion that also covers the two candidates plans for Medicare, but most of it involves the root cause of our current economic problems. Enjoy.
During the second half of the 20th century the United States was an opportunity society. The ladders of upward mobility were plentiful, and the middle class expanded. Incomes rose, and ordinary people were able to achieve old-age security.
In the 21st century the opportunity society has disappeared. Middle class jobs are scarce. Indeed, jobs of any kind are scarce. To stay even with population growth from 2002 through 2011, the economy needed about 14 million new jobs. However, at the end of 2011 there were only 1 million more jobs than in 2002.
Incompetent free market economists confused jobs offshoring with free trade. They said the country would and was benefiting by giving its manufacturing, industrial, and tradable professional service jobs to China and India, that the US was ridding itself of dirty fingernail jobs and would soon be flush with highly paid high-tech jobs and highly paid financial service jobs.