25 January 2011 ~ 5 Comments

Whatever happened to 15 million jobs?

Class War Corporate Statism Politics As Usual

Really interesting National Journal piece.

5 Responses to “Whatever happened to 15 million jobs?”

  1. someofparts 25 January 2011 at 12:32 pm Permalink

    We do so know what caused it.
    http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Business-Enterprise-Thorstein-Veblen/dp/0878556990/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295976701&sr=1-1

  2. PurpleGirl 25 January 2011 at 1:14 pm Permalink

    Interesting article. But the bit at the end about training/education drives me crazy. Yes, maybe a machine operator can be retrained but what about someone like yourself (a writer) or myself? I have a B.A.; I know word processing, I’ve worked in publishing and non-profit administration. What do they suggest I retrain for, or as? A nurse? What if I’m not interested in that or tempermentally inclined to that? Something happened to a lot of jobs and the powers that be have yet to face the diverse nature of the problem — it isn’t just industrial, it also includes office work at many levels.

  3. PurpleGirl 25 January 2011 at 1:19 pm Permalink

    someofparts: I read Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class when I was taking a MS in Recreation Therapy, but I didn’t read any of his other works. About time I did. Thanks for the link and recommendation.

  4. k 25 January 2011 at 5:56 pm Permalink

    I suppose it isn’t specifically tied to Apple, and other tech companies are just as guilty.

  5. k 25 January 2011 at 6:01 pm Permalink

    As the New York Fed’s Groshen and Potter wrote in their trailblazing paper in 2003, “Structural change itself may have given rise to uncertainty. In periods of rapid change, it is hard for investors, companies, and workers to know which firms and industries will require more jobs. Our findings suggest that a return to job growth may require a mix of two ingredients: improved financing options for riskier ventures and resolution of current uncertainties, including time for the dust to settle from all the recent structural changes.”
    Or, heaven forbid, we make it harder to invest and develop jobs overseas. That would cut into profits.