Boy, the economic recovery in manufacturing sure didn't last very long.
The government job infusion that stems the ebb of construction workers draws my attention in the last month, but the quarterly picture is less dramatic.
Looking at the BLS data of averages for the last 2 quarters, services have added nearly all of that ~450K gain. blogger wcw worries that retail has declined not only for the past 2 q but for the last 12 mo.
But professional and business has added 100k, education slightly more (120k), leisure some 90k and government only 80k.
How many service jobs can be created without creating some good producing jobs?
Apparently (maybe thanks wcw, maybe not) retail jobs don't need to be added as the weight of shoppers (slightly different from the # of shoppers) is not increasing as supported by miniscule wage gains (listen to no other reports to the contrary) and more importantly, MEW volume subsides in peculiar, even suspicious circumstances.
Maybe.
Economists Are Destroying America
Economists, politicians, and executives from both parties have promised American families that “free” trade policies like NAFTA, CAFTA, and WTO/CHINA would accomplish three things:
• Increase wages
• Create trade surpluses (for the US)
• Reduce illegal immigration
Well, their trade policies have been in effect for about 15 years. Let’s review the results:
• Declining real wages for 80% of working Americans (while healthcare, education, and childcare costs skyrocket)
• A record-high 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance (due in part to declining wages and benefits)
• Illegal immigration out of control
• Soaring trade deficits, much with countries that use slave and child labor
• Personal and national debt both out-of-control
• Global environments threatened by lax trade deal enforcement
Economists Keep Advocating Policies That Aren’t Working
Upon seeing incontrovertible evidence of these negative trade agreement results, economists continue with Pollyannish blather. Some say, “Cheer up! GDP is up and the stock market’s doing fine.” Others say, “Be patient. Stay the course. Free trade will raise all ships.”
Even those economists who acknowledge problems with trade agreements offer us only half-measures—adjusting exchange rates, improving safety nets, and providing better job retraining. None of these will close the wage gap in America—and economists know it.
Why Aren’t American Economists Shouting From Street Corners?
America needs trade deals that support American families and businesses in terms of wage, environmental, and intellectual property abuses. Why aren’t economists demanding renegotiation of our trade deals? There are three primary reasons:
• Economists are too beholden to corporations and special interests that provide them with research grants.
• Economists believe—but refuse to admit—that sacrificing the American middle class is necessary and appropriate to generate gains in third world economies.
• Economists refuse to admit they make mistakes.
Economic Ambulance Chasers
Now more than ever, Americans need their economists to speak truth and stand up to their big business clients. Instead, economists sound like lawyers caught chasing ambulances: they claim they’re “doing it for our benefit”.
Commenting by HaloScan
