Washington Post editorial 1/27) The Jobless Recovery

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50822-2004Jan26.html?nav=hptoc_eo


The Jobless Recovery
Tuesday, January 27, 2004; Page A16

AS THEY AWAIT the results of the New Hampshire primary, Democrats should take a lesson from the nation's central bankers. Out on the campaign trail, the candidates (with the honorable exception of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut) have been blaming the "jobless recovery" on President Bush, the trade system and the new phenomenon of "offshoring" service jobs to India. In rather less arresting tones, meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has been trying to explain why this blame is exaggerated. As Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday, the United States has lost jobs to foreigners before, yet it has always created others. The Fed committee that sets interest rates meets today and tomorrow, and will demonstrate one of the reasons why the new protectionism is misguided. <snip>



Mr. Bush should not be blamed for this, though his irresponsible fiscal policy harms business confidence and therefore job creation. But the bigger question is whether jobless recoveries are a bad thing. They are, after all, the flip side of good news. There is less cyclical unemployment these days, so recessions are milder; fewer jobs are being created now because fewer jobs were destroyed during the downturn. Moreover, a jobless recovery means, by definition, that each worker is producing more. Higher productivity, in turn, is the best promise possible of higher wages and employment in the future. Just look at the past decade: The jobless recovery of 1991-92 ushered in the longest economic expansion of the postwar period, which drove unemployment down to previously unheard-of levels, and fueled improvements in poverty, crime and other social indicators.



It's true that the shift of service jobs to countries such as India, like other trade-related dislocation, adds to the temporary pain of structural unemployment. But, as Mr. Greenspan says, new jobs will be created. <snip>

[The Zanti Regent]

1. I say OFFSHORE the WHORESHINGTON POST

If offshoring is so good, then this propaganda rag should do it too.

Let all the Press Whores who work for this piece of trash beg for jobs at Wal Mart!

[pinkpops]

4. And sell their rag offshore too

but cheap, so the workers can afford to buy it.

[tom_paine]

12. The Soviets might be able to do a better job of running their rag

Ever since it stopped printing truth and started printing Pravda, I think that soem old Commie retread "journalists" from 1978 could do a better job than they.

[displacedtexan]

2. But, as Mr. Greenspan says...

But, as Mr. Greenspan says, new jobs will be created.
Yeah, if you have a top secret security clearance, Raytheon, Booz Hamilton, et al are definitely hiring...
I'll bet they don't hire any Dems.

We went through this same thing during Vietnam: arms-related jobs were plentiful and fueled the entire economy, but in the end we had to 'recover' from that crap, too.

[ozymandius]

3. when Bush is fired -

I imagine that foreign investment in small business will return to this country. Although my evidence is largely anecdotal, the word on the street is that foreign investment has retreated because of a Bush* in the White House.

[mhr]

5. One Of The Most Insensitive And Irresponsible WP Editorials Ever

I have already called the Ombudsman over this.

This is outrageous!

Unemployed here for 43 months.

Went to job fair last week - 3,000 people for 300 positions!

Jobless recovery good, my ASS!

[ixion]

6. this is trash, IMO

Mr. Bush should not be blamed for this, though his irresponsible fiscal policy harms business confidence and therefore job creation. But the bigger question is whether jobless recoveries are a bad thing.

This makes absolutely no sense. Basically, it says: 'while it's Bush's fault, he shouldn't be blamed, but lets re frame the argument.'

Not only is this an example of very poor writing, it's logic is flawed to the point of being a non sequitur.

[Jack Rabbit]

7. This is absurd

New jobs will be created.

Yeah, right. A computer programmer making $70K plus benefits who has his job offshored can always get one of these new jobs stocking shelves at WalMart.

Is this the same paper that brought down Nixon?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

8. It's the "re-train & pain" feature that Greenspan can't sell

We're getting mighty close to the point where Bush is gonna have to sell this "the jobs will be back" lie with sock puppets. Oh, wait a minute, he IS using a sock puppet. GREENSPAN. He's like a scalper outside a ballpark, a hooker under a street lamp, I dunno...pick your role model.

Greenspan: Jobs, jobs, jobs, I got yer jobs right here.
Unemployed Worker: GREAT! I'd like a job!
Greenspan: OK, pal, step over here. I got a nice health care job for ya. Report for training in two weeks. Six months from now, the paychecks will start rollin' in.
Unemployed Worker: But I'm a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. I design and implement an infrastructure solution based on the Windows platform and Microsoft Servers software.
Greenspan: Not anymore, pally. See that bus pullin' out of the parking lot? THAT JOB IS ON IT. Jobs, jobs, jobs, get yer jobs right here.
Unemployed Worker: Well, do you have any IT jobs at all?
Greenspan: IT? What's IT?
Unemployed Worker: "Information Technology."
Greenspan: I got healthcare. You like that, right? I got service sector. Jobs, jobs, jobs...
Unemployed Worker: Well, what kind of jobs? What do they pay?
Greenspan: They pay more than the job you don't have right now, bee-yatch.

[mhr]

9. My Letter To The WP Editors

WP Editors,

The WP editorial from the Tuesday, January 27, 2004 edition titled The jobless Recovery is one of the most insensitive and callous missives printed.

To suggest that a jobless recovery is good mystifies me. To further suggest that the Bush Administration is not culpable is mind boggling.

I have been unemployed for 43 months. I have sent 1,430 resumes out the door. My resume is posted on 105 job boards. I have over networked all known acquaintances. Regrettably, I have not had a serious employment inquiry in two years. Past colleagues are having similar experiences.

Some would claim that one must not have enough education or experience. I must assume that a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering are irrelevant today. An experienced Naval Officer just does not rate any consideration. Honorably discharged veterans are of no consequence. And, experienced commercial pilots are too trivial to mention.

Sadly, the Washington Post editors are truly out of touch with the economy. If a dose of reality is needed, come spend a week with me. After experiencing the umpteenth pot of beans, the Spartan accommodations, the threadbare clothes, the ever diminishing savings account, and repeated job rejections, one just might come to the conclusion that a jobless recovery is not good or justifiable.

Sincerely,
MHR

[spooky3]

10. Great letter, and I am sorry about your own personal situation.

It is sadly a perfect example of what is wrong with the editorial.

The W. Post's editorial staff has fallen from a respected voice to shill for Bush, with an occasional exception made to enable them to say, "We're not unfair and unbalanced (sic :-))! Just look at what we published last week!"

I skip the editorials most days and go right to the letters to the editor, which are much more informative and interesting.

Also, they desperately need to add column writers who are neither male nor conservative. There are a few African American writers whose columns sometimes appear, but even some of these columns argue conservative viewpoints. Arianna Huffington would be one good addition but they need a daily offset to the likes of Novak, G. Will, Broder, Samuelson, etc.

[teryang]

15. Great letter

This propaganda campaign about the phony economy can't be believed by very many people.

Sorry to hear of your situation. I was laid off recently. Other family members have been out of work or underemployed for some time. The american media are sick, plain and simple. The econopundits have making excuses for turning the country into a banana republic.

Their wining excuses amount to why it can't be so! This editorial is cynical garbarge. Greenspan is a fucking liar too. He said something in his German speech akin to "the people who lost their jobs at the factory that was closed are no longer needed because they don't have the skills that society any longer finds useful." He should have said, "Highly skilled american workers had a legacy of working for decent pay under reasonable working conditions, that costs too much so our ruthless corporations send their work to slave markets where labor has no such tradition."

[ThoughtCriminal]

11. Overworked

"Moreover, a jobless recovery means, by definition, that each worker is producing more. Higher productivity,..."

Yeah, like replacing three employees with two working 60 hrs/ week. That's me. And since I'm exempt - no overtime. Boss has already started outsourcing to India, but complains they're lazy. Nice.

[young_at_heart]

13. Let the WP interview people who have lost jobs

Maybe they can muster up a little compassion for the pain and misery lost jobs have caused. People over the age of 50, especially, who have lost jobs have a very tough time.

[shrike]

14. 'For a fat girl, you sure don't sweat much.'

That's what this reminds me of. And no offense meant to overweight people.

[Merrick]

16. Isnt it somewhat automatic

to see a short term, illusory "recovery" when your pumping money you don't have into the economy to the tune of racking up a 1+Trillion$ debt that's so bad its incurred repeated rebukes by the IMF? Imagine how sad it would be if there wasnt a rise in the GDP under those circumstances