from the Working Life blog:
Stiglitz: The Economy Is Not Healthyby Jonathan Tasini
Tuesday 19 of April, 2011
A few days ago, I took part in a meeting organized by the AFL-CIO to launch a new publication called "Exiting From The Crisis"--a roadmap for a new global economy. The main speaker at the small meeting was Joseph Stiglitz. He outlined some great points and realities about the economic crisis with the bottom line being: the economy is not healthy.
I offer these points Stiglitz made with the up-front observation that I, and others, have argued: there is no debt or deficit crisis. It's manufactured--and the causes and solutions to any fiscal gaps are certainly not what too many Democrats are contemplating.
If you've ever seen Stiglitz speak, it's charming--he's a genial guy and knows how to present some nuggets that boil things down pretty easily.
One of his first points:
We have an unemployment system that's geared to people who lose their jobs but quickly find a new job.
And that is not a world we live in now--particularly with the phenomena of the 99ers and an economic picture in which 1 out of 6 people can't get good-paying, full-time work. Stiglitz underscored a point many of us have made--the official statistics don't reflect the depth of the misery out there. .............(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=15156