Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Krugman: Jobs, Jobs and Cars
Jobs, Jobs and Cars
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Mitch Daniels, the former Bush budget director who is now Indiana’s governor, made the Republicans’ reply to President Obama’s State of the Union address. His performance was, well, boring. But he did say something thought-provoking — and I mean that in the worst way...Daniels tried to wrap his party in the mantle of the late Steve Jobs, whom he portrayed as a great job creator — which is one thing that Jobs definitely wasn’t. And if we ask why Apple has created so few American jobs, we get an insight into what is wrong with the ideology dominating much of our politics...The New York Times knows that his assertion about job creation was completely false: Apple employs very few people in this country.
<...>
A big report in The Times last Sunday laid out the facts. Although Apple is now America’s biggest U.S. corporation as measured by market value, it employs only 43,000 people in the United States, a tenth as many as General Motors employed when it was the largest American firm. Apple does, however, indirectly employ around 700,000 people in its various suppliers. Unfortunately, almost none of those people are in America...And this vision helps explain why Republicans were so furiously opposed to the single most successful policy initiative of recent years: the auto industry bailout.
The case for this bailout — which Mr. Daniels has denounced as “crony capitalism” — rested crucially on the notion that the survival of any one firm in the industry depended on the survival of the broader industry “ecology” created by the cluster of producers and suppliers in America’s industrial heartland. If G.M. and Chrysler had been allowed to go under, they would probably have taken much of the supply chain with them — and Ford would have gone the same way.
Fortunately, the Obama administration didn’t let that happen, and the unemployment rate in Michigan, which hit 14.1 percent as the bailout was going into effect, is now down to a still-terrible-but-much-better 9.3 percent. And the details aside, much of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address can be read as an attempt to apply the lessons of that success more broadly.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/opinion/krugman-jobs-jobs-and-cars.html?_r=1&ref=politics
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Mitch Daniels, the former Bush budget director who is now Indiana’s governor, made the Republicans’ reply to President Obama’s State of the Union address. His performance was, well, boring. But he did say something thought-provoking — and I mean that in the worst way...Daniels tried to wrap his party in the mantle of the late Steve Jobs, whom he portrayed as a great job creator — which is one thing that Jobs definitely wasn’t. And if we ask why Apple has created so few American jobs, we get an insight into what is wrong with the ideology dominating much of our politics...The New York Times knows that his assertion about job creation was completely false: Apple employs very few people in this country.
<...>
A big report in The Times last Sunday laid out the facts. Although Apple is now America’s biggest U.S. corporation as measured by market value, it employs only 43,000 people in the United States, a tenth as many as General Motors employed when it was the largest American firm. Apple does, however, indirectly employ around 700,000 people in its various suppliers. Unfortunately, almost none of those people are in America...And this vision helps explain why Republicans were so furiously opposed to the single most successful policy initiative of recent years: the auto industry bailout.
The case for this bailout — which Mr. Daniels has denounced as “crony capitalism” — rested crucially on the notion that the survival of any one firm in the industry depended on the survival of the broader industry “ecology” created by the cluster of producers and suppliers in America’s industrial heartland. If G.M. and Chrysler had been allowed to go under, they would probably have taken much of the supply chain with them — and Ford would have gone the same way.
Fortunately, the Obama administration didn’t let that happen, and the unemployment rate in Michigan, which hit 14.1 percent as the bailout was going into effect, is now down to a still-terrible-but-much-better 9.3 percent. And the details aside, much of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address can be read as an attempt to apply the lessons of that success more broadly.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/opinion/krugman-jobs-jobs-and-cars.html?_r=1&ref=politics
Should Obama Brag About GM? Absolutely.
Jonathan Cohn
President Obama visits the Detroit area on Friday, and his timing couldn't be better: Today's Detroit Free Press brings more good news from the auto industry:
I noticed that Politfact criticized President Obama for boasting about the GM/Chrysler rescue during the State of the Union. That’s absurd.
Everybody who follows the industry acknowledges that growth at GM and Chrysler reflects a variety of factors, including weakness from Japanese competitors following last year’s tsunami. But everybody who follows the industry also acknowledges that the entire domestic industry – not just GM and Chrysler, but possibly Ford and the massive, sprawling network of parts makers that supply the companies – could have collapsed if Obama hadn’t acted.
Keep in mind that most Republicans, including the one most likely to become the party's presidential nominee, opposed using federal dollars to help the auto industry. Keep in mind that polls showed the public...was strongly against the move...it was not only the right thing to do: It was also the politically courageous thing to do. That gives Obama some bragging rights.
- more -
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/100098/obama-visit-michigan-gm-bailout-detroit-jobs-skills
Jonathan Cohn
President Obama visits the Detroit area on Friday, and his timing couldn't be better: Today's Detroit Free Press brings more good news from the auto industry:
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all plan to add jobs in Michigan, which stands to benefit more than any other state. Nissan, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Kia and Mercedes-Benz also are hiring. Suppliers are looking to add engineers and technical people, but at a more gradual pace.
About 15,000 auto-related Michigan jobs could be created this year, said Sean McAlinden, economist at Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research. That would double the jobs added from 2009 to 2011.
About 15,000 auto-related Michigan jobs could be created this year, said Sean McAlinden, economist at Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research. That would double the jobs added from 2009 to 2011.
I noticed that Politfact criticized President Obama for boasting about the GM/Chrysler rescue during the State of the Union. That’s absurd.
Everybody who follows the industry acknowledges that growth at GM and Chrysler reflects a variety of factors, including weakness from Japanese competitors following last year’s tsunami. But everybody who follows the industry also acknowledges that the entire domestic industry – not just GM and Chrysler, but possibly Ford and the massive, sprawling network of parts makers that supply the companies – could have collapsed if Obama hadn’t acted.
Keep in mind that most Republicans, including the one most likely to become the party's presidential nominee, opposed using federal dollars to help the auto industry. Keep in mind that polls showed the public...was strongly against the move...it was not only the right thing to do: It was also the politically courageous thing to do. That gives Obama some bragging rights.
- more -
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/100098/obama-visit-michigan-gm-bailout-detroit-jobs-skills
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
