Conservative Policies, Economics Hard On Families

[marmar]

from ourfuture.org:



Conservative Policies, Economics Hard On Families
By Natasha Chart

February 11, 2010 - 8:22am ET


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And by conservative, I mean with a small 'c', and I mean that strain of American political thought that favors the wealthy and large accumulations of profit over ordinary citizens and their well-being, regardless of party. Anyone who'd help a large corporation and worry about whether or not helping the unemployed creates a moral hazard, or would be ridiculous enough to compare the federal budget to a household budget to encourage social spending austerity, or who'd brag about running US currency rates as if this were a developing nation, I mean them.

The fortunes and health of American families have been burned in the sacrificial fire of their free market ideology and they're busy even now adding more wood to the blaze.

If I sound upset about that, it's because I am. Don Peck wrote a thoughtful article in the Atlantic about how an era of joblessness will change America, and probably damage the future career prospects of the new job-seekers coming of age right now. He lays out the worst of the news about how big a problem this is:

... The economy now sits in a hole more than 10 million jobs deep—that’s the number required to get back to 5 percent unemployment, the rate we had before the recession started, and one that’s been more or less typical for a generation. And because the population is growing and new people are continually coming onto the job market, we need to produce roughly 1.5 million new jobs a year—about 125,000 a month—just to keep from sinking deeper.

Even if the economy were to immediately begin producing 600,000 jobs a month—more than double the pace of the mid-to-late 1990s, when job growth was strong—it would take roughly two years to dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in. The economy could add jobs that fast, or even faster—job growth is theoretically limited only by labor supply, and a lot more labor is sitting idle today than usual. But the U.S. hasn’t seen that pace of sustained employment growth in more than 30 years. And given the particulars of this recession, matching idle workers with new jobs—even once economic growth picks up—seems likely to be a particularly slow and challenging process.

The construction and finance industries, bloated by a decade-long housing bubble, are unlikely to regain their former share of the economy, and as a result many out-of-work finance professionals and construction workers won’t be able to simply pick up where they left off when growth returns—they’ll need to retrain and find new careers. (For different reasons, the same might be said of many media professionals and auto workers.) And even within industries that are likely to bounce back smartly, temporary layoffs have generally given way to the permanent elimination of jobs, the result of workplace restructuring. Manufacturing jobs have of course been moving overseas for decades, and still are; but recently, the outsourcing of much white-collar work has become possible. Companies that have cut domestic payrolls to the bone in this recession may choose to rebuild them in Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Bangalore, accelerating off-shoring decisions that otherwise might have occurred over many years.

New jobs will come open in the U.S. But many will have different skill requirements than the old ones. “In a sense,” says Gary Burtless, a labor economist at the Brookings Institution, “every time someone’s laid off now, they need to start all over. They don’t even know what industry they’ll be in next.” And as a spell of unemployment lengthens, skills erode and behavior tends to change, leaving some people unqualified even for work they once did well. ...

When the president now expects 95,000 new jobs a month then, it means a 30,000 job per month deficit from where we should be to keep up with new job seekers entering the market. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010020611/conservative-policies-economics-hard-families

[ipaint]

1. Excellent article.

When someone can tell me how a 56 year old working class carpenter retrains for some mysterious job, in a vague ever changing field, that may or may not exist ten years down the road, I'm all ears.

"The US and New Mexico will keep falling behind until they learn to share the wealth."

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010020611/conservative-policies-economics-hard-families

"They" being the wealthy hoarders at the top. The same folks with the trillions of dollars safety net courtesy of american workers.

[izquierdista]

2. You don't NEED to work

There was a time when a lot of work had to be done. In 1945, the whole world had to rebuild, many places from just rubble. Since then, Germany and Japan have rebuilt houses, factories, railroads, airports, hospitals and the health care system to go along with them. Not so much work needs to be done now. I feel no imperative to work beyond the need to provide the basic necessities for myself.

I don't NEED to pay $8000 a year in health "insurance" just so some executive can buy a nice beach house, and then skip out on "coverage" if I become sick. I'll save my money and go someplace where health care is much less.

I don't NEED to pay thousands a year to have a late model car with XM satellite radio, GPS and an automatic ball-washer just so some auto executive can gas up his corporate jet. I will keep my classic car in running condition and have an appreciating, not depreciating asset.

I don't NEED to pay for out of season apples and plums that have to be imported from Chile and support global agribusiness. I'll convert my yard over to edible landscaping and enjoy eating what grows outside my back door.

At one time, going to work in the big city was better than staying down on the farm because you really could make comparatively good wages. Not so much anymore. The corporations have no intention of sharing the profit from their business with the employees. Employees are just another cost to be minimized. Don't let yourself become a slave to their "free" market.

[ipaint]

4. I need to pay my rent.

I need to pay my car ins. on my 10 year old paid off truck and buy gas.

I need to buy most of my food (and yes I buy fresh and cook) and I need to buy the dirt for my container garden to supplement it. What's a yard?

I need to buy clothes every once in a while at the closest thrift store.

I desperately need to save some money to get my broken front tooth fixed and replace my 30 year old fillings. Also I need to replace my 10 year old prescription glasses that are super glued together.

I am a slave to their "free" market and unless we get to the point where we give all americans a guaranteed minimum income, free health, dental and vision- I NEED A JOB or at the very least an economy that allows me to resume being self employed.

[Turbineguy]

3. Not all families

Top wallstreeters have done OK

[troubledamerican]

5. Top 18 U.S. families

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/25/estate-18/

[laughingliberal]

6. K & R nt