Well Educated Youth Hurt By Recession and Lack of Job Policies

March 18, 2011 Leave a comment

This widely read opinion piece by Paul Krugman emphasizes the profound problem of unemployment of the college educated youth.  You may imagine the impact of lesser educated groups of which there are many more in South Florida.  Where are our politicians in facing this problem: it appears they have given up on this generation.

…young Americans who graduated during the severe recession of the early 1980s suffered permanent damage to their earnings. And if the average duration of unemployment is any indication, it’s even harder for new graduates to find decent jobs now than it was in 1982 or 1983.

So the next time you hear some Republican declaring that he’s concerned about deficits because he cares about his children — or, for that matter, the next time you hear Mr. Obama talk about winning the future — you should remember that the clear and present danger to the prospects of young Americans isn’t the deficit. It’s the absence of jobs.

But, as I said, these days Washington doesn’t seem to care about any of that. And you have to wonder what it will take to get politicians caring again about America’s forgotten millions.

via The Forgotten Millions – NYTimes.com.

Filed under Economy

Bad wages in the US

March 16, 2011 Leave a comment

The city of Coral Gables is not exempt from the impact of lower wages in the US.  The city cannot grow based solely on large-scale corporate profits, but should have a broad base of support from the consumer and the wider community.  Evidence is clear that wages have been stagnate for a decade or more and the rich are getting richer.

…data…[on wages and productivity]… underscore that there is a bigger story than public versus private compensation and a more penetrating set of questions to ask than who has more than whom. The ability of the economy to produce more goods and services has not translated into greater compensation for either group of workers. Why has pay fared so poorly overall? Why did the richest 1% of Americans receive 56% of all the income growth between 1989 and 2007, before the recession began (compared with 16% going to the bottom 90% of households)? Why are corporate profits 22% above their pre-recession level while total corporate sector employees’ compensation (reflecting lower employment and meager pay increases) is 3% below pre-recession levels? The answers lie in an economy that is designed to work for the well off and not to produce good jobs and improved living standards.1

Essentially, economic policy has not supported good jobs over the last 30 years or so. Rather, the focus has been on policies that were thought to make consumers better off through lower prices: deregulation of industries, privatization of public services, the weakening of labor standards including the minimum wage, erosion of the social safety net, expanding globalization, and the move toward fewer and weaker unions. These policies have served to erode the bargaining power of most workers, widen wage inequality, and deplete access to good jobs. In the last 10 years even workers with a college degree have failed to see any real wage growth. [Underlining and emphasis added.]

via The sad but true story of wages in America.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy, National

Social Security is not Welfare

March 8, 2011 Leave a comment

I cite this interesting blog because some my think that social security is welfare.  It is, in fact, an insurance program for the uncertain future.

Read on if you are interested and you think that the government should start whacking away at social security, you may need it one day.

The main feature of Social Security is not welfare… The main feature is insurance against economic risks and as such it makes us collectively better off. Calling it welfare when it isn’t is misleading and causes unnecessary class distinctions and resentments from the losers ex-post. More importantly, it ignores and obscures the important role Social Security plays in society as insurance against the economic risks we all face.

If you think you are so rich and powerful that you don’t need such insurance, consider this. The stock market collapse of 1929 at the onset of the Great Depression wiped out substantial quantities of wealth. The typical stock was worth only one sixth its pre-crash value once the bottom was reached. Whatever insurance existed in the stock market evaporated as the crash unfolded.

It wasn’t the poor jumping out of windows on Wall street. If you think it can’t happen to you, think again.

via Economists View: Social Security is Not Welfare.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy

Bad News for Unemployment in Florida

February 25, 2011 Leave a comment

If you think that unemployment is going to improve soon in Florida, you are wrong.

If you think that the South Florida economy is going to grow enough, you are wrong.

If you think that the Miami-Dade economy will improve greatly, you are wrong.

If you think that local governments will be able to return to happy go lucky spending and taxing, you are wrong.

Adding to this perspective is Governor Scott’s push to gut government regulation in Florida and undermine social spending for medicaid, education, the environment, child protection and growth management, poses huge demands on local county and municipal governments in South Florida.

The future is not bright for this region, especially if the world economy gets an oil shock, slowing or depressing regional trade.

…economic growth must be stronger to make a noticeable dent in unemployment, which was 9 percent last month. The economy would need to grow 5 percent for a whole year to significantly bring down the unemployment rate. Economic growth of just 3 percent a year would hold the unemployment steady and keep up with population growth.

Looking ahead the economy is expected to grow by 3.2 percent this year, according to an AP Economy Survey.

via State spending cuts slow US economic growth in Q4.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy, Florida, National

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