← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Quantrill
Thread ID: 16660 | Posts: 12 | Started: 2005-02-08
2005-02-08 16:17 | User Profile
The quote from the director of the Chinese National Economic Research Institute is particularly interesting. The Chinese are not as oblivious to what is happening as the Americans seem to be.
[font=Arial, Arial, Helvetica][color=#990000]More Bad News On The Jobs Front[/color][/font]
**By [url="http://www.vdare.com/asp/index.htm"] Paul Craig Roberts[/url]**
The January jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues the bad news of the past four years. During President Bushââ¬â¢s first term, the US economy had a net loss of three-quarters of a million private sector jobs. Despite three years of economic recovery, fewer Americans are employed in the private sector today than when Bush was first inaugurated four years ago.
The slight decline in the unemployment rate reported for January is not the result of new jobs; it is the result of large numbers of discouraged people, many with university degrees, dropping out of the work force. They cannot find employment and have given up looking.
During Bushââ¬â¢s first term, the once fabled US economy has been unable to create jobs in export sectors or in import-competitive sectors. Januaryââ¬â¢s 134,000 new private sector jobs are in domestic services that cannot be outsourced: couriers and messengers, food services and drinking places, health care and social assistance, educational services, temporary help, retail, and credit intermediation.
US imports are now 50 percent greater than US exports, putting tremendous pressure on the US dollar. US dependence on imported manufactured goods has resulted in exploding trade deficits, which are growing more than five times faster than the US economy. The explosive growth of the US trade deficit since 1990 has turned $3.3 trillion of US assets over to foreigners.
Flooded with US dollars, foreigners perceive their dollar holdings to be rapidly depreciating. The dollar has fallen dramatically against the Euro, [url="http://www.vdare.com/jb/050120_greenspan.htm"] gold[/url], and the British pound.
At an [url="http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Annual+Meeting+2005"] international economic [/url]meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 26, the director of a Chinese National Economic Research Institute announced that China has lost faith in the stability of the US dollar. ** [url="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050126/world_forum_china_5.html"] "Now people understand the US dollar will not stop devaluating,"[/url]** said Fan Gang.
One likely result of this realization is that foreigners will cease to use their trade surpluses to mop up American red ink. It makes no sense to purchase dollar assets such as Treasury bonds when they are falling in value. As foreigners continue to move out of dollars, US interest rates will rise, terminating the housing boom and wrecking family finances.
Americaââ¬â¢s growing dependence on imports reflects the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs and knowledge services. Every time a US firm [url="http://www.vdare.com/roberts/new_economy.htm"] outsources goods[/url] or [url="http://www.vdare.com/misc/miano_terrorist.htm"] services[/url], it turns domestic production into imports. Half of the US trade deficit with China represents US offshore production for US markets.
Interest groups that benefit from outsourcing and their spokespersons who cloak themselves in free-trade rhetoric maintain that there is nothing to worry about. Outsourcing, they claim, strengthens the US economy and creates jobs. If that were true, wouldnââ¬â¢t economic strength translate into dollar strength? If outsourcing creates US jobs, wouldnââ¬â¢t some of those jobs be in the export sector?
Average weekly pay in the US is [url="http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issuebriefs_ib196"] declining in real terms[/url]. Obviously, if outsourcing is creating jobs, they are less good jobs than the ones being outsourced. Trading better jobs for worse ones is the road to poverty, not the road to wealth.
The dismal US performance in job and pay growth is despite the most stimulative monetary and fiscal policy in my lifetime. If the lowest US interest rates in memory, tax cuts and the biggest budget deficits in US history cannot create jobs and boost pay, what can?
Charles McMillion of [url="http://www.mbginfosvcs.com/"] MBG Information Services[/url] notes that normally a 38-month old economic recovery would have raised hours paid by 11% to 14%. The 38-month old Bush recovery has raised [url="http://www.mbginfosvcs.com/cgi-local/CurrentInfoFrameset_BG.pl?url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm&file1=mfghrs.pdf&file2=usjobs.pdf&link1=BLS&link2=MBG"] hours paid[/url] by less than one percent!
The clowns in Washington DC imagine that they sit astride a Superpower. Absorbed in fantasies of invading countries and remaking the world in Americaââ¬â¢s image, little do our deluded leaders realize that America is in the hands of our Chinese and Japanese creditors. Should either of these Asian powerhouses decide to stop mopping up Americaââ¬â¢s red ink, the dollar would collapse to such an extent that it would lose its reserve currency status.
When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, America will cease to be a superpower.
[url="http://vdare.com/roberts/050207_dollar.htm"]http://vdare.com/roberts/050207_dollar.htm[/url]
2005-02-08 16:24 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Average weekly pay in the US is declining in real terms. Obviously, if outsourcing is creating jobs, they are less good jobs than the ones being outsourced. Trading better jobs for worse ones is the road to poverty, not the road to wealth.[/QUOTE]
Yes, but think of all the money the "rugged individualists" and "high achievers" behind all of this are making! Capitalism at its highest form!
Q,
Have you seen the article by Roberts that appeared in Pat's print edition about this?
2005-02-08 16:47 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Yes, but think of all the money the "rugged individualists" and "high achievers" behind all of this are making! Capitalism at its highest form!
Q,
Have you seen the article by Roberts that appeared in Pat's print edition about this?[/QUOTE] No, I haven't. Should I check it out? I think Paul Craig Roberts is one of the few economists who is willing to deal with reality, instead of confining himself to the padded cell of an economic ideology, such as the Austrians, the Keynesians, the Chicago School, et al.
2005-02-08 16:51 | User Profile
Yes, I think you would find it informative. If you don't subscribe to Pat's mag pm me and I'll send a copy I made to you via pm. Unfortunately, it isn't online.
2005-02-08 16:55 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Yes, I think you would find it informative. If you don't subscribe to Pat's mag pm me and I'll send a copy I made to you via pm. Unfortunately, it isn't online.[/QUOTE] Sert, Please do. I was a 'charter subscriber' to AmCon, but I let my subscription lapse. I should probably re-up.
2005-02-08 18:48 | User Profile
I find it interesting that Bush is now giving more money to anything that has to do with "security" like FBI, CIA, Home Land Security and so on but is taking away from Education, Labor and so on.
Also he is giving an extra $100.00 per year to college student that qualified under something called the Perr or Perl or something like that, however he is giving and extra $450.00 a year to those in the armed forces.
The government is also giving and EXTRA $150,000 (above thir regular salary) to Special Forcer member if they re-up for a six years term......but a college professor makes pennies a year to educate Americas students.
Bush is getting ready, by what he is doing, to enslave America and to bring back the draft.
Do I sound crazy or stupid? could be but I only react to what I see happening.
2005-02-09 00:34 | User Profile
Yes, you sound stupid. College profs are the laziest, most overpaid people in our society. Their income relative to value produced in our economy is sky high.
Did i mention that you DO sound stupid?
2005-02-09 03:01 | User Profile
[QUOTE=jay]Yes, you sound stupid. College profs are the laziest, most overpaid people in our society. Their income relative to value produced in our economy is sky high.
Did i mention that you DO sound stupid?[/QUOTE] Now now, no need for nastiness.
The value of college professors really varies enormously by specialty. Many in the sciences and engineering are doing work that is the very backbone of modern society, making concrete progress in everything from computer chips to cancer treatments. Those people don't get paid enough -- and I'm not saying that just because I do science for a living (although I'm an engineer, I don't work in academia). Cooperative research efforts involving industry and academia are particularly valuable.
On the other hand, I agree that many professors in the humanities do little more than attempt to brainwash students through heavily-politicized instruction. For example, in English departments across the country, courses in Shakespeare and the like are being crowded out by classes in "Gay and Lesbian Literature," "Gender Issues in Film," and similar BS. And then there are entire departments that are entirely frivolous ("Women's Studies," "American Culture," yadda yadda yadda).
2005-02-09 19:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Angler] The value of college professors really varies enormously by specialty. Many in the sciences and engineering are doing work that is the very backbone of modern society, making concrete progress in everything from computer chips to cancer treatments. I agree with this, but I would also add that not all contributions can be directly measured in terms of economic benefit or number of patents. The liberal arts, properly understood, are absolutely vital for any kind of humane civilization.
[quote=Angler]On the other hand, I agree that many professors in the humanities do little more than attempt to brainwash students through heavily-politicized instruction.[/QUOTE] This is, unfortunately, all too true. Liberal arts professors who are engaged in the great work of passing on our magnificent culture instead of destroying it are few and far between.
2005-02-09 20:17 | User Profile
Liberal Arts was (and I stress the past tense) once a valid and important discipline, as you pointed out, Q.
Of course, now, the abomination found in most departments bearing that name has no resemblance to anything useful, quite the opposite.
Linder, PNG around here as he is, had a good point in that there are lot of things in the world that have had the substance of them eaten out, while retaining the outer shell or label. That seems to hold for modern-day patriotism, conservatism and a host of others, including, of course, liberal arts.
2005-02-09 20:25 | User Profile
[QUOTE=MadScienceType] Linder, PNG around here as he is, had a good point in that there are lot of things in the world that have had the substance of them eaten out, while retaining the outer shell or label. That seems to hold for modern-day patiotism, conservatism and a host of others, including, of course, liberal arts.[/QUOTE] That is actually a very good point. I would add family, community, and Christianity to the list.
2005-02-10 00:38 | User Profile
[QUOTE=jay]Yes, you sound stupid. College profs are the laziest, most overpaid people in our society. Their income relative to value produced in our economy is sky high.
Did i mention that you DO sound stupid?[/QUOTE]
Well Jay all I did was to ask if I sounded stupid so thanks for saying that I am stupid, every little bit helps me to be a better person.
I would like to point out that I only went to the 10th grade (sometimes is looks like the 6th grade hahahahaha) but even with that little education I am better off than 99.8% of the American people so in reality I am sitting pretty.
The problem with teachers is that they have to teach what they are told to teach and not what you really need to know in order for us to become something in life, other than drones.
If you were to allowed teachers to be teachers instead of being only the voice for the power to be there would be a better educational system in the US......... Any way Jay, I know that what you said to me was only your frustration as to what is going on and not directed to my person so is ok.
" You can only hurt me if I let you hurt me"........Ponce