Comments on: The Truth About Jobs That No One Wants To Tell You

By: John D. Froelich

John D. Froelich — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:39:48 +0000

Pam (above) seems not to understand that Manufacturing within the US grew 270% from 1980 to 2007. This is a common error, and happens mostly because computerization and robotics have eliminated two thirds of the jobs even with a great amount of growth. It is exactly parallel to the way that, before the Civil War, Ninety percent of all workers were on farms.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:26:08 +0000

This public employee has it backwards. Bring our troops home. LOWER government debt, lower taxes. and get rid of government regulation and corporatism which discourages competition. That would give investors something to invest in, which creates jobs, which encourages more investing, which creates more jobs. This country has done well because of the absence of government up until now. We used to make stuff in this country. Now we just print money and fight over it. The problem isn’t that there are too many rich people. The problem is that there isn’t enough opportunity to create new rich people and encourage people to innovate and create. We need to stop feeding on ourselves like this author would have you do.

By: Robert B Reeeeeeeich

Robert B Reeeeeeeich — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:34:02 +0000

Problem with a new WPA, is that construction today is capital not labor intensive. Should we purposely reduce productivity and park machinery and have labor substitute for it? Hardly. This is why New Deal jobs programs wont work.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:12:10 +0000

The problem with the premise that we will recover like we did after WWII is that we were the only country that had its industrial base intact after the war. Everyone else’s was wiped out. In fact we helped rebuild the rest of the world’s industrial base. This time around that is not the case. What jobs are going to be available? Mr. Reich is wrong I fear, but what I fear most is the political leaders in Washington that are likely to buy this bad idea.

By: Pam

Pam — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:19:48 +0000

Mr. Reich is right. But the bigger question is what the American economy will/should look like in 5 years. Is the idea that we return to buying Chinese stuff and selling each other lattes and dicey financial instruments? Or could we go back to the 1950s and actually make stuff?

By: Mike S

Mike S — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:04:20 +0000

Wow, that’s one way to look at it I suppose, but then again, opinions are like ……… and everybody has one. The problem with the idea Robert brings up here is that he seems to think that we live in some sort of society that looks back at post defecit spending and then goes back and reduces the tax liabilities to its citizens. Never does this ever happen, its the way America and Americans behave. You grow into your income…. Savings levels being lower than 0% for Americans and shipping all of our labor overseas would make Richard’s dad pretty sick. Its dispicable what we have become and how little we care about things like American jobs and companies and the likes of Mr and Mrs. Jones working at the GM plant for the last 30 years. One thing your dad did have right was that he gave a crap about our nations debt load and the well being of future generations of Americans. I’m sure he also did things like buy American, and work for an American company and was proud that he could support his entire family on one income because our dollar was cared for by its citizens, and politicians didn’t go unchecked in their rabid abuse of power, and things like Glass Steagal Act existed so that we didn’t have too much power granted to either Wall St. or the Banking cartels. Yeah, he was a real fool. Thank GOD your generation will soon be passing away in massive numbers and we can pick up the hospital bills and figure out the Social Security mess you and your other idiot pundits have put us into, but don’t worry, live your life like you always have, sweep it under the rug and my generation will pick up the mess. You’re an idiot and your father was right, and America needs a whole lot more people like him again. Only when we start giving a crap about ourselves and our country and treating each other like human beings will we ever have a chance to escape this wretched mess. And last but not least, he was of the last generation that actually realized his Government worked for him and not the other way around. Your biggest fear is that this will surely amount to “ugly politics”…………You’re an absolute fool.

By: Ken Welch

Ken Welch — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:46:33 +0000

the reality is the WPA and similar programs did little to get the economy out of the depression…it was only the government spending connected to the buildup prior to WWII — unemployment didn’t go below 14% until 1941

By: William P

William P — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:18:22 +0000

“Let me say this as clearly and forcefully as I can: The federal government should be spending even more than it already is on roads and bridges and schools and parks and everything else we need. It should make up for cutbacks at the state level, and then some. This is the only way to put Americans back to work. We did it during the Depression. It was called the WPA.”

Yes, the last time we tried these policies of deficit spending and tremendous debt we ended up with a Great Depression. Cheer it on RR! Cheer it on!

America desperately needs new pundits.

By: HSR0601

HSR0601 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:32:15 +0000

I think the “early adoption” of 21st energy and health care reform is capable of putting the job market on a solid ground. As a major driver, IT industry stalled and stranded in a game industry for the lack of 21st energy policy over the stretch of two wars needs to evolve into the all but indefinite energy, medical, and academic industry where the investors are eagerly waiting for policy-makers to act now, which I guess is why the far-reaching and long overdue health care and 21st energy bill have come into focus.