On Dec 6, 2009, at 3:30 PM, brad bauerly wrote:
> I guess I would like to know if the recover that does usually come
> after
> recent downturns is the result of the improvement in productivity that
> occurs? That is to say, is the necessary destruction or devaluing of
> capital which is achieved during economic crises not only of fixed
> capital
> but also of variable capital?
The U.S. productivity acceleration of the late 1990s was accompanied by a rise in fixed investment; the accelerations of the early 2000s and recently have not. The last two look largely to be the result of squeezing workers harder - making them work more for less pay (another contrast with the late 1990s, which saw a broad rise in real wages). This sort of running-on-fumes strategy doesn't feel like it should be sustainable, but the longevity of U.S. capital's strategies has long been in doubt, yet the damn thing keeps chugging on.
Doug