[lbo-talk] Unemployment is a sign of strength...

[James Leveque]

Anybody ever ask one of these guys what good is being competitiveness if it
doesn't increase jobs? I mean, I know what I think it's for (profits), but
I'm just curious what they tell the hoi polloi when this contradiction gets
pointed out to them.

James

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 11:22 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:


> In case you were wondering:
>
> [snip]
>
>
> The American model of high productivity and low pay has friends in high
> places. Former Obama adviser and General Motors (GM) car czar Steven Rattner
> argues that America’s unemployment crisis is a sign of strength:
>
>    Perversely, the nagging high jobless rate reflects two of the most
> promising attributes of the American economy: its flexibility and its
> productivity. Eliminating jobs – with all the wrenching human costs – raises
> productivity and, thereby, competitiveness.
>
>    Unusually, US productivity grew right through the recession; normally,
> companies can’t reduce costs fast enough to keep productivity from falling.
>
>    That kind of efficiency is perhaps our most precious economic asset.
> However tempting it may be, we need to resist tinkering with the labor
> market. Policy proposals aimed too directly at raising employment may well
> collaterally end up dragging on productivity.
>
>
>    [snip]
>
>
>
> http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/05/mark-provost-why-the-rich-love-unemployment.html
>
>
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