Welcome to a Has-Been Country

[sintax]

Welcome to a Has-Been Country

The US Labor Force: One Foot in the Third World

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

In May the Bush economy eked out a paltry 73,000 private sector jobs: 20,000 jobs in construction (primarily for Mexican immigrants), 21,000 jobs in wholesale and retail trade, and 32,500 jobs in health care and social assistance. Local government added 5,000 for a grand total of 78,000.

Not a single one of these jobs produces an exportable good or service. With Americans increasingly divorced from the production of the goods and services that they consume, Americans have no way to pay for their consumption except by handing over to foreigners more of their accumulated stock of wealth. The country continues to eat its seed corn.

Only 10 million Americans are classified as "production workers" in the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll tables. Think about that.

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts06032005.html

[Bluebear]

1. Please post this in GD

Really a great read, sintax

[bahrbearian]

2. Should the Left Cheer the Dollar's Drop?

[Cassandra]

3. Scroll down the page.

[bahrbearian]

4. With the Dollar dropping it is a race to the Bottom.

"Considering the vast excess supplies of labor in India and China, Asian wages are unlikely to rapidly approach existing US levels. Therefore, the substitution of Asian for US labor in tradable goods and services is likely to continue."

[Skittles]

6. never mind, I found it

thanks

[OneBlueSky]

5. I like the clarity of this article . . .

a good explanation of the economics of what's happening for non-economists . . . recommended . . .

[Skittles]

7. DITTO

so many articles on this subject are seemingly written way over our heads - this one is very good.