America: No Longer #1

[Procrustes Stretched]

The day is comig. NYT Editorial on the conference Ed Rendell and others held on the future of American economic power.

The conference was sparked by a sense of dismay over what has happened to the U.S. economy over the past several years and a feeling that constructive ideas about solutions were being smothered by an obsessive focus on the short-term in this society, and by the chronic dysfunction and hyperpartisanship in much of the government.

I was struck by the absence of grousing and finger-pointing at the conference and the emphasis on trying to develop new ways to establish an economy that is not based on financial flimflammery, that enhances America's competitive position in the world,

what's up with that, blaming the hyper partisanship?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

What?

The day is comig. NYT Editorial on the conference Ed Rendell and others attended on the future of American economic power.

By BOB HERBERT

Published: February 06, 2010
Palo Alto, Calif.

We've now lost 8.4 million jobs in this recession, and a vast majority of them are gone for good. The politicians are clambering aboard the jobs bandwagon, belatedly, but very few are telling the truth about the structural employment problems in the U.S. and the extremely heavy lift that is necessary to halt our declining living standards and get us back to an economy that is self-sustaining.

We don't hear a lot that is serious about the sorry state of the nation's infrastructure or the trade policies that crippled so many American industries or our inability (or unwillingness) to compete effectively with China when it comes to the new world of energy for the 21st century or our abject failure to provide a quality public education for the next generation of American workers, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs.

Speaking at a conference here on Wednesday, Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania said

The conference was sparked by a sense of dismay over what has happened to the U.S. economy over the past several years and a feeling that constructive ideas about solutions were being smothered by an obsessive focus on the short-term in this society, and by the chronic dysfunction and hyperpartisanship in much of the government.

I was struck by the absence of grousing and finger-pointing at the conference and the emphasis on trying to develop new ways to establish an economy that is not based on financial flimflammery, that enhances America's competitive position in the world,

what's up with that, blaming the hyper partisanship?

 

[Neubarth]

We've now lost 8.4 million jobs in this recession, and a vast majority of them are gone for good.

I estimate it is even more than that. The ugly reality is that the United States needs to become protectionist about our jobs. If we have to become isolationist, so be it. I do not favor putting Chinese to work while Americans who are more productive workers have to stay home and live off of welfare and food stamps.

Join with Canada and Mexico and the little countries of Central America to form the United States of North America and restrict trade to just our member states.

 

[Truthmatters]

We have to think long term and quit allowing the corps to dictate to the idiotry of this country how to distroy us from within.

The international corporations dont care about the US. They benifit from all workers of the world being at their mercy. They are working to level the field world wide for workers.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Car Industry exploded because Unions forced them from being competitive with ignorant amounts paid to people for hardly any work. Housing market collapsed because the Liberals forced banks to make bad loans to people that could not afford to pay for their houses. And then for 8 years blocked any attempt to regulate the process.

Barney Frank was INSISTING just a month or so before the crash that not only would more regulation HURT the Housing Industry, just talking about it was bad. He INSISTED the market was in fine shape.

Liberals and Big Unions are the reason this Country has little left in manufacturing jobs and is losing more. If Obama wants to WASTE our money then rebuild the Ship Building Industry and rebuild the steel Industry. AT least that money would go to create jobs, what he is doing is Unconstitutional at least that would see some sort of return on the money. Rebuild the textile Manufacturing Industry.

 

[william the wie]

Car Industry exploded because Unions forced them from being competitive with ignorant amounts paid to people for hardly any work. Housing market collapsed because the Liberals forced banks to make bad loans to people that could not afford to pay for their houses. And then for 8 years blocked any attempt to regulate the process.

Barney Frank was INSISTING just a month or so before the crash that not only would more regulation HURT the Housing Industry, just talking about it was bad. He INSISTED the market was in fine shape.

Liberals and Big Unions are the reason this Country has little left in manufacturing jobs and is losing more. If Obama wants to WASTE our money then rebuild the Ship Building Industry and rebuild the steel Industry. AT least that money would go to create jobs, what he is doing is Unconstitutional at least that would see some sort of return on the money. Rebuild the textile Manufacturing Industry.

While I agree with your points I think Neubarth came closer to right.

A larger NAFTA with a government responsible to the voters is needed.

Care should be taken to avoid anything that fits the WTO definition of protectionism. A VAT that rebates NAFTA produced groceries and restricts the use of food stamps to such might pass muster without setting off a trade war.

A uniform corporate code for NAFTA that leaves open the possibility of San Jose, Costa Rica becoming the next motor city is a better fix than tinkering with union law.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg, if that much, economic policy does not address:

The connection between the money economy and real economy is not understood.

The connection between wealth and income both monetary and real is not understood.

Demographics the connection between human biology and the economy has no place in economic policy.

Not knowing that much that we don't know makes any economic policy kind of questionable much less the provably and proven wrong Fisher/Keynes/monetarist mix and match idiocy coming out of DC. I think not doing harm is the first priority.