07.11.11
The structural unemployment excuse
Rationalization of the strategy to do nothing, explained by Krugman:
Excuse No. 3: It’s the workers’ fault.
Unemployment soared during the financial crisis and its aftermath. So it seems bizarre to argue that the real problem lies with the workers — that the millions of Americans who were working four years ago but aren’t working now somehow lack the skills the economy needs.
Yet that’s what you hear from many pundits these days: high unemployment is “structural,??? they say, and requires long-term solutions (which means, in practice, doing nothing).
Well, if there really was a mismatch between the workers we have and the workers we need, workers who do have the right skills, and are therefore able to find jobs, should be getting big wage increases. They aren’t. In fact, average wages actually fell last month.
The only thing missing is the obsession with re-training camp community college. Because, like in China — dude, they got all those workers going to community college to learn how to make the stuff we used to make and still need but don’t make but buy at Wal-Mart and Target and everywhere else you can shop.
My US-branded made-in-China socks, bought new three weeks ago, sprouted holes on the third wash. And those jobs went over there because of the fault of American workers, yep.