If you were shocked by Fridays job report, if you thought we were doing well and were taken aback by the bad news, you havent been paying attention. The fact is, the United States economy has been stuck in a rut for a year and a half. Yet a destructive passivity has overtaken our discourse. Turn on your TV and youll see some self-satisfied pundit declaring that nothing much can be done about the economys short-run problems (reminder: this short run is now in its fourth year), that we should focus on the long run instead.
This gets things exactly wrong. The truth is that creating jobs in a depressed economy is something government could and should be doing. Yes, there are huge political obstacles to action notably, the fact that the House is controlled by a party that benefits from the economys weakness. But political gridlock should not be conflated with economic reality.
Our failure to create jobs is a choice, not a necessity a choice rationalized by an ever-shifting set of excuses.
No, We Cant? Or Wont?">Click for Full Text!
No, We Cant? Or Wont?">Click for Full Text!