Working Life

   You want contrast? I’ve got a doozy for you this morning. Check out these two contrasting developments. First, no surprise, the economy isn’t growing…duh: The economy grew less than expected from April to June, the government said on Thursday, and it shrank in the final months of 2007, dimming the outlook for a quick […]

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Intuitively, a lot of people understand that war and a fragile economy are related. But, nothing brought home the connection better than the death of Andrew Seabrooks. His life, and death, speak more about what we face than any politician’s rhetoric.   You see, Andrew died because he had no option but to go to […]

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    In the past few days, there has been mounting discussion in the political class about some sort of "stimulus package" that should be conjured up in Congress to try to bolster the economy. Today, for example, The Wall Street Journal has this: Amid concern about the economy, House and Senate Democrats are preparing legislation […]

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    In the past few days, there has been mounting discussion in the political class about some sort of "stimulus package" that should be conjured up in Congress to try to bolster the economy. Today, for example, The Wall Street Journal has this: Amid concern about the economy, House and Senate Democrats are preparing legislation […]

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Catching up to this so you’all may know about this…busy weekend…From The Wall Street Journal yesterday: Democrats Move Ahead On Minimum-Wage Rise By DAVID ROGERSApril 21, 2007; Page A3 WASHINGTON — House and Senate Democrats reached agreement on a $4.8 billion package of business tax breaks that the party hopes will clear the way for […]

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A few days, I got a report from the good folks at the Center for Economic and Policy Research on a topic that hasn’t gotten the attention it should–the break between productivity and wages. CEPR’s report focuses on looking at productivity and how that relates to wage growth and income inequality. Some of the conclusions: […]

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Louis Uchitelle has a strong and heart-breaking story about the choices auto workers are having to make as tens of thousands of them leave the industry–the largest exodus of workers from one American industry in decades, according to the story. What caught my eye, within the wrenching stories, was this paragraph: Across America, more than […]

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This morning, The Wall Street Journal has a story about the slowing of productivity. But it misses the main point. First, here’s the main thesis: Productivity Lull Might Signal Growth Is Easing Ripples Could Confuse Interest-Rate Outlook; Fed Remains Optimistic By GREG IPMarch 31, 2007; Page A1 The U.S. productivity boom that began in the […]

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If you are one of the 48 million Americans without health care, if your wages are barely rising or are stuck, if your debt level is crushing because you can’t keep up with the basic bills that pay for the rock bottom necessities of life, if you have no real retirement…hey, don’t worry because the […]

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Here are two related issues: the trade deficit and the announcement today that Chrysler was cutting 13,000 jobs. First, the record trade deficits (from The New York Times): WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 — The United States ran a record trade deficit in 2006 for the fifth consecutive year, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday in an announcement […]

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