{"id":277,"date":"2010-01-31T20:26:50","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T03:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=277"},"modified":"2010-01-31T20:30:31","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T03:30:31","slug":"where-are-all-the-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=277","title":{"rendered":"Where are all the jobs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t

I’ve heard this before<\/a>; I guess its just coming up more now as the jobs situation gets worse.<\/p>\n\t

The private sector had 107 million jobs in 1999, and that’s about the number it has currently….a decade later<\/strong>.\u00a0 There was an artificial bump before Y2K as companies hired a bunch of folks and bought a bunch of new computer equipment in anticipation that there would be some technical apocalypse, but still…10 years on and there is no net <\/em>job creation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t

That’s tough for the common man to swallow; after all GDP has increase from 9 trillion in 1999 to about 14 trillion today<\/a>.\u00a0 Are you telling me there those extra 5 trillion dollars created no net jobs<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\t

Also, population has continued to increase from 279 million in 1999, to 304 million today<\/a>.\u00a0 So there are more people chasing the same number of jobs, while national income<\/a> (GDP) went from 9 to 14 trillion dollars.<\/p>\n\t

Where did the 5 trillion dollars go?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Here are two facts you can take with you (unfortunately not to the bank):<\/p>\n\t

1) Trickled-down economics is shite<\/strong>:\u00a0 It doesn’t trickle down.\u00a0 A rising tide doesn’t lift all boats; it drowns those without boats.\u00a0 Income inequality is the worst its been since WWII<\/a>; Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II are responsible for most of that.\u00a0 If you think income inequality doesn’t matter, then ok.\u00a0 But it causes crime <\/a>and ill-health<\/a>.\u00a0 That will eventually effect you; I don’t care how hard you try to sequester yourself away from the poor (which are increasingly the middle class).<\/p>\n\t

2) What’s good for Wall Street is not good for Main Street.<\/strong> And its corollary:\u00a0 What’s good for US companies is not good for the US. <\/strong> In the past, this was true.\u00a0 Where did the 5 trillion dollars go? <\/strong> It went to China and India via US companies.\u00a0 In fact, I wouldn’t even call them US companies anymore.\u00a0 They are global; they are not beholden to any government.\u00a0 If a government upsets them they could always pack up and ship operations (i.e. jobs) elsewhere and still sell their goods\/services in the country.<\/p>\n\t

Maybe that isn’t where all (or even the majority) of the 5 trillion dollars<\/strong> went; however, a large number of the missing jobs<\/em> are not missing…..they are simply relocated<\/strong>.\u00a0 My company, for instance, has not closed up shop in the US.\u00a0 We still have operations here; its just that we are adding jobs 4 to 1 overseas.\u00a0 They used to all be here.\u00a0 So growth is still good…just not growth in the US; however, since it is a US company their corporate income\/consumption still counts towards GDP.<\/p>\n\t

I’m not happy about this; however, I sometimes feel like it is a snowball gathering steam down the mountain.\u00a0 I guess the only practical advice I have to give about the future of the US economy (and thus YOUR livelihood) is:\u00a0 Be conservative.\u00a0 We will be the first generation to have a lower standard of living than our parents; accept it.\u00a0 Our children will increasingly compete for jobs against people continents away who need to make less than we do to survive.\u00a0 Its hard to win in that equation.<\/p>\n\t

I have one suggestion that is practical and will help immediately:\u00a0 Stop the wars<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t

I lived in the Middle East; they hate foreign occupation.\u00a0 They hate it.\u00a0 I mean HATE.\u00a0 Its their hang-up.\u00a0 The more we intervene, the most terrorists we create.\u00a0 For those who say, “We aren’t occupying; we’re liberating\/helping”….I will say it is simply a matter of perspective, and theirs <\/strong>is the only one that matters.<\/p>\n\t

Stop the wars, and spend the money at home.\u00a0 We are losing to a phantom enemy that we create more of the harder we try to root them out.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve heard this before; I guess its just coming up more now as the jobs situation gets worse. The private sector had 107 million jobs in 1999, and that’s about the number it has currently….a decade later.\u00a0 There was an artificial bump before Y2K as companies hired a bunch of folks and bought a bunch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3IMYj-4t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=113","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":0},"title":"Finance: Is it useful?","author":"kellio","date":"November 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Not all \"stuff\" is created equal....or is even useful at all. 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