tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8287908908466755122.post132604842532736286..comments2023-12-08T07:02:03.603-08:00Comments on Saving the World: Deficit and Jobs – It Could Get WorseDr. PaulJohnWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10549396970301158882noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8287908908466755122.post-79742228969401384742011-01-01T05:13:40.423-08:002011-01-01T05:13:40.423-08:00There was a longer version of this, sent to some e...There was a longer version of this, sent to some economist friends, where I did briefly raise the question: "Do we really WANT less than 10% unemployment, and, if not, how should we change policy accordingly?" That would indeed take a radical paradigm shift, and maybe we should be preparing for the possibility better.<br /> But for now, earth is still stuck in the economics and politics of scarcity. We need more sustainable growth but we need growth.<br />If we could stabilize population within a reasonable factor of what we have now, there is no physical economic reason why humans all across earth could not have a living standard as high as what the average American has now.<br />But terror, greed and psychopathology could well lead to violence, mismanagement of economies and misuse of technology enough to make the species extinct. More and more I find myself wondering where the light really is for us humans at the end of all those dark tunnels.Dr. PaulJohnWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549396970301158882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8287908908466755122.post-88579259292132219942010-12-30T11:57:18.530-08:002010-12-30T11:57:18.530-08:00One thing the economists don't like to look at...One thing the economists don't like to look at is that we are really in a post full-employment economy. <br /><br />Pushing on increasing employment alone will not turn things around, because structurally, everything conspires against increases in employment. We have increased computerization of processes, robotization, we "rationalize" away jobs and we export the rest to countries that have a population with lower wage expectations. This is not going to change any time soon, and unfortunately, economists don't have an answer to the problem. <br /><br />What the lack of employment does is it throws a spanner in the works at the most basic level. Consumption crashes and with it the need to manufacture, and the need to hire. No consumption, no jobs. No jobs, no consumption. Catch 22.<br /><br />The solution might look like voodoo, especially for the US. Instead of paying the banks, or those who already make more money, institute a guaranteed basic income for everyone, irrespective of whether they work or not. The money certainly is there. We are talking about trillions of $$$ being spent like they were going out of style. Change only one thing: Give the money to those who will SPEND it, because they need to.<br /><br />There is really no way around it. The current economic paradigm will not get the US out of the doldrums. Time for creative thinking.Sepphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02016066221309312509noreply@blogger.com