our "productivity miracle" in the US is, in large part, happening because US companies are offshoring low productivity jobs (call centers, technical support, low skill manufacturing, etc) to lower cost centers. the unemployment rate doesn't measure alot of what is going on in the job market - people losing their once full time white collar corporate positions, who now work as consultants but in fact work only part year on contracts with no benefits. it also does not measure the shift to service jobs which tend to be lower paying.
people laugh at europe when we see 1% growth rates there. the US is lucky to hold onto 3%. sure, its better then europe, but not by much.
china is sucking all of the air out of the western economies. china is essentially an enterprise zone into which western corporations are pouring investment capital. deal with china, and you'll solve half the problem. then maybe we can get some real productivity inmprovements, the kind that come from investments in technology and automation, not those that come from finding workers who will work for slave wages at the point of a communist gun.
Well said.