Free Republic

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The unemployment rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to 5.6% in January, the lowest rate since the 5.4% recorded in October 2001. President George W. Bush was quick to claim that this was a sign that the economy was back on a path of economic growth, making it the topic of his February 7 radio address. But he apparently was not briefed on the composition of the new employment figures, because he went on to say, “There's more evidence of a strengthening economy. Manufacturers report new orders.” But they...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Gregory Mankiw, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, triggered a political firestorm when he told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress (JEC) on February 10 that outsourcing jobs is “just a new way of doing international trade.” Yet, he was correct in his assessment. It was his total lack of concern about the consequences that provoked even the Republican Speaker of the U.S. House, Dennis Hastert of Illinois, to respond, “I understand that Mr. Mankiw is a brilliant economic theorist, but his theory fails a basic test of real economics.”...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.In its never-ending quest fearlessly to seek the truth (and afflict further the afflicted), The Washington Post recently brought us all much closer to identifying the central question facing our economy today. Rather than focusing on how much blame for the jobless recovery should be assigned to offshoring and other structural changes wrought by globalization, Post editorial writers declared: "The bigger question is whether jobless recoveries are a bad thing." The Post argued current joblessness reflects productivity gains that will eventually boost wages and employment, but allowed that offshoring in particular may...