Free Republic

Why are there so few workers for so many open jobs? It’s one of the biggest mysteries about the U.S. economy and helps explain why a big labor shortage is adding to high inflation. The share of people in the labor force fell again in October and remains more than a percentage point below its pre-pandemic peak. That might not sound like much, but it is. The smaller percentage of people who are part of the labor force suggests some 1 million to 2 million people who normally would be working are not. Since there’s not enough workers to go...

‘Tis the season to spend, spend, spend and it looks like consumers are doing just that. But, can this momentum spur a sustainable recovery and how long before people in this country are put back to work? (Snip) Nenner predicts a deflationary crisis that will cause the U.S. economy to “roll over” by mid-2011. He points to the Consumer Price Index, which is in “direct correlation” with Japan’s experience after their real estate bubble burst in 1989. “[The] economy is like a big boat that moves for 200 years and you cannot change it by putting some money in