Good article on "creating jobs"

[WickedLou9]

Even though I don't always like the libertarian freemarket sort of approch, I do like to read about what they are saying sometimes. This guy is pretty good. I read his articles whenever he comes out with them, every month or so.
The article is pretty long but this gives you the gist of it.

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/arti...amJWXwyV67YWsA

I have a naïve request for the balance of the presidential campaign: I don't want to hear any candidate say one more thing about "creating jobs" or "bringing back jobs" or doing anything with the word "jobs" in it.
That might seem strange at a time when the economy is teetering on the brink of recession, and has eclipsed Iraq as the No. 1 issue on many voters' minds.
Here's my reason: Other than during the depths of the Great Depression, the government doesn't "create jobs." (World War II created most of the jobs then anyway, and I'm not sure that's the direction we should go.) Instead, a sensible government should help to create a skilled workforce and a decent business climate. If it does that, the jobs will take care of themselves.

[David Octavius]

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

a skilled workforce and a decent business climate

I didn't read the article yet but that quote is great! Create a skilled workforce so people can pull themselves up - there is nothing wrong with helping people that are down on their luck but you know that saying its better to teach a man how to fish then just giving him fish. This is giving people a chance to raise themselves up for good, not just for the day.

And a DECENT business environment is a breath of fresh air. Too much regulation is stifling, a function of bad legislators and some big business trying to artificially alter the market. But too little regulation is bad for citizens even if its good for our consumer part - a balance is a good thing.

[WickedLou9]

I like reading peoples comments at the bottom of the articles.. usually they are just toolboxes with insults but sometimes there are some intelligent responses.

I like this one.

While I appreciate the theoretical argument that unemployment only exists because the suppliers of labor are incapable of selling their existing skill set, I also understand that perfectly functioning, cost free, freely mobile, zero relocation costs, and zero negotiating power labor markets were not even a figment of Milton Friedman's imagined reality. To project a series of unrealistic assumptions about how perfectly markets work onto what is clearly not a perfectly competitive market may make for good Public Policy Theory, but makes poor Economic Policy. A couple of factual misrepresentations: full-time enrollment proportions of new high school grads has stalled, but the number of grads that take on full-time jobs to self-finance their way through college has increased. Perhaps if the Ivory Tower had not had tuition inflation of more than twice the CPI for much of the last 20 years, young people could afford to go directly onto college. The educational attainment levels of males in the U.S. is higher now than in 1972, but inflation adjusted incomes have fallen. The correlation between educational attainment and inflation adjusted incomes is not so high for much of the population. Outsourcing jobs is not going to end if there is a sudden miracle and millions of Americans become pediatric surgeons. Instead, I would hazard a guess that Economic Theory would assert that the over supply of that particular skill set would result in a dramatic reduction in the wages paid to such doctors. The same might happen if they all became real estate agents - oh, wait, real estate agents are suffering from reduced incomes following their over supply. The extraordinary scarcity of pediatric surgeons is what makes their re-employment so assured. While everyone might like to think themselves unique, it is unrealistic to assume that we can replicate this result with every member of the U.S. labor force. I believe this problem of assuming that what works for one person would necessarily be true for the entire economy is called 'fallacy of composition'. Perhaps Dr. Wheelen might ask one of the Econ. T.A.'s at U of C that teaches Principles of Economics about that. It's usually in the first chapter.

[kinggovernor]

the biggest government project I wish that became more mainstream was creating a larger piece for job skills training. Not everyone can graduate from college, but having a technically more skilled workforce would help individuals and society in general.

[WickedLou9]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

the biggest government project I wish that became more mainstream was creating a larger piece for job skills training. Not everyone can graduate from college, but having a technically more skilled workforce would help individuals and society in general.

I have always thought that too much emphasis is placed on reactive safety net type programs like food stamps, welfare, unemployment, etc and virtually none is placed on education and job training. You are starting to see a bit more of it now than we have in the past but it's still miniscule.

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

I have always thought that too much emphasis is placed on reactive safety net type programs like food stamps, welfare, unemployment, etc and virtually none is placed on education and job training. You are starting to see a bit more of it now than we have in the past but it's still miniscule.

exactly, if a person is on welfare they should be receiving job training. This job training will empower them to get a good job and they should be cut off if they fail out.

I also think that more high school students should receive technical training, I was so fortunate that my mom, a special ed teacher, talked me into it. I took two years of IT training and then out earned her the year after I graduated high school. It has made college so much easier, I can work half the hours my roommates do, and I actually have a full resume at 23. I plan on making donations to my technical school rather than my college after I graduate in May.

[RMNIXON]

One point where McCain did give some strait talk is when he said that some of these jobs are not coming back!

Michigan has gone way down in its GDP share and employment over several decades. More government spending and social programs have not helped. I heard that a majority of University Graduates from that State will probably leave for somewhere else! What they do need are the kinds of skills and training that will draw more business to the State, not drive them out with high taxes and job protection.