Dollar Wise and Pound Foolish?

I am not an economist. I am simply a Job Acquisition Specialist who is (who has been) looking for a job, following layoffs at my previous employer. And based on the tepid results of my job search and that of many, many other friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who are in the same boat, I believe that many of the nation’s unemployed will not be able to be employed again. There is a shortage of jobs as companies and governments have eliminated jobs and scaled back hiring.

I have also been concerned with some of the political rhetoric in this country that seems to be based on self-centered, emotional preservation of personal principle (and one’s own job) rather than on sound, educated research and considered analysis.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel-prize winning economist, wrote recently in the New York Times:

"So I don’t think this is really about Greece, or indeed about any realistic appreciation of the tradeoffs between deficits and jobs. It is, instead, the victory of an orthodoxy that has little to do with rational analysis, whose main tenet is that imposing suffering on other people is how you show leadership in tough times.

And who will pay the price for this triumph of orthodoxy? The answer is, tens of millions of unemployed workers, many of whom will go jobless for years, and some of whom will never work again."

Mr. Krugman also wrote that cutting back on unemployment benefits for millions of Americans will only worsen the economy as spending, which stimulates manufacturing, business, and growth, will be cut back even further. No spending = less money being spent at groceries, local businesses, and Target = further cutbacks on hiring = more people being unemployed = fewer charitable donations = more people and organizations in need. So extending unemployment benefits for the reported 15 million unemployed Americans (and most economists believe the number is even higher since so many people have simply dropped out of the job market after a long period of being unemployed OR they are under-employed, having taken part time jobs while waiting for the economy to improve) may seem counter-intuitive, but history indicates that is not the case.

From Mr. Krugman’s July 4 op-ed in the New York Times:

"One main reason there aren’t enough jobs right now is weak consumer demand. Helping the unemployed, by putting money in the pockets of people who badly need it, helps support consumer spending. That’s why the Congressional Budget Office rates aid to the unemployed as a highly cost-effective form of economic stimulus. And unlike, say, large infrastructure projects, aid to the unemployed creates jobs quickly — while allowing that aid to lapse, which is what is happening right now, is a recipe for even weaker job growth, not in the distant future but over the next few months."

I fear that America has sunk to such a partisan, tit-for-tat mentality that there is little hope of coming up with a recovery plan that is in the best interest of the country as a whole. Anyone else have more confidence than I do?

It’s hard to imagine that the economy could worsen, but it seems a very real possibility. And what is the first thing people do when there is fear of a depression: cut spending even more (even the employed will cut spending and find ways to save money). And, of course, this then leads to cuts in manufacturing, sales, and jobs.

Is it too late to go to medical school? I think there is going to be a need for physicians in this country in the next few years.

A jobless recovery?

According to a U.S. Department of Labor report released on Friday, the number of job seekers competing for each job opening has reached its highest point since the recession began. There are 6.3 unemployed workers competing, on average, for each job opening. When the recession "officially" began in December 2007, there were 1.7 unemployed workers for each job opening.

Now, some economists predict a "jobless recovery," according to an article in Saturday's Washington Post. (Business Digest)

Huh? So what constitutes a recovery? A drastic cut in the number of jobs lost each month? A more favorable Gross Domestic Product? A more favorable trade balance with foreign countries? Increased retail spending?  But what happens to the jobs -- and the people seeking jobs -- in a "jobless recovery?" 

Does the lower economic group in this country grow in number, creating an even larger group with limited resources to pay for housing, health care, taxes, insurance, food....not to mention all the "nice to have" things like travel, entertainment, and charitable giving?

And what happens to the people?  After all,to put a face on unemployment and job seekers is the real story. They are people like me... and the many people I know who have recently lost their jobs and are worried about the future.


Companies are reluctant to hire; that's been well-documented. But there are jobs out there as a result of re-organizations, contracts that have been awarded, attrition, and some new positions being created. In my view, it seems that people with experience are finding it tougher and tougher in this economy. I believe hiring managers have a preconceived, biased view of more experienced professionals: they are set in their ways; they may not know new technologies and the online world; they expect too much salary; they are not as adaptable to change as younger people; they don't have the energy; I need new ideas, not old ways of thinking; this is a young person's business. We must assure hiring managers that this is NOT the case -- and it can be challenging to do in a resume and cover letter.


I worry. I worry about the future of this country as well as my own future. A "jobless recovery" has other implications somewhere...and I just wonder what those are and how it will affect me.