It’s a Supply Side Problem

Another 260K jobs were lost last month.

Conservatives contend the problem is that American business is not hiring, because it anticipates higher taxes, healthcare costs, etc. from Big Government Democrats.

That argument is complete bullshit and I essentially agree with economist Mark Zandy that the problem is a supply side one.  In short, consumer demand for useless goods and catastrophic levels of personal debt has and continues to collapse.

The problem, as I’ve said before, is that the U.S. economy no longer produces enough of what human beings on this planet need (or even want): Gas guzzlers?  Houses?  Casinos?  Loans?  Credit Default Swaps?  WTF?

No.  No.  No.  No.  No.  No.  People need local, renewable, distributed energy, healthy food, physical and social wellness and net neutral access to unbiased information (a k a knowledge).  Unfortunately we just don’t make enough of that here to employ everyone (especially since the Baby Boom refuses to retire) and sustain a $14T economy – that was melting the ice caps and setting the sky on fire anyway.

The problem is that, since Reagan, the U.S. economy has run on the fumes of peak oil, idiot consumerism and unbounded debt.

Move on!  Show’s over!

Chicago couldn’t even bag the 2016 Olympics.  But then no country deserves IOC rebuke more than one that gave the world Wall Street crony capitalisms and for-profit medicine where sickness disqualifies care.