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Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
Get the women and children off the streets -- the recovery is coming!
May 3, 2004 | I think I understand now. There's nothing wrong with the economy, nothing at all. It's up, it's running -- and it's headed right toward us. Watch out.
Commerce Secretary Don Evans has been calling the economy one of the strongest he's seen in his lifetime. That would make him the first three-year-old in government.
Cheney-Rove presidential campaign chair Marc Racicot, who in 2002 warned Senate Democrats "not to stand in the way of economic recovery and job creation" by voting against tax cuts, suggests that the Republican spin has sprouted actual wheels and an engine. This week Racicot asserted that a Kerry presidency would "bring the economic recovery to a screeching halt." Never mind that as governor of Montana, Racicot paved the way for record deficits and bankrupt schools while fueling multimillion-dollar projects that came equipped with sidecars for political donors.
The economy, it seems, is roadworthy. There's just one small problem. Many of us are roadkill.
Well, not all. Most of us get to first gas it up, pumping our energy, our aspirations, our health, and even our children into the engine. And then we're sent off to play in the traffic. Good luck. Run fast.
Given such choices, some defensive tips for crossing the economic divide might be order.
Try to be a powerful special interest.
Worried about outsourcing? Your only protection is to become a powerful lobby. Last week Commerce Undersecretary Grant Aldonas warned Congress that a bipartisan bill to allow Americans to import cheaper prescription drugs would cause serious job losses. "There will be disinvestment in the United States, a loss of employment opportunities and frankly a loss of an industry that is a huge multiplier" of benefits to the U.S. economy, Aldonas said.
Remember -- shipping jobs overseas is good for the economy when it means higher profit margins on flimsy furniture at a cost of only hundreds of lost jobs per day. But it's bad when it means affordable heart meds for your grandmother, because that would threaten the $139 billion in extra profits that the pharmaceutical industry stands to make under the new Medicare law.
Be an investor, not an earner.
For investors, stagnant wages and higher productivity mean lower operating costs, bigger returns and higher stock market rates.
For earners, stagnant wages and higher productivity mean lower budgeting funds, bigger debt and higher bankruptcy rates.
Don't be a leader or an assistant.
And don't dispense medicines or feed anybody. New regulations deny overtime pay to pharmacists, chefs, administrative assistants and anyone who might be classified as a team leader. (Your chances of a promotion just got better.) Only people earning less than $23,700 are guaranteed additional pay for coming in early, staying late, and working weekends. Wow, keep saving that $0-$10 more per hour and some day your family can realize the great American dream of living somewhat above the poverty line.
