"Why there are no jobs in America" - A Different Perspective

[Tars]

Reading this Robert Reich OpEd this A.M., I was reminded of an article quoted in the WaccoTalk forum, which seemingly blames the jobs crisis on the existence of taxes (the boilerplate GOP talking point). In my mind, Reich has his finger much nearer the pulse of our current jobs crisis:

Full NY Times Article

Excerpts:

"This crisis began decades ago when a new wave of technology — things like satellite communications, container ships, computers and eventually the Internet — made it cheaper for American employers to use low-wage labor abroad or labor-replacing software here at home than to continue paying the typical worker a middle-class wage. Even though the American economy kept growing, hourly wages flattened. The median male worker earns less today, adjusted for inflation, than he did 30 years ago."

"What’s more, the rich don’t necessarily invest their earnings and savings in the American economy; they send them anywhere around the globe where they’ll summon the highest returns — sometimes that’s here, but often it’s the Cayman Islands, China or elsewhere. The rich also put their money into assets most likely to attract other big investors (commodities, stocks, dot-coms or real estate), which can become wildly inflated as a result."