The US now has a higher unemployment rate than Russia
or Britain
or Germany
or Japan. When it comes to joblessness, the US is a world leader. But why? Economists cant figure it out. Harvard economist Lawrence Katz says its genuinely puzzling.
After admitting that he has no idea why there are so many people without jobs, columnist David Leonhardt goes on to tell us that fixing the job market will take years.
Hmmm
How does he know that? And how does he think he can fix something if he doesnt know how its broken?
No point in asking questions like that
The fixers never know what is going on
but theyre always ready with a solution.
In Leonhardts case, he proposes a few meddles that are bound to make the situation more complicated
and generally, worse.
So, since weve been giving unsolicited advice lately, we wont hold back today.
First, why are so many people unemployed? The answer is very simple. Because there is no profitable work for them to do as present labor rates. Thanks to previous meddles, the US economy focused itself on building houses and importing geegaws from overseas for people who couldnt afford to pay for them. This was a dead-end economic model. And the end came in 2007. Now, the latest figures show an uptick in manufacturing
which is clearly the direction to go. But it will take years before the US economy has made the adjustment to a new, healthier model
making and selling things at a profit.
In the meantime, unemployment levels will remain high.
But wait
theres more. For which the adjustment is taking place, US authorities are trying to block it. How? By taking resources from the new, unborn industries and using it to prop up the old, dying ones. Like Wall Street, for example. The financial industry grew like Topsy in the bubble years. It began to shrink in the crisis of 07-09, but the feds came in and pumped more than a trillion dollars into the financial sector, producing record profits for the big banks, but depriving the rest of the economy of much needed capital.
Not only that, the feds also take the pressure off labor to make adjustments. Food stamps, minimum wages, unemployment compensation, make-work, shovel-ready boondoggles all these things cause workers to think they can continue as before
that a recovery of the good ol days is just around the corner
and that theyll soon be earning as much as they were in 2007. Maybe more!
Want to really fix the unemployment problem? Listen up. Eliminate all bailouts, subsidies, giveaways and support systems both to business and to labor. Abolish all employment restrictions and employment paperwork. All free labor undocumented non-citizens to compete equally with native-born workers. Cut taxes to a flat 10% rate for everyone. Abolish every government agency that begins with a letter of the alphabet. Then abolish the rest of them.
We confidently guarantee that the nation would be back at full employment within 30 days.
But wait
youre not reading The Daily Reckoning to solve the nations problems. And were not delusional enough to think our advice is going to make any difference whatsoever anyway.
So, lets turn back to our normal, dreary work
trying to figure out what is going on in the world economy.
On this trip to Europe, we visited with two of our Family Office partners
The Family Office is the organization we use for investing, and preserving, our own family money.
Whats family money? Glad you asked. Its money that is owned by a family, rather than by one person alone
Its money that is expected to grow and endure
for generations, if youre lucky.
Not many people have family money. Its hard to get. And hard to hold onto. You can get money by accident. But you cant get family money by accident.
Of course, you need some money. But thats the easy part. You can have a family fortune of any size. Its how you look at it
and how you manage it that matters
not how much money you have.
But its the family that is hard
thats where most family wealth usually washes up. And its why you have to prepare the next generation
develop a family culture that lasts
and avoid conflicts that destroy both the family and its money.
Its hard work. And its getting harder. And becoming more necessary too. When the European and American economies were in full expansion, each generation could make its own way. Now that growth has slowed
it will be harder to start with nothing and build a fortune. The next generation may need help
Read more: How to Get the US Back to Full Employment in 30 Days http://dailyreckoning.com/how-to-get-the-us-back-to-full-employment-in-30-days/#ixzz1CFBcjfKx