A "Permanent Restructuring" of the US economy

[LongTomH]

This article from the New York Times is getting a lot of coverage around the web, especially the quote from John E. Silvia. Possibly someone has posted or referred to it already; but, it's worth another look: Job Losses Hint at Vast Remaking of Economy.

As government data revealed that 651,000 more jobs disappeared in February, a sense took hold that growing joblessness may reflect a wrenching restructuring of the American economy.

The unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent, from 7.6 percent in January, its highest level in a quarter-century. In key industries — manufacturing, financial services and retail — layoffs have accelerated so quickly in recent months as to suggest that many companies are abandoning whole areas of business.

“These jobs aren’t coming back,” said John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C. “A lot of production either isn’t going to happen at all, or it’s going to happen somewhere other than the United States. There are going to be fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations. Firms are making strategic decisions that they don’t want to be in their businesses.”

This is really scary stuff. I don't know if anyone else has noticed; but, "Jobless Recoveries" have been the rule since the recession of the early '90s. It was a search on that phrase that led me to articles referencing the phrase: "Permanent Restructuring." Something's going on here and it's deeper than just this recent recession / depression / total fucking economic collapse. We seem to be seeing a long-term trend here. John Nesbitt might call it a "Megatrend," that is, if he weren't a whore for the economic royalists.

[bkkyosemite]

1. I believe that many of these companies have let go of employees only for one reason to

employ those overseas for a lot less. They just want you to believe it's the economy. IBM made big profits last quarter and is laying off in the US to hire in China, India and elsewhere. We are being screwed over while they use the excuse that it's the economy. Economy alright...their economy is booming overseas.

[GoesTo11]

2. Sounds great!

Fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations. Fine. We make less crap, we spend more on social goods. More parks, better schools and healthcare. Only rub is: we have to tax the rich more to do it, since we are going to be in a structure where they have access to production and its rewards.

[glitch]

5. I like it. Tax the rich and 3 day work weeks for the rest of us.

Far less jobs, we'll share. They wanted all the money, decided outsourcing was worth their profits, they can support us with their loot. It was ours anyway, fair is fair. TAX IT BACK!

[Double T]

3. The calculated destruction of america has been ongoing since January 1981.

BOTH democtrats and rethugs are culpable for the end of america as we used to know it. revolution may be the only hope for america's economic future; I don't believe americans have the stomach for it! As a result it is over.........

[Speck Tater]

4. BAD link. Here's one that works:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/business/economy/07jobs.html

[LongTomH]

7. Thanks - I've edited to correct URL

nfm

[patrice]

6. We were supposed to be compensated for these changes with new jobs with Wars 'R' U.S.

Turned out that lying and outing a WMD intelligence professional (and thus increasing grave danger to the U.S.) don't exactly convince Americans to be wage slaves supporting Xe et al and ChurchCo can't sell it to us anymore, because of their own scandals and people just don't really like Fundies anyway.

[patrice]

8. Maybe this is why the President has gone the direction he has with Geithner et al. It's all going to

come down anyway and he's just buying time? While we get ourselves organized to do what's next?

[truedelphi]

9. Here's an idea: (Since jobs won't be coming back any time soon)

Start offering mortgage loans to anyone, anyone at all. Make sure everyone in the country understand that there is only a little tiny window of opportunity in which to buy a house before housing prices explode.

Then bundle little snips of millions of those loans together in something called an SIV, which can be sold off as an investment.

Then offer something called a Credit Default Swap. This can be held as a sort of bet against whether or not the SIV's will end up being worth anything.

Repeat as needed.

[Demeter]

10. No Jobs=No Economy

Anyone who claims otherwise is lying in your face.

[fasttense]

11. Seems to me this was bound to happen.

US corporations sent the jobs to other countries and turned around and sold the crap they made to Americans. Now, tell me, exactly who the hell is going to buy US corporation crap if Americans have no JOBs?

The problem isn't American workers, or need for credit, it's our trade policies that ship out jobs and ship in crap to buy. If no one has a job, no one can buy crap. It's simple, there is no demand in the US for crap anymore because we can't pay for it and all our equity and collateral has been used up.

The answer in the article you posted was retrain, retrain!

"This time, the government needs to place a greater emphasis on retraining workers for other careers, these economists say."

But I ask, retrain for what? All industries and business sectors across the board are losing Jobs. The only bright spot is health care. But what kind of low paying jobs are there in health care? Data entry? Insurance helplines? Nurses aides?

There are people with bachelor and Masters degrees who can't find jobs and are working as sales clerks and exotic dancers. Even the porn industry asked for a bailout.

[BR_Parkway]

12. Maybe it'll be a return to smaller scale companies and self employed

rather than supporting the big corp/big box model that siphoned off all the profit out of the community to hand it to shareholders on Wall St.

I seem to be in a minority, but somehow I don't see fixing the old economy as a good thing.