Jobless, With Dwindling Options
‘Galatea’ is a columnist writing about her experience looking for work after her recent downsizing. Previous entries in her series can be strong> read here
Fat and Unemployed is No Way to Live
‘Galatea’ is a columnist writing about her experience looking for work after her recent downsizing. Previous entries in her series can be strong> read here
To Reduce Unemployment, Slow Immigration
The November 4th unemployment report indicated that the economy is not producing sufficient jobs for the 300 million American citizens, and that there is no end in sight to the crisis. This should make us ask why we need more immigrants. All Republican presidential candidates are rhetorically …
No Benefits for You!
‘Galatea’ is a columnist writing about her experience looking for work after her recent downsizing. Previous entries in her series can be strong> read here
The Day I Was Fired
On Thursday, out of nowhere, Ed told me that they were letting me go. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. I walked into my boss’s office of my own volition to talk about a long-term project. I was bright, and cheerful, and putting on the semblance of being happy. I wasn’t …
Getting to No
Watching the President's press conference yesterday was again desperately dispiriting. The President's supporters say he is "framing" a choice for the country: my way or their way. To support that frame, however, the President needs Republicans to say "NO" to his jobs proposals. The surest way to …
Daniels: Government Faces "Limits" When Helping the Unemployed
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels visited Georgetown University on Friday, September 23rd, for a refreshingly intimate conversation sponsored by the Georgetown College Republicans. Daniels is known for his candor and modesty, and both were on display when I asked him what could be done for the 14 …
Attack the Plan, Not the Man
In my column for CNN, I explain why the GOP needs to focus on attacking Obama's economic plan, or risk alienating many voters: Republican partisans loathe Barack Obama even more viscerally than core Democrats despised George W. Bush. Yet as with Democrats in 2004, it's hard for Republicans to …
The New Poor
In my column for The Week , I discuss what needs to be done to reduce rising poverty levels: The collapse of the American job market has pushed the poverty rate to the highest level since 1993 — back before welfare reform was even enacted. The poverty rate touched bottom in the year 2000 at …
Will Perry Win With 16% Unemployment?
Into the presidential race rides another man from Texas, Governor Rick Perry. If this election is about jobs, the Republicans would have to be crazy to nominate anyone else. While the Democrats will try to parse and spin the numbers, Texas has done better than the rest of the nation in …
Unemployed for a Year. Who Speaks for Me?
I received The Call exactly a year ago at 11:30 a.m. EDT. That was a bit early. For almost nine years I had worked from my home in Charlotte, NC for a small company in California, so calls from the office before noon my time were not frequent. When I heard that my boss, his boss and the HR director …
At Least He Has a Job
Daniel Alexandre Protoraro has an awful summer job . But at least he has a job. His American counterpart might not. Canada’s unemployment rate is 7.4 percent (it would be 6.2% if calculated with the American method) America's is 9.2 percent. And Protoraro’s own story, provides a case study as to …
More Jobs, Better Pay: What the GOP Can Do
In my column for CNN, I explain why Rick Perry's record on job is both his greatest strength and weakness: Gov. Rick Perry enters the presidential race with one big advantage and one big impediment. The advantage: his record of job creation in Texas. His impediment? His record of job creation …
Res Judicata: Legal Immigration is Not the Answer
The bad economic news, especially persistently high unemployment, requires an examination of our immigration policy. The U.S. currently admits about 800,000 legal immigrants per year, all of whom are authorized for employment. This goes on year in and year out, regardless of the level of …
Why Companies Won't Hire
In my column for CNN, I discuss some of the reasons why very few companies are currently hiring: Even if we avoid a second recessionary dip, we're stuck on a very, very disappointing path. Call it the 1936 parallel. From 1933 to 1936, the U.S. economy grew strongly, almost 10% a year. When …Res Judicata: Americans Will Do the Jobs
“On lesser days, unmentionable objects block the huge grates in the sewer channels. The workers descend knee deep into the muck and scrape at the dripping clogs. The gunk drips to their shoulders and splashes on their faces, working its way into pores and psyches.” This is how the New York …
The Debt Deal's Biggest Losers
In my new column for The Week I discuss who has lost the most in the new debt deal: The first and most obvious loser: National security. The economist Herb Stein used to advocate a simple model of federal budgeting: a) Decide how much it costs to defend the country. b) Pay for it. …Seven Ideas for the GOP After Debt Day
In my column for CNN , I discuss seven ideas for the GOP to take up after the debt crisis has passed: 1) Unemployment is a more urgent problem than debt. The U.S. can borrow money for 10 years at less than 3%. It can borrow money for two years at less than one-half a percent. Yes, the …