Why? Because I am going to shatter your conventional wisdom as I have many times in previous columns about the lies that Wall Street continues to tell you. This time we are going to go deeper into the economy to unearth the truth about lies the politicians are telling you.
Let's understand from the beginning that few politicians understand basic economics. Just because they work in Washington does not make them experts about the laws that have been passed or those they vote upon. Politicians do not create jobs or wealth. Don't feel you are the only one who can't make head or tail out of government statistics.
The most misunderstood debate today is about OUTSOURCING. ? sending our jobs overseas. From March of 2001 to January of 2004 manufacturing jobs declined by 2.6 million ? a loss of 17%. BUT during that same period there was an increase of 17% in worker productivity and only a loss of 3% in jobs. More goods produced with fewer workers. Those jobs did not go overseas ? only 300,000 did. The majority were lost to better machines and will never reappear. If employment efficiency had not increased we would have even higher unemployment today.
That is why unions hate new machines. Loss of jobs. If a company wants to remain competitive they must be able to produce at the least cost or you won't have a job. Do you think you would have your job today if your company continued to operate they way they did 5 years ago? Employment continues to increase every quarter even though we lose about 7% or 8% of U.S. jobs every quarter.
Has anyone told you that thousands of foreign companies have opened plants in the U.S? We don't hear about the small ones only the BMWs, Toyotas and Hondas. According to Peter Drucker, management consultant, we import more jobs than we export. Jobs increased by millions after NAFTA and because of NAFTA.
Will these layoffs continue? It depends upon your industry sector. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were more mass layoffs (50 or more) during this January than any previous January in history - 239,454 ? 1/3rd of those are in manufacturing.
The U.S. is still not producing enough new jobs to keep us even; that requires more than 150,000 new hires each month.
Political demagoguery blames everyone and anyone who is in office. Whoever the president is is the one to blame ? rightly or wrongly. Every industrialized country today has a problem with excess production capacity and is doing weird things to keep their workers on the production line. We are not the only ones with job losses. That does not make the guy in the unemployment line feel any better.
It is our productivity edge that has kept as many jobs as we have now or it would be a lot worse. Free trade is the answer and not tariffs on other country's goods. As I have written before tariffs are hidden taxes on the consumer and benefit no one. They have NEVER worked in all of history and make more problems than they solve.
Don't listen to the political rhetoric. You may not like what I have said, but maybe it will start you thinking.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
1-888-345-7870; http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
As one of my regular readers you know I have... Read More
Did you run out to buy that duct tape yet?... Read More
The Surgeon General of the United States says that smoking... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
What does it take to be a stock trader? It... Read More
On Friday or Saturday evening my wife gets a movie... Read More
The stock market has been going up for more than... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
We need a rabbit!This was a pretty horrible week for... Read More
Both the stock market and oil prices rallied recently, which... Read More
To begin, you might look at playing the stock market... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
The single most expensive stock market trades are those made... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
Where is the beef? Or maybe it should be where... Read More
The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
Starbucks earnings are up again and so is their stock... Read More
Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does... Read More
You probably have been told that options are risky. Even... Read More
How do you make money without picking tops and bottoms?I... Read More
What account size do I need?How much money can I... Read More
cleaning lady near Wilmette ..Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
It is finally catching up with them. The brokerage companies... Read More
Ever wondered what is a mutual fund? A mutual fund... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
Before you embark upon a journey of trading stocks or... Read More
If you don't know what a Roth IRA is then... Read More
Well, not really. What I mean is I don't mind... Read More
Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
If you go to Haiti or other places in the... Read More
One of the things people are always asking me is... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
If you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More
The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True,... Read More
Did you know you can make money (and a lot... Read More
If you haven't heard of the technical indicator with the... Read More
Have you seen all those big full page ads for... Read More
There are major differences between trading stocks and trading futures.... Read More
I'll bet with almost anyone that has stocks or mutual... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
Before they go over the cliff to their destruction these... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Because you don't feel too sure about which stock or... Read More
You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately,... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |