This is an interesting article that explains President Obama's new economic stimulus plan which is targeted towards the labor market. The most interesting part about it is that it targets small businesses and less towards big businesses. It includes payroll tax breaks for small businesses that is supposed to improve aggregate demand. This rise in aggregate demand is the main catalyst that should create new jobs. Figures anticipated include from 600,000 new jobs to 1 million. If this is the case, I am very grateful because I will be entering the work force soon and any help with getting a good job, is appreciated.
It surprised me a little that Swizerland got the 1st in this ranking.
ReplyDeleteActually, I dont's think this ranking is that decisive when taling about economy. For US, the whole economy's scale and maturity, the GDP per capitorop, are still top of the world. When a economy developed to a certain scale, the competiveness and developing speed would slow down in some extent.
It is absolutely a bad time for US's economy. Hopefully with the soon coming president election, some chances would happen.
I thought it was interesting how the article gets progressively pessimistic and ends with.. it's probably just a wish list.. I would have to agree that the bill, or at least the full extent of the bill, will never get passed because the Republicans are not about to let Obama have any kind of short term success before the upcoming election. Also, I am worried that the article talks about how the bill is more focused on the short-term.. It seems that we have been employing short-term fixes for the last three years. It would be great to see a politician have a chance to employ a long-term fix, something tough in a demanding political environment.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I mistakely posted the 1st reply here which should be following another article.
ReplyDeleteAlthough economists disagree on the amount of jobs this bill would add to the economy, it seems that they generally agree that it would have a positive impact. I believe the main thing that would stop this bill from getting passed would be partisan issues. Although the article says that parts of the bill are bipartisan, it seems that is had been hard for Obama to get anything through Congress these days. Also, as Andrew pointed out, Republicans may not want to let Obama pass this bill with the upcoming elections. If the bill passes now, the Democrats would definitely use it in the campaigns for Obama. So while the bill seems that it would help with the high level of unemployment, it probably will not be able to pass.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those that have said that politically, I don't think this bill will pass, at least not in the currently proposed form. I think that Andrew's point is important: this is another short-term fix. The short-term fixes we have tried have been given mixed reviews, but whether or not they were beneficial is somewhat arbitrary. We're still not doing well. When is it time to start thinking about the long term? Some degree of long-term planning should be part of negotiations at some point.
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