Why are America's two economies going in opposite directions? Two reasons. First, big profits are coming from overseas sales of goods and services made abroad, not here. The world's fastest-growing markets are China and India, whose inhabitants are eager to buy "American" products, and just as eager to work for the American companies that sell them. The U.S. market is barely moving. Increasingly, American corporations are able to extract healthy gains from their global operations without adding much in the United States except executive talent.
Second, American businesses are boosting productivity by having U.S. employees do more work for less pay. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between the third quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2010, productivity rose 2.5 percent, output increased 4.1 percent, the number of hours worked was up 1.6 percent, and unit labor costs dropped by 1.9 percent.
In other words, American workers are losing even more bargaining power as a sizable chunk of corporate profit goes into software and digital equipment that can do what people used to do -- but more cheaply. So what is Washington doing about all this?
No comments:
Post a Comment