Saturday, June 11, 2011

Thomas Friedman, "The Uncertainty Tax": We Need to Be Retooled

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "The Uncertainty Tax" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1&hp), Thomas Friedman divulges the secret to reduce U.S. unemployment:

"Thanks to a credit bubble over the last decade, we created a lot of jobs for people — in construction and retail — who did not have globally competitive skills or post-high school degrees. Those workers will need retooling.

. . . .

Any good news? Yes, U.S. corporations are getting so productive and sitting on so much cash, just a few big, smart, bipartisan decisions by Congress on taxes and spending (and mortgages) and I think this whole economy starts to improve again."

Holy cow! Salvation is just around the corner! It only demands that you and I be "retooled" and "a few big, smart, bipartisan decisions by Congress."

I don't know about you, but I'm fast entering into the "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" stage of my life. Yet don't let that bother you, Tom. Run to the president and let him know the good news about "retooling." You've hit upon the case breaker!

But wait. Before you hurry off to Obama, what about that other prerequisite, "smart, bipartisan decisions by Congress"? Are these decisions to be reached when congressmen are not busy tweeting pictures of their genitals? I suppose this is the hard part.

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