Karen,
Take note of that modern phenomenon - truth via polling and
guesswork.
So, if reality intrudes on the polls and the "analytical guesswork",
reality has changed.
So, next time the polls say Joe will win right up to the point when Bill
actually wins - watch what they say. It won't be "we were
wrong".
Harry
********************************************
Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 Tel: 818 352-4141 -- Fax: 818 353-2242 http://haledward.home.comcast.net ******************************************** From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Karen Watters Cole Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 9:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Futurework] Coal in their stockings Three from Center
for American Progress, Dec. 05, 2003.
COAL IN THE
STOCKINGS: With only twenty shopping days left
until Christmas, disappointing retail sales have suggested to many analysts that
this shopping season "may not be as good as some retailers hoped a month or two
ago." And the season so far underscores the income disparity rampant in America.
So far this season, high-end
luxury shops like Saks and Neiman Marcus have rallied (ironically, FAO
Schwartz has recently filed for bankruptcy). However, "department stores
that cater to middle-income consumers" reported sales under expectations, and
even powerhouse Wal-Mart didn't do as well as analysts had forecast. According
to a senior
economist at the consulting firm Retail Forward Inc, "the middle-and
down-market consumers, mostly blue-collar workers, have been hurt by continuing
issues with the job market and unemployment." PERILS OF RELYING
ON PRODUCTIVITY: President Bush has been touting a
recent surge in productivity in his economic speeches this week – up 9.4% in the
third quarter. While productivity is a good thing, especially for corporations,
for average Americans, it isn't time to pop the champagne corks. Everett
Ehrlich, former undersecretary of Commerce, warns, "Productivity growth does
not automatically turn itself into economic growth," as wages and consumption
need to catch up for there to be any difference. And it's not good news for some
of the nation's unemployed: "If productivity is surging, then some jobs will be
harder to find — read manufacturing." Another problem discovered by economist
Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute: the gains of the recovery are disproportionately
going to corporations instead of workers. "Those who work for a living
have reaped historically low gains from the current economic recovery, while
owners of corporations have enjoyed historically high gains," Bivens said.
According to Stephen
Roach, chief economist for Morgan Stanley, this phenomenon has been
exacerbated by companies using cheap foreign labor. "Another aspect of America's
recent productivity miracle: the growing use of overseas labor. While this may
increase the profits of American business — help-desk employees or
customer-service representatives in India earn a fraction of what their
counterparts in the United States do — the American worker does not directly
share the benefits." BAD FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT, BAD FOR THE ECONOMY: From a strictly
economic review, damaging the environment hurts the economy. According to The
Oregonian, "A group of 104 economists, including two Nobel Prize winners,
sent a letter Wednesday to President Bush and Western governors saying that
policies harmful to the environment also harm the economy in the long run." When
the environment is damaged, the cost of "reversing the trend becomes more
expensive over time," the economists wrote. An example: When the environment is
damaged, it provides "fewer economically valuable services, such as cleansing
the water in streams, and communities therefore must provide replacement
services with water-treatment plants." The Office
of Management and Budget in September found that "the health and social
benefits of enforcing tough new clean-air regulations during the past decade
were five to seven times greater in economic terms than were the costs of
complying with the rules." Thus the Administration's penchant for easing
pollution standards – most recently the relaxing standards for toxic
mercury emissions – is damaging Americans' pockets as well as the earth.
(For more on the harmful mercury threat, click here for a Q&A with former
administrator of the EPA Carol
Browner.) Also note that the President will be speaking today from a Home Depot in Maryland to talk about the economy. Home Depot and others would benefit by the Bush2 proposed cuts to OSHA, something Reagan also did when he ran up the federal deficit. - KWC
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- [Futurework] Coal in their stockings Karen Watters Cole
- Harry Pollard