I know you want \u201cthe best\u201d for America. But here\u2019s a problem: unemployment is too low. Yes, I know that sounds just crazy. How can more people working be bad for America? The June employment numbers just came out, over 209,000 added jobs, and an unemployment rate of 3.6%. What it really means is that there are jobs available, for almost anyone who wants one. And that should be a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But economists say it\u2019s not. I\u2019m kind of think of economists like weather men. You know the weather report, if it\u2019s stormy, you need to hide; if it\u2019s sunny, well, you need to hide too. Rain means your outdoor plans are ruined. Dry means that the crops won\u2019t grow and the fires will. Snow in the winter means a \u201csnow-pocalypse\u201d, no snow is \u201cevidence of global warming\u201d. Economists and weather men see the \u201cglass as half empty\u201d every time. Sometimes I think it\u2019s more about finding something to worry Americans about, so you tune in tomorrow to see what happens next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there\u2019s the \u201cworst\u201d number: wages are going up!! That means more people have more jobs and are making more money. But, then, they\u2019re SPENDING that money (duh!!). And that\u2019s generated \u201cinflationary feelings\u201d (I\u2019m not making that up, the reporter on TV just said that). It\u2019s as if we somehow have to treat the economy like a lover, dealing with \u201cfeelings\u201d and \u201cbad days\u201d and \u201cthat time of the year\u201d. And then there\u2019s \u201cinflationary fears\u201d, like somehow your sweet economy might somehow move out, and leave you in the lurch, or worse, a recession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if I\u2019m hearing all of this correctly, economists want the unemployment rate higher, so there are more people looking for jobs, so that the businesses can pay them less: \u201cIf you won\u2019t work for this much, someone else will\u201d. That way prices go down, and people have less money to pay for it anyway. And meanwhile more people can\u2019t find jobs. But that sounds a lot like a recession to me, kind of like we need a major flood to take care of the drought conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If those ideas are what your economic advisors are suggesting, please don\u2019t listen to them. I know, like the weatherman and a coin flip, they might be right 50% of the time. But if it\u2019s just a coin flip, they might be wrong too. And meanwhile, it\u2019s the worst thing for the regular working stiff out there in the world, who wants a job, with more money, that will allow her or him to provide for themselves, and maybe their families (or even to pay off those damn student loans, thanks for trying!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Politically, of course, whatever you do, half of the country will think you\u2019re wrong. In our current polarized nation, one side is going to scream \u201cIT\u2019S ALL YOUR FAULT\u201d no matter what happens. I agree: it IS your fault that unemployment is low and wages are up. You are to blame that, in my area (Central Ohio) they can\u2019t build factories, roads, electric girds, and \u201cdistribution centers\u201d (weren\u2019t those called warehouses once?) fast enough. I hear folks here in my town say: \u201cYou can\u2019t get through the McDonald\u2019s drive-thru, because nobody wants to work\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s really happening at McD\u2019s? Why make $12\/hour at McDonald\u2019s when you can go just down the road and make $20\/hour at Amazon. And if you have a skill, you can make a whole lot more driving heavy equipment and pushing dirt in any one of the dozens of new plants going up. One of my neighbors drives a gas tanker to work sites to fill up the machines. He can\u2019t work enough hours in a week to get the job done. Of course, McDonald\u2019s might have to raise wages. And then they\u2019ll raise the price of Big Mac\u2019s. And then we\u2019ll have inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But people are working. That means they have some control over their own lives; where they live and what they eat (Big Mac\u2019s?) and even what they do for a job. If they don\u2019t like what they\u2019re doing, they can do something else, the opportunity is there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you\u2019re trying to \u201cthread the needle\u201d between expansion and improvement, and recession and inflation; keep doing what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0\u00a0People always complain about the weather.\u00a0\u00a0But they still watch the weather on TV every night.\u00a0\u00a0And I think Americans will get it.\u00a0\u00a0Our economy is booming, and we have time to complain about everything else.\u00a0\u00a0If we were really struggling; no one would be talking.\u00a0\u00a0All they could do is try to scratch out a living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good work, Mr. President.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"