Mike,
Yes, like so many pundits (Paul Krugman is another) Robert Reich can write
coherently within one frame of reference. Then on another morning he wakes
up with a different theme in his head and writes another coherent piece.
Never mind the cognitive dissonance in his head, never mind that he is
unwilling, or unable, to view the whole scene. Too much like hard work. He
(they) would have to think more fundamentally of what is actually going on
the advanced countries (growing automation, wider skill gaps, collapsing
educational standards, a growing young underclass, a vast growth in
make-work, etc)
The Labour government in the UK have suffered from the same dissonance when
encouraging an acceleration of immigration into the country -- while at the
same time talking occasionally of controls in order to dampen down the
murmurings of the unemployed. The civil service were also schizophrenic.
The Home Office would announce all sorts of new checks and immigration
controls while, at the same time, the Foreign Office was dishing out visas
in Europe and shovelling them in -- almost literally through the back door
(via special reception centres in one or two northern cities). One classic
case that was revealed was a one-legged "roof-tiler" from Poland.
In truth, it has been our civil service which has been the main motivator.
Senior civil servants can always manipulate politicians when they need to.
Civil servants have been aware that, in the coming years, their
index-linked pensions -- nor old people on state pensions -- will not be
affordable out of a steadily declining workforce (with a steadily declining
average wage). I'm not normally given to conspiracy theories but this has
been one huge one in the last ten years or so, more or less pulling the
wool over politicians' eyes as well as the general public. But they're
cottoning on now. Ultra right-wing anti-immigration parties such as the
British National Party or the United Kingdom Independence Party are rising
in numbers and frightening the conventional parties to bits. The electorate
is going to vote for them as never before in the coming General Election.
The conventional parties have only got themselves to blame for being so
dishonest in recent years. Just as happened in Hungary on Sunday last, and
increasingly in Germany, France and other European countries a serious
ultra right-wing trend is taking place. (And, I suspect, the Democrats will
be pasted in the US elections in November.)
Keith
At 02:10 13/04/2010 -0300, you wrote:
I had the notion that Robert Reich was a really smart guy. So,
although I don't follow him around the net waiting for pearls of
wisdom to fall from his pen, I have a look at what he writes when I
stumble over it.
So here:
http://www.truthout.org:80/why-more-immigrants-are-answer-coming-boomer-entitlement-mess58459
he says that we (i.e., the USA) should have more immigrants because
their employment will support the entitlements of an aging, retiring
population.
Then, a couple of days later, here:
http://www.truthout.org:80/the-future-american-jobs58509
he essentially says, there aren't any jobs, there aren't going to be
any jobs and when there are, eventually, a few jobs, they'll be poorly
paid ones.
Say what?
Am I just slow this week or has RR shingled off onto the fog?
- Mike
--
Michael Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada .~.
/V\
[email protected] /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/ ^^-^^
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Keith Hudson, Saltford, England
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