The web is alive with stories about the green shoots in the economy and the Dow's momentary vault above 11,000. And, oh yes, the inevitable tsk-tsking about how unemployment remains give or take around 10 percent. But what if the recover is coming about not in spite but because of the 10-percent unemployment rate? What if the result of the late meltdown is precisely to cull the workforce, as you would cull a buffalo herd, getting rid of the weaklings so the rest of the herd can move faster?
Don't misunderstand, I'm not remotely pleased at the thought of such a result. But one way to tart up the bottom line is to cut the wage bill. People have been talking for a couple of years now about how some of those jobs are never coming back. And what if there is simply nothing to take their place?
[On buffalo herds and how beer drinking makes you smarter, go here.]
No comments:
Post a Comment