With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire

With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire

Washington Post. Some interesting quotes, but a failure to connect the dots. Businesses have record profits but complain that there demand outlook is uncertain because consumers aren’t spending like they used to. They mention the immediate culprit, high consumer debt loads, but predictably omit that the utter lack of labor bargaining power, and the attendant lack of job security, are also a big part of the picture. Grind down on workers for thirty years, take away the debt punchbowl, and guess what, you don’t have such a great customer base left. Dean Baker also objects to the piece, see The Washington Post Reports Businesses Tell Them That Stimulus Will Boost Hiring, but Doesn’t …

With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/20/AR2010082005165.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST201008200398

The Washington Post Reports Businesses Tell Them That Stimulus Will Boost Hiring, but Doesn't Realize It
1http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-washington-post-reports-businesses-tell-them-that-stimulus-will-boost-hiring-but-doesnt-realize-it?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29