How to Create Jobs

Today's highlighted articles deal with economic growth and job creation. They each and all relate to the prior posting about our citizens' upcoming free choices about taxes, hard work and the dole.

(1) "The Lone Star Jobs Surge" describes how Texas, happily for Texans, is a genuine outlier among the states when it comes to creating jobs during the past several years. In fact, Texas alone has been responsible for 37% of job growth throughout America since the summer of 2009. Its free market and business friendly approach has been effective, unlike the national direction taken in Washington and in most other states as well.
(2) "A Gulf Oil Drilling Revival" concerns the ability of the private sector to invest in a productive manner that will support economic growth and, in this instance, a much needed domestic energy production boost, too. When government chooses, America loses. When the market is allowed to work, America wins. Scarce capital is best allocated by the private sector MOM methodology by engaging the animal spirits of companies and their shareholders who choose to invest their own, and not the taxpayers', money and thereby accept the risks and potential rewards associated therewith.

(3) "Three Jobs Scenarios: Which is Most Likely?" and "Will Stronger Exports Lead to Significant Job Growth?" are concerned with jobs, manufacturing and exports. The central thesis is that the manufacturing sector must again become a sufficient employment grower between now and 2020 to get us back to the 2007 pre-recession unemployment rate of ~5%. It's not likely to happen, however, and the articles explain why that's the case.

To grow the economy and regain the jobs we've lost, we need strong manufacturing growth. To achieve that, we need to be world class competitive in both skills and productivity, and our labor costs on an all-in basis must be competitive to enable us to gain market share.

Regaining our winning ways economically to achieve the desired employment growth anytime soon currently looks like a long shot at best, but it's sure not a job that government can address successfully. The private sector is our only way to victory in this world wide competitive economic struggle, whether we like it or not. And I like it.

Thanks. Bob.