Paul Krugman continues to be the nation’s most astute economic writer. Where many try to paint the economy in rosy terms, he lays it all on the line. Stagnant wages (family earnings are up, but only because the number of hours worked has increase even faster, meaning the per hour rate has shrunk) and rising costs (healthcare in particular) have most families feeling a severe pinch.
And he’s not afraid to say why:
Why have workers done so badly in a rich nation that keeps getting richer? That’s a matter of dispute, although I believe there’s a large political component: what we see today is the result of a quarter-century of policies that have systematically reduced workers’ bargaining power.
And he’s critical of the attitude that says that this is the way it is:
The important question now, however, is whether we’re finally going to try to do something about the big disconnect. Wages may be difficult to raise, but we won’t know until we try. And as for declining benefits — well, every other advanced country manages to provide everyone with health insurance, while spending less on health care than we do.
The big disconnect, in other words, provides as good an argument as you could possibly want for a smart, bold populism. All we need now are some smart, bold populist politicians.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
Hank Kalet 