IDEOLOGICAL ECONOMISTS

In another wingnut attack on the New Deal, two half-wit economists get op-ed space in the Wall Street Journal to spread bogus statistics. Here's just one example:

Productivity grew very rapidly after 1933, the price level was stable, real interest rates were low, and liquidity was plentiful. We have calculated on the basis of just productivity growth that employment and investment should have been back to normal levels by 1936.

Productivity growth DOES NOT translate into more jobs or higher pay. The evidence from the years 2001-2007 is clear: productivity increases do not lead to significant increases in employment or income. Here's how this Census Bureau report put it on page 6:

Household Income
Between 2006 and 2007, real median
household income rose 1.3 percent,
from $49,568 to $50,233 (Figure 1
and Table 1)—a level not statistically
different from the 1999 prerecession
income peak

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides historical information on productivity on this page and I chose to look at "output per person" in 2 sectors, manufacturing and business. Here are the graphs:



MANUFACTURING


BUSINESS