An oft-told tale of job survival

From Terry Savage writing for the Chicago Sun-Times.

In honor of this Labor Day holiday, here is a little fable. And like all fables, it comes with a moral at the end. Once upon a time, in a beautiful city by a lake, there was a company that was in the business of building outboard engines for boats. It had prospered in this town for 70 years. The factory employed 850 workers, and the world headquarters building employed an equal number of people.

Ms. Savage tells the story like a fable. But it isn't. It is a true, current story. To see how it ends, click here.

But like a fable, it has a mean old wolf. Is the wolf the company, the workers, or the union?

Barack Obama accused of making 'Depression' mistakes

From Edmund Conway writing for the Telegraph.

Barack Obama is committing the same mistakes made by policymakers during the Great Depression, according to a new study endorsed by Nobel laureate James Buchanan.

This article provokes some interesting discussion points. It ends with a recommendation to let capitalism work and to keep politicians out of the mix. An iteresting idea which worked for most of this country's history.

The paper, which recommends that the US return to a more laissez-faire economic system rather than intervening further in activity, has been endorsed by Nobel laureate James Buchanan, who said: "We have learned some things from comparable experiences of the 1930s' Great Depression, perhaps enough to reduce the severity of the current contraction. But we have made no progress toward putting limits on political leaders, who act out their natural proclivities without any basic understanding of what makes capitalism work."

One thing the article does not site is the affect of winning or losing a war has on a recession in a capitalistic society.

To read the complete article, click here.

Recession? Not by looking at the numbers.

From the Heritage Foundation.

Though the economy has slowed, the case for an approaching recession is weak. Extending unemployment insurance eligibility to nine months makes no sense in the current economic environment. Also, Members of Congress should resist the urge to pad the stimulus bill with extra spending that would increase the national debt.

If one looks at the numbers, as the Heritage Foundation has, a recession is not in the cards.

For a full read, click here.