Labor and Wages

On this episode of Power & Market, Ryan, Connor, and Tho discuss the latest jobs number data, what it means for the affordability crisis, the legacy of Dick Cheney, and Thanksgiving favorites."

Among the criticisms of capitalism is that it supposedly creates meaningless jobs created by villainous capitalists to keep people docile. However, it is state power and regulation that makes many jobs little more than meaningless make work.

Over the centuries, European governments have driven talented workers out of their countries. That unfortunate legacy continues as France is the latest nation facing a “brain drain.”

One of the justification that the White House gives for its onerous tariffs is that they will stop the “offshoring” of American jobs and lead to greater job growth here. That scenario has not and will not ever come to fruition.

AI doomerism and neo-Luddite sentiments have become increasingly prevalent in recent discourse.

Bob breaks down the fears about AI-driven unemployment and shows why economic reasoning still favors human prosperity in a high-tech world.

Newly released jobs data this month shows that the jobs narrative from the media was based on bogus numbers.

Chris Calton reviews Michael Sonenscher's Capitalism: The Story Behind the Word. The book meanders through abstract associations to claim that the division of labor is “worse” than capitalism without providing context or engaging with real historical developments.

President Trump is right to raise doubts about the motivations of the government officials tasked with collecting and releasing economic data. But it would also be a mistake for the right to take after Biden and dismiss any sign of economic pain.

Whether President Trump overreacted to the recent BLS is irrelevant to the fact that government data often is inaccurate and politically suspect.