Making Labor Less Expensive Helps Firms Hire

You Care About The Deficit Because It Allows You To Do Things You Need To Do To Help People Who Are Suffering.

In The Four Decades After World War Ii, Manufacturing Jobs Paid More Than Other Jobs For Given Skills. But That Is Much Less True Today. Increased International Competition Has Forced American Manufacturers To Reduce Costs. As A Result, The Pay Premium For Low-skilled Workers In Manufacturing Is Smaller Than It Once Was.

Honest Talk About The Deficit Is Risky. Voters Are More Enthusiastic About The Abstract Notion Of Deficit Reduction Than About The Painful Details Of Accomplishing It.

Tax Increases Appear To Have A Very Large Sustained And Highly Significant Negative Impact On Output.

If Every Other Store In Town Is Paying Workers $9 An Hour, One Offering $8 Will Find It Hard To Hire Anyone - Perhaps Not When Unemployment Is High, But Certainly In Normal Times. Robust Competition Is A Powerful Force Helping To Ensure That Workers Are Paid What They Contribute To Their Employers' Bottom Lines.