Oil!

     Some in the Middle East have found hope after years of enduring tyranny. The people, by simply protesting, have been influential enough that two dictators have been removed from power. Libya  witnessed their neighbor Egypt succeed and followed suit. Three countries will have changed their leadership if Gaddafi leaves. With more unrest in Syria and Yemen the changes are not finished yet. The Middle East is having a sundering of political landscape. We are getting involved in hopes of gaining allies or favor when the dust settles. Unfortunately it seems as though we are passed the point of standing by with only aid and protection. Gaddafi will undoubtedly accuse the US as orchestrating the military action. He has to be removed  or the show of force will have been wasted. Gaddafi will exact revenge on the revolutionaries once the coalition leaves.

      The coalition will give only protection for the civilians, but is not opposed to the US or GB giving arms. Pres. Obama already approved covert missions in Libya. But we must not get too involved. Lest we forget, we still have troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our economy is in trouble and we can’t afford to be the world police. Congress would assuredly vote against another engagement. We might have our own protests otherwise.  We could potentially get drawn into a larger conflict by angering allies, Russia does not approve of our coalition's actions. This could spark anger enough to trigger an anti-coalition movement to support Gaddafi simply to oppose the (perceived) US led coalition.

      At home the conflict is causing a stir among republicans. Some say Obama overstepped his authority by authorizing military action. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson (R-IL) wants to pass the Reclaim Act to prevent all further action now. However it appears to be political posturing. Where were the republican protesters when Bush was pushing for war in Iraq? In fact Obama was within his powers as described in the War Powers Resolution. Johnson does have a point however: we the people, do not want another drawn out conflict  for “American interests.” We have a genuine concern with being stretched too thin militarily and economically. We are already paying more at the pump due to disruptions (or anticipated disruptions) in global oil supply . Helping Libya approaches the goal of fast resolution and avoiding prolonged civil war.

Are unions the answer for new American jobs?

      This is a discussion about Gaius Publius commentary on Paul Krugman's editorial on "The real answer to new American jobs." In a time when jobs and unemployment are the center of debate, everyone has a solution. Publius' intended audience are  white collar workers and  union members. Krugman's argument is that computers are going to replace anyone who is not a CEO or a blue collar worker. He says that Unions are the answer for creating jobs in the US.  Unfortunately , unions will not prevent business from going overseas for cheap labor.How exactly do unions create jobs anyway?  Krugman claims the software will change the workforce, but maybe that is a good thing, we should look into this comparative advantage thing more closely.   However we may not be there yet:  “Some specialists acknowledge that the technology has limits. “The documents that the process kicks out still have to be read by someone,” said Herbert L. Roitblat of OrcaTec, a consulting firm in Atlanta."   Someone still has to enter the files into a database for the program to sort and someone still has to decipher the output.

      Part of Krugman's argument is that education does not guarantee a good paying job and thus should not be pursued? This is a valid concern. Due to the rising price of education, more students are buried under student loan debt with little guarantee of return on investment. However one needs to be careful to say that education is not a solution, consider how much harder it is to get a decent job if you don't have a degree. There will always be a demand for highly educated workers but in our global economy it may be shortsighted to assume that an education should equate to a job in the US.

        Jared Diamond theorized in his book Guns Germs and Steel that as hunter gatherers came together they formed villages and if theses villagers basic needs were sustained by farming and cooperation, then individuals were free to  become full time farmers, soldiers or politicians.  They were freed from the shackles of hunting and gathering food daily.  Perhaps we are on the cusp of  such a societal evolution in that many of the tasks that require human calculation will be turned over to programs in order for humans to focus on higher level problems.  The singularity is around the corner...  

        Unions can help generate higher wages and better working conditions for members, but unions can have a  bureaucracy and can stifle innovation

We can't forget what unions have done for the American worker over the last 100 years but to say that Unions are the only way for America to succeed is misleading.