Unemployment Is Joblessness an Overrated Problem?

UNEMPLOYMENT

Is joblessness an Overrated Problem?

According to your reading:

1. Do government measures reduce high unemployment? Briefly, why, or why not?

a. You should mention specific measures and whether they help or not.

b. You should seek systematic (innate) reasons.

Government uses various measures to reach the goal of Full Employment. It includes various public and fiscal policy efforts. Some of them that the Government had used in the past are Employment Act of 1946 and Humphrey – Hawkins Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.

These measures are not a great help in reducing high unemployment because it can be seen that United States is still facing a major unemployment problem. Even after passing all those acts, there were structural shifts in the American economy. These shifts were permanently eliminating jobs. The US also faced regional economic shifts, new skill and educational requirements and racism which made the future workers unemployable.

2. List at least three major causes of unemployment according to each of the three categories: Conservative, Liberal and Radical. Which seem most likely to you? Why?

CONSERVATIVE CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

i. Liberal support for labor unions.

ii. Legally mandated social legislation: Unemployment Insurance and Social Security.

iii. Large industrial unions.

iv. Discrimination.

v. Job losses from technological progress.

vi. Government efforts to manage labor markets.

LIBERAL CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

i. Lack of skills.

ii. Subtle institutional changes in American economy.

iii. Structural problems.

RADICAL CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

i. Automation.

ii. Downsizing.

iii. Outsourcing.

Even though all the causes stated above cause high unemployment in one way or the other, the causes that seem most likely to me are the ones stated under the radical category. They include automation, downsizing and outsourcing. According to me, they are the major...