Economics, dealing with scarce resources and hard choices, has been called "the dismal science." To counteract this dreary reputation some economists look for signs of hope where none is justified. A New York Times article by George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen is an example of this.
Cowen writes that the economy may not recover to its prior yeastiness, but may drag along at the much reduced rate at which it now operates. That implies he thinks it could snap back to our former "normal." Of course it isn't impossible, merely improbable as blazes.
The changes are fundamental, as he hints they might be. The McDonaldization (my term) of the economy proceeds apace. The replacement of permanent with temporary workers, of full-time with part-time employees, of skilled people with unskilled people plus skilled systems, of people with machines - robots - marches on. Plus globalization hollows out industry in places with living wage structures, shipping jobs to places with low wages, no safety nets, and hungry workers.
Our economy has become sclerotic, our political process near-hopeless. We are well and truly screwed, as the Fed. signals by continuing to hold interest rates near zero year after year. Falling birth rates reflect this pessimism, as does the falling labor force participation rate.
