Degrees and Dollars

The message is bleak: Education does not automatically lead to jobs, suggests Paul Krugman, New York Times columnist. To maximize profits, corporate executives steadily relocate factories to nations with low-cost workers or try fast-improving technology for tasks performed by well-paid, educated workers. Advanced technology and fast-growing productivity continue to reduce jobs, the economist explains, pointing to software that eliminates need for lawyers to review documents or engineers who design computer chips. Krugman urges government to continue funding education and empower workers with labor unions, but those measures alone won’t end the transfer of jobs to low-cost nations. Overhauling policies – with competitive programs on taxes, innovation, energy and affordable health care, as Krugman has written about in the past – could also help along with programs that create flexible workers. Protecting the middle class is a complex task requiring a focus aimed at the common good rather than special interests. – YaleGlobal