ECONOMICS

Economics

Economics

1. What other areas should see growth due to retiring boomers?

The problem with trying to appease left and right and get a package through is that left and right use these efforts to join forces as opportunities to demand purity for their ideology brands. This waters down solutios and can lead to offsetting actions which make things worse. In addition, both the left and right are really out of ideas and don't understand the forces crippling our economy.

The conservatives do have a better grasp and better solutions, but that is because they begin from the premise of minimal government and maximum private enterprise. This core principle has them more accidentally than accurately closer to the solution. Sadly, they have proven over their years of Congressional Control to mouth a lot of these principles as they resisted good economic solutions (e.g., private sector based prescription drug insurance plans under Medicaid/Medicare) and porked up on ear marked projects to keep winning elections. They have not shown any fiscal restraint or willingness to deal with problems piling up.

2. What should job growth do to salaries and wages in those fields?

Employment of economists is expected to grow 6 percent from 2008 to 2018, which is slower than the average for all occupations. Demand for economic analysis should grow, but the increase in the number of economist jobs will be tempered as firms hire workers for niche areas with specialized titles. Many workers with economic backgrounds will work in related fields with more specific job titles, such as financial analyst, market analyst, public policy consultant, researcher or research assistant, purchasing manager, or a variety of positions in business and the insurance industry. Overall employment growth also will be slowed because of the relatively high number of economists—about 53 percent—employed in declining government sectors.

Employment growth ...