Ðrew

At the University of Virginia, I was asked why young men are struggling to find work while the employment of women grows; and what the government can do about it. My response: “Here's my ideal job market. Women can work, but they don't have to. And I think the real test of an economy is not the stock market, is not GDP, it is can you raise a family on a single income. My parents did it, their parents did it. For most of American history, nearly everyone did it. Now it is next to impossible. So my wife does not work outside of the home. I think women should have the opportunity to access gainful employment.” “But I think we should also build an economy where a young man can get a great paying job without competing with foreign labor. A young man cannot get tapped on the shoulder and asked to train his foreign replacement. A labor market where real wages actually go up.” “Here's the thing, housing, everything's gotten more expensive. That is not a problem in and of itself. It is a problem because our nominal wages have not kept up, therefore our real wages have gone down. If housing doubled tomorrow, we'd be pissed. But if your salary tripled, we'd have nothing to worry about. And so part of this conundrum that afflicts us is not just that prices have gone up, but that our wages have not kept apace.”