What we really need are productive jobs

I’d been thinking about two topics for a post and then I realized they are interrelated.

Topic 1 — After the market crashed today, I heard an interview with a financial analyst on the radio.  When asked what would turn things around he said one thing:  “Jobs, jobs, jobs.  We need job growth to get the economy going again.”

Topic 2 — In a comment to another post I made earlier today I pointed out that most government jobs are overhead on the economy, and the more overhead the economy has the weaker it will be.

Then it hit me, we don’t just need jobs, we need productive jobs.  More overhead jobs will just drag the economy down further.

Take my job.  I’m an attorney.  My entire profession is pure overhead.  Sure we serve a couple of key functions: (1) we help private people settle disputes; (2) we help put criminals behind bars.  But they are overhead functions.  Heck, the entire justice system — from meter maids, to police officers, to court reporters, to judges and attorneys, to prison guards — is overhead.  Private alternatives like arbitrators and mediators are overhead.

I’m sure you’d have no problem coming up with many other examples of whole professions that are pure overhead.  Add to that the fact that we are aging and the retired population (which I hope to join in under a year!) is exploding and it’s a wonder that the economy can function at all under the dual load of overhead and people who aren’t working at all.

Given the trend in Europe and America these days to more and more overhead jobs and retirees and fewer and fewer people who actually produce anything, how do we add productive jobs to get the economy moving again?