Recuperation

Lately I've read several op-ed columns submitted by spokespeople for conservative think-tanks and corporate entities, and they remind me of a teenaged boy telling his father, "Dad, if you'll buy me the car, I'll wash the dishes, clean up my room, and cut the grass. In fact, I'll do all the chores around here and you won't even have to ask me."

I guess I'm too cynical for my own good, but for several years American business interests have been blaming high unemployment on the government. They tell us what they need are massive tax cuts and significant deregulation; when they have those, they can start hiring again.

Apparently, many businesses large and small have been able to maintain or even boost profits by downsizing their domestic workforces, moving offshore, and increasing productivity through technological advances. The people at the top of the economic hierarchy are doing well these days, thank you. At least that's what I've read.

Being cynical, I wonder:  If businesses can get the tax breaks and deregulation they want from the new Congress, will they actually have the incentive to hire millions of American workers, pay them well and provide great benefits ? Or will they just take the money and run ?

That's what I think about in the economic recovery room these days.